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League News · 2026 Season

Updated Rules and Processes as a Result of the New York Event

Team owners met on August 25 and worked through a set of rulebook changes and operating processes. Everything below is in effect going forward.

Rulebook

Grid-Lock, the tiebreak race run when a match ends level, no longer carries a 2-minute time cap and no longer starts 2 minutes after the Sprint Relay.
If Grid-Lock ends in a further tie, it is rerun in its entirety until a winner is found.
Clarification addition to the timing issue review rule: it is classified as a major equipment malfunction and all major malfunction remedies apply: continue from the point of cessation, restart anew, or restart from the established race restart point, as determined by the Chief Ref or Commissioner.
The official match score announcement is now defined as the result posted on the website as final.
If a match is cut short by equipment, time, venue, safety, or otherwise, the team in the lead records the win. A League review determines race points, rank point allocation, and whether a makeup is possible or the result is final.
If the score is level when a match is cut short, the result is a match tie. A tie counts as half a win for seeding.
Information obtained after a match concludes, defined as 15 minutes after the final race is run, may not be used to alter a race result, a match result, or the standings. The only exception is a race or match carrying Under Review status, which the Commissioner or Chief Ref may declare at the time.
A team with reasonable evidence that a recorded time is incorrect may raise it with League officials at any point during the match. This is not a coach’s challenge. Play does not stop, and the time is reviewed during the following races.
Ringer point time cap. If both players have failed, a designated sideline referee starts a 40-second cap at the moment the second player fails. If one player completes the movement inside that window, the 20 percent time cap rule governs from there. If both are still failing when the cap expires, the race is called with no points.
Hard stop is now defined as the fixed time by which all competition and all match-related decision making must conclude to meet broadcast commitments and schedule obligations.

Process

The time cap review process prior to a race now includes Grid-Lock.
An AI check runs at the end of every match to double-check scores and look for timing inconsistencies, including the 20 percent ringer point calculations. It adds a layer to the human checks rather than replacing any of them.
A digital search interface pulls relevant rulebook clauses word for word, with no interpretation, so officials are not going through paper during a match. Decisions stay human.
When a time is in question during a match, it is reviewed against available footage during the following race so play is not held up.

This Weekend in Texas

The 2026 regular season closes August 29 and 30 at the North Texas Strength Expo, Mesquite Convention Center, 1700 Rodeo Dr., Mesquite, TX. Six matches decide the playoff field. Three teams from each conference advance, and the top seed in each conference earns a first-round bye.