The NATS will follow the IRF’s 2026 Rules:

• General:

  • Receiver’s teammate may move in a line during serve

  • Bigger Ball

• Serving:

  • 3 seconds on serve

  • No same-hand toss

  • Serves cannot land in the no-drop zone

  • Equal serving system for:

    • Open

    • Women’s

    • Squads

• Hitting:

  • Thee touches requred on first possession

  • NHZ size adjustments for:

    • Open 100cm

    • Women’s 100cm

    • Squads 100cm

  • Hits cannot land in the no-drop zone

  • Defined out-of-bounds size (boundary) 27.9ft / 8.5m

• Defense:

  • Continuous contact allowed on first touch (continuous motion)

  • Non-server free to move outside the service circle

While the flagship NATS events remain a primary space for celebrating high-level competition and community growth, they are not the only avenue for advancing the sport.

After a full year of testing in 2025, we recognize the significant time, effort, and coordination required to run meaningful experimentation. In alignment with the IRF’s shift from “Revolution to Evolution” in 2026, NATS will prioritize consistency at the top level while continuing to support innovation through a bottom-up approach.

Local groups and communities are encouraged to test ideas they are passionate about. Roundnet Canada and USA Roundnet will help share learnings from these tests with the broader international community for future consideration. Local experimentation is supported through community play and will also be permitted at NATS Local Sanctioned events, which do not impact the season-long points race for NATS Pro divisions.

This approach balances competitive consistency with the flexibility needed to continue pushing roundnet forward.

• All divisions at Sectionals & Majors are seeded using ELO-based team averages derived from individual player ELOs

• Pro divisions at the Championship will be seeded by series points, with ELO-based team averages being the tie-breaker

• Power Pools will NOT be used across any division

Saturday

• Open Divisions

  • Premier/Bronze+

  • Contender

    • All Contender Divisions require each player to meet the all-time ELO threshold (currently > 925.0)

    • Top 2 non-Premier teams earn Premier status for future events

  • Advanced

  • Intermediate

• Women’s Divisions

  • Advanced

  • Intermediate

Sunday

• No sanctioned events on Sundays at Sectionals

Saturday

Open Divisions

• Gold+

• Premier/Bronze+

• Contender

  • All Contender divisions require each player to meet the all-time ELO threshold (currently > 925.0)

  • Top 4 non-Premier teams earn Premier status for future events

• Advanced

• Intermediate

Women’s Divisions

• Bronze+

• Advanced/Intermediate

Sunday

Squad Divisions (6-8 players)

• Expert

  • Squad Size & Composition

    • Maximum of 2 Open Pro status players

    • Minimum of 2 Women’s players

    • Player Status is considered based on when you register. If an Open Silver player registers on a squad with two current Open Pro players but earns Pro status before this event, the roster is still considered valid.

    • Some examples of legal team configurations include:

    • 2 Open Pro, 2 Open Gold, 2 Women’s players

    • 2 Open Pro, 1 Open Gold, 1 Bronze, 2 Women’s players

    • 4 Open Bronze, 2 Women’s players

    • 2 Open Pro, 1 Open Gold, 2 Open Silver, 3 Women's Players

  • Roster Rules

    • Squads must have 4-5 Open Players and 2-3 Women’s players. A squad with 6, 7, or 8 players is subjected to the same player status limits.

  • Format

    • 3 nets will be played simultaneously during each round

    • More details to be announced soon

• Advanced/Intermediate

  • Squad Size & Composition

    • Maximum of 2 Open Silver status players

    • For each women on your squad, your team may add an additional Open Gold or Open Silver player (limit 2)

    • NO Open Pro status players can play in this division

    • Player Status is considered based on when you register. If an Open Bronze player registers on a squad with two current Open Silver players but earns Silver status before this event, the roster is still considered valid.

    • Some examples of legal team configurations include:

    • 2 Open Gold, 2 Open Silver, 2 Women’s players

    • 1 Open Gold, 2 Open Silver, 2 Open Contender, 1 Women’s Player

    • 2 Open Silver, 4 Open Unranked players

  • Roster Rules

    • Squads must have 4-5 Open Players and 2-3 Women’s players. A squad with 6, 7, or 8 players is subjected to the same player status limits.

