How Grid Works

The Grid1 of 14

All races happen on the Grid

The Grid is an 80-foot playing surface with two parallel lanes, one for each team. Both lanes run the same direction: from a start zone, through quadrants 1 to 4, to a finish zone.

Each quadrant is 16 feet wide and 20 feet long. The marks along the outside edge split every quadrant into four hash boxes, which set where players have to stand in some races.

The rig2 of 14

One rig runs down the middle

The rig is a Valor Fitness steel frame on the center strip. It stands 15 feet tall and has 5 sets of uprights, with 4 pull-up bars on each side. Each pull-up bar is about 6 feet long and 8 feet off the ground.

Beams called outriggers reach out from the top of the rig over both lanes. Ropes hang from them to the floor, and gymnastics rings hang at the same height as the pull-up bars. Any movement on the rig's pull-up bars has to be done facing out from the rig, and players enter the rig from underneath the pull-up bars, never from the end.

The teams3 of 14

Men and women race on the same team

Each team starts a match with 5 men and 5 women and can bring up to 3 more of each as alternates. Players who are not racing wait on the bench behind the start zone.

Players specialize. Each team has strength specialists, bodyweight specialists and utility players, who handle both. The head coach decides who races in each race.

From above, solid dots are men and ringed dots are women .

Race: Partner Forward4 of 14

Partner Forward puts one man and one woman in each lane

Each quadrant has four stations, one beside each hash box: two for women and two for men. One player works at a time while the partner stands in the hash box next to that station, and reps only count while the partner is in it.

The first team to finish all four quadrants and cross into the finish zone wins the race and gets 2 points. The other team gets 1 point if it finishes inside the time cap.

Race: Mirror5 of 14

Mirror uses six players and two barbells

Three women share one barbell and three men share another. The barbells run the length of the lane, with the women's bar toward the inside and the men's bar toward the outside, so the two groups face each other. Both groups carry their bars up to the next quadrant once both have finished their reps.

Neither barbell can touch the ground until the race is over. If one does, all six players have to run back to the start zone before they can pick it up again. Watch what happens in the away lane.

Race: Ringer Point6 of 14

A Ringer Point Race is one player against one player

Each team sends one specialist to race a skills test head to head, such as a handstand obstacle course.

The faster player sets the time cap: their time plus 20 percent. The winner gets 2 points. The other player gets 1 point by finishing inside that cap and 0 points by finishing after it.

Fan Ringer Point7 of 14

Fans pick one Ringer Point Race in each match

Each match has three Ringer Point Races. The home team picks one, the away team picks one, and fans vote online to choose the third from the four options left over.

The winning race stays secret until the announcer reveals it during the match.

Vote on the next match

Race: Echoes8 of 14

Echoes pair a man and a woman at each station

Echoes are two races run back to back. Men and women race together, but only one player works at a time, and men and women do a different movement at each station.

Stations can be barbells or the rig. At a barbell station, the women's bar sits closer to the inside of the lane and the men's bar closer to the outside, so the players usually face each other. Echo 2 starts 45 seconds after the second team finishes Echo 1.

Race: Strength Ladder9 of 14

The Strength Ladder is scored in points, not time

Each quadrant holds a women's barbell and a men's barbell, set parallel to the start line. A lift in quadrant 1 is worth 1 point and a lift in quadrant 4 is worth 4.

One player runs the ladder at a time, alternating between a man and a woman. Each player picks which bars to try and gets one attempt at each. The team with more total points wins.

Race: Jack and Jill10 of 14

Jack and Jill pairs one man and one woman in each lane

Jack and Jill is almost always on the rig. The pair shares the reps at each station however they choose, but only one of them can work at a time. The rep count drops at each station, such as 60, then 30, then 15, and the counter shows how the reps get split.

Either player can be swapped for a teammate of the same gender at any time.

Race: Sprint Relay11 of 14

The Sprint Relay is the last race and the most valuable

Eight players run it one at a time, 4 men and 4 women, one element each. After the last rep, the player runs back, touches the start zone with both hands and both feet, then sprints to the finish zone.

The next player cannot leave until the previous one reaches the finish zone. The winner gets 3 points, and the other team gets 1 point if it finishes inside the time cap.

Scoring12 of 14

Both teams score points in each race

A team that finishes second inside the time cap still earns a point, so a team can lose several races and still win the match. The team with the most points after the last race wins.

Each coach gets one white bonus flag per match. The coach throws it at least one minute before a race starts, and that race becomes worth 1 extra point. Coaches usually throw it on a race they expect their team to win, because the extra point goes to whichever team wins the race. A flagged race win is worth 3 points, or 4 in the Sprint Relay.

Each coach can throw the flag only once per match, and a thrown flag cannot be taken back.

A full match13 of 14

A match is 12 races

This is a sample match in race order. The scoreboard updates as each race finishes, and both coaches throw their bonus flags.

The movements change from match to match. Each match has a format that sets the elements, weights and reps for every race, and coaches plan their lineups around it.

Grid-LOCK14 of 14

A tied match goes to Grid-LOCK

When the score is tied after the Sprint Relay, the teams race a tiebreaker called Grid-LOCK. It uses the last 4 elements of the Sprint Relay, run by 2 men and 2 women, with a 2-minute time cap.

The Grid-LOCK winner takes the match, but no points are added. This sample match stays 19 to 19, and the home team gets the win.