1983 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships

The 1983 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Strasbourg, France on November 10–13, 1983. They served as the qualification process for the first Olympic program of rhythmic gymnastics to be held in Los Angeles in 1984, although most of the gymnasts from Eastern Europe, which had the most dominant rhythmic gymnasts, ended up not participating in the Games due to the boycott by the Communist Bloc.

93 individuals and 21 groups competed; groups competed an exercise with hoops and ropes. Two floors were provided, one with carpet, which most gymnasts used, and one with wood, which was easier to spin and slide on.

In the individual event, Bulgarian gymnasts dominated the competition, only challenged by Soviet gymnasts. After the first day of the all-around, the Soviet gymnasts Dalia Kutkaitė and Galina Beloglazova tied for first, followed by the three Bulgarian gymnasts. However, on the second day, Kutkaitė dropped her hoop; Beloglazova had a strong first routine, but she, too, dropped her apparatus (clubs) during her last exercise. The three Bulgarian gymnasts performed more strongly, allowing them to move onto the podium; Diliana Georgieva ended in first place by 0.05 points, while Beloglazova and the other two Bulgarians, Lilia Ignatova and Anelia Ralenkova, tied for second.

The three individual Bulgarians were awarded twelve perfect 10.0 scores across the competition, and the three Soviets were given six. The number of perfect scores given, including five in the ball final, caused American sports photographer Eileen Langsley to comment that it was "indicative of the rising standards within gymnastics but also suggests that the code needs restructuring".

Three judges from the qualification rounds were not allowed to judge in the finals due to national bias in their qualification scores, which Andrea Schmid, a judge from the United States, noted as a first for the World Championships.