  • Format

    • 3 nets will be played simultaneously during each round

    • More details to be announced soon

There is no requirement to play the NATS Championship with someone you competed with at a Sectional or Major. Championship teams are seeded purely based on combined individual player points. For example, if you played the entire season with one partner but they’re unable to attend the Championship, you may compete with a different partner and your team will be seeded using your combined individual points.

Friday

Open Pro Play-In

• Spots 13-20 in points compete for the remaining 4 spots in a best-of-3 series

• The losing 4 teams are seeded as the top 4 in the Gold+ division for the Saturday event

• Format:

  • 13 vs 20

  • 14 vs 19

  • 15 vs 18

  • 16 vs 17

Saturday

Open Divisions

• Pro (16 Teams)

  • Top 12 teams in combined individual points

  • +4 Play-In teams

• Gold+

• Premier/Bronze+

• Contender

  • All Contender divisions require each player to meet the all-time ELO threshold (currently > 925.0)

  • Top 6 non-Premier teams earn Premier status for 2027

• Advanced

• Intermediate

Women’s Divisions

• Pro (16 Teams)

  • Top 16 teams in combined individual points

  • NO Play-In

• Bronze+

• Advanced/Intermediate

Sunday

Squad Divisions (6-8 players)

• Pro (8 Squads)

  • Top 8 squads in combined individual squad points

  • Squad Size & Composition

    • Maximum of 2 Open Pro status players

    • Minimum of 2 Women’s players

    • Player Status is considered based on when you register. If an Open Silver player registers on a squad with two current Open Pro players but earns Pro status before this event, the roster is still considered valid.

    • Some examples of legal team configurations include:

    • 2 Open Pro, 2 Open Gold, 2 Women’s players

    • 2 Open Pro, 1 Open Gold, 1 Bronze, 2 Women’s players

    • 4 Open Bronze, 2 Women’s players

    • 2 Open Pro, 1 Open Gold, 2 Open Silver, 3 Women's Players

  • Roster Rules

    • Squads must have 4-5 Open Players and 2-3 Women’s players. A squad with 6, 7, or 8 players is subjected to the same player status limits.

  • Format

    • 3 nets will be played simultaneously during each round

    • More details to be announced soon

• Expert

  • Squad Size & Composition

    • Maximum of 2 Open Pro status players

    • Minimum of 2 Women’s players

    • Player Status is considered based on when you register. If an Open Silver player registers on a squad with two current Open Pro players but earns Pro status before this event, the roster is still considered valid.

    • Some examples of legal team configurations include:

    • 2 Open Pro, 2 Open Gold, 2 Women’s players

    • 2 Open Pro, 1 Open Gold, 1 Bronze, 2 Women’s players

    • 4 Open Bronze, 2 Women’s players

    • 2 Open Pro, 1 Open Gold, 2 Open Silver, 3 Women's Players

  • Roster Rules

    • Squads must have 4-5 Open Players and 2-3 Women’s players. A squad with 6, 7, or 8 players is subjected to the same player status limits.

  • Format

    • 3 nets will be played simultaneously during each round

    • More details to be announced soon

• Advanced/Intermediate

  • Squad Size & Composition

    • Maximum of 2 Open Silver status players

    • For each women on your squad, your team may add an additional Open Gold or Open Silver player (limit 2)

    • NO Open Pro status players can play in this division

    • Player Status is considered based on when you register. If an Open Bronze player registers on a squad with two current Open Silver players but earns Silver status before this event, the roster is still considered valid.

    • Some examples of legal team configurations include:

    • 2 Open Gold, 2 Open Silver, 2 Women’s players

    • 1 Open Gold, 2 Open Silver, 2 Open Contender, 1 Women’s Player

    • 2 Open Silver, 4 Open Unranked players

  • Roster Rules

    • Squads must have 4-5 Open Players and 2-3 Women’s players. A squad with 6, 7, or 8 players is subjected to the same player status limits.

