"If you have trained as much as is necessary for the Olympic games, and have not done anything base or mean, go and compete with courage..." Philostratos, AD 230
A number of rules, issued during the period of the Olympic festival, regulated the organization of the games.
It was an obligation of every athlete who wished to participate in the Games, to stay in Elis for the month prior to the games and train under the supervision of the umpires, the Hellanodikai (literaly meaning "the judges of the Greeks"). This was a kind of preliminary or trial training during which the judges were free to select those who had been well-trained or singled out those with unsatisfactory training.
Upon their arrival at Elis, the athletes continued training. Elis had two gymnasiums that athletes from various places could use for training purposes before the Games: the "Xystos", for runners and pentathlon contestants, and the "Tetragonon" for wrestlers and boxers. Another gymnasium called "Maltho " was intended for the training of the youths. There was also a Palaistra.
In addition, one of the main tasks of the Hellanodikai was to judge the age of the athletes who would participate in the games and allocate the athletes in different age groups. The very young were not allowed, whereas those who had come of age could participate in the men's games. There were special games for the boys held in the second day of the festival.
Those who wanted to participate and were admitted could not resign or withdraw. Finally, thanks to the rule of the "bye" ("ephedreia"), those athletes who would be left over without an opponent, had the right to compete with the victor of the second round. The ephedros, the man waiting, was thus given the opportunity to enter the match.
For those who did not obey the rules, penalties were issued. Penalties included fines, exclusion from the games, and corporal punishment. The fines were imposed by the Hellanodikai , who were assisted by the alytarches (special police officers), but they were executed by the rabdouchoi (rod-bearers) and the mastigophoroi (scourge-bearers). If an athlete could not afford the fines, his city would pay in order not to be excluded from the games. The revenue from the fines was used to make the statues of Zeus, the Zanes, placed in the sanctuary area.