  • Format

    • 3 nets will be played simultaneously during each round

    • More details to be announced soon

There is no requirement to play the NATS Championship with someone you competed with at a Sectional or Major. Championship teams are seeded purely based on combined individual player points. For example, if you played the entire season with one partner but they’re unable to attend the Championship, you may compete with a different partner and your team will be seeded using your combined individual points.

Open Pro (16 Teams)

• Points-Based Entry

  • Top 12 teams by combined individual player points auto-qualify

    • Tiebreaker will be ELO-based team averages

  • Each player’s individual points are a sum of their top 3 NATS results

    • A maximum of 2 Major results may count toward an individual players’ total (to prevent qualification based soley on Major Attendance)

• Pro Play-In

  • Teams ranked 13-20 will compete for the 4 remaining spots on Friday

    • Tiebreaker will be ELO-based team averages

  • Winners advance to Pro; losers are placed as the top 4 seeds in Gold+ on Saturday

    • If a team loses the Pro Play-In they will be placed into Gold+ regardless of individual Gold status. The scenario is rare but possible, for example if a high-point player teams with a lower-status parter for the Championship.

• Auto-Bids

  • Major 1st → Team auto-qualifies into top 12 and avoids Play-In

  • Major 2nd or 3rd → Teams auto-qualify into Top 20 Play-In

  • Note: Auto-Bids guarantee placement within the stated range regardless of overall point totals

• Seeding

  • Via combined individual player points, with ELO-based team averages being the tie-breaker

Women’s Pro (16 Teams)

• Points-Based Entry

  • Top 16 teams by combined individual player points auto-qualify

    • Tiebreaker will be ELO-based team averages

  • Each player’s individual points are a sum of their top 3 NATS results

    • A maximum of 2 Major results may count toward an individual players’ total (to prevent qualification based soley on Major Attendance)

  • NO Friday Play-In

• Auto-Bids

  • Major Top 3 → Teams auto-qualify into Pro

  • Note: Auto-Bids guarantee placement within the stated range regardless of overall point totals

• Seeding

  • Via combined individual player points, with ELO-based team averages being the tie-breaker

Squads Pro (8 Squads)

• Points-Based Entry

  • Top 8 squads by combined squad player points

    • Separate points leaderboard taken directly from the 3 Majors

    • Players must complete in at least 1 Major Squad Event to be eligible for Squads Pro

  • Only the top 1 result counts towards an individual’s player points

  • NO Auto-Bids will be given

• Seeding

  • Via combined squad player points, with ELO-based team averages being the tie-breaker

Purpose

• Determines qualification for Open Pro, Women’s Pro, and Squads Pro at the NATS Championship

• Open and Women’s points are earned on Saturday at:

  • 3 Majors

  • 8 Sectionals

  • These points feed into seeding and ranking for Saturday at the NATS Championship

• A separate points system exists for Sunday squad divisions at the 3 Majors

  • These points feed into seeding and ranking for Sunday at the NATS Championship

How Points Are Awarded

• Teams earn points based on final finish position in respective open, women’s, and squad divisions

  • Open Example: If the top division of a Sectional has 20 Bronze+ teams, the winner of the Contender division will be awarded 21st Place in Open Pro points

• Points are awarded individually to each player on the team based on team finish

  • Open/Women’s Example:

    • Major win = 500 points → 500 points per player

  • Squads Example:

    • Major win = 500 points → 500 points per player on the squad

• In order for an Open/Women’s division to earn points on Saturday events, it must have a minimum of 6 teams.

  • Open/Women’s Example:

    • If Advanced has only 5 teams, they can decide between:

    • A: playing amongst each-other without the opportunity to earn points

    • B: merging into the Intermediate division

• In order for a Squad division to earn points on Sunday events, it must have a minimum of 4 squads.

Counting Scores Toward Season Total

• Open & Women’s:

  • After 11 total events (3 Majors + 8 Sectionals)

  • Each player’s top 3 results counts toward their individual total

    • A maximum of 2 Major results may count toward an individual players’ total (to prevent Pro Division qualification based solely on Major attendance)

• Squads:

  • After 3 total events (3 Majors)

  • Each player’s top 1 result counts toward their individual total for the Championship

*See below for full points table: