01 The League

The Box League is the UK’s first structured competitive functional fitness league. The league is designed to grow organically — new divisions and regions are added as the sport and participation grows.

Workouts are programmed independently by The Box League (or a sub-contracted programming team) to ensure impartiality across all divisions. The programming team is selected in part for their standing in the UK functional fitness community, to promote the league and maintain high standards.

The Trial Season (September–October 2026) is based in the Home Counties and is designed to test the coordination model before the full national Season 1 launches in April 2027.

02 Teams

Team Composition

• Each team consists of 6 registered athletes — 3 male and 3 female.
• One athlete registers as the team captain and is responsible for managing the squad.
• Teams must be registered with a home gym. The home gym owner must authorise all team members before they can compete.
• Athletes do not need to be a paid member of their home gym — the gym owner decides who to authorise.

Team Name

The team name is decided jointly by the team at the point of registration. Team names must be appropriate and inoffensive. The Box League reserves the right to request a name change.

Home Gym

Each team’s home gym is selected during registration. The home gym is where the team hosts their home fixtures. All team members must be authorised by the home gym owner — both members and non-members of the gym.

Captain’s Responsibilities

• The captain is the primary point of contact between the team and The Box League.
• The captain is responsible for collecting the team’s fees and making payment to The Box League.
• The captain is responsible for team selection for fixture day, including any substitutions if necessary.
• The captain is responsible for raising any judging appeals on behalf of the team.

03 Divisions

Teams are placed into divisions based on their combined ranking. Each division consists of 8 teams. From Season 1 onwards, The Box League comprises 4 divisions:

• RX+ — Elite division. Top tier of The Box League pyramid.
• RX — Advanced division. Experienced competitive athletes.
• Intermediate — Developing division. Athletes building competition experience.
• Scaled — Entry level. All athletes welcome. Modified movement standards may apply.

For the Trial Season, divisions are merged into 2 groupings: RX+ and RX combine, and Intermediate and Scaled combine. This reflects the smaller number of teams competing in the Trial Season. From Season 1 onwards, all 4 divisions run separately.

As The Box League grows in popularity and geography, new divisions and regional tiers will be added, creating a pathway from grassroots to elite competition across the UK.

04 Fixture Format

Overview

• Fixtures are held on Saturdays at the home team’s gym.
• Each fixture lasts 1.5 hours, including warm up and cool down.
• Each fixture comprises 3 workouts, each between 0 and 30 minutes in length. The combination of workouts is programmed to fit within the 1.5 hour window.
• Workouts cover the 3 main disciplines of functional fitness: Weightlifting, Gymnastics, and Cardiovascular Endurance.

Athlete Participation Per Workout

• Each workout is performed by 2 female and 2 male athletes.
• 1 female and 1 male athlete rests per workout — these resting athletes fulfil the judging roles.
• The team decides which athletes compete in each workout based on individual strengths and weaknesses.
• The same 4 athletes may complete all 3 workouts if the team chooses, rather than using a resting athlete. Teams should be mindful that competing athletes will accumulate fatigue across the fixture.

Minimum Athlete Requirements

• A team can compete in a fixture with a minimum of 4 athletes (2 male + 2 female).
• A team turning up with only 4 athletes must bring at least 1 supporter to act as judge.
• If a team arrives at a fixture, or finds itself at any point during a fixture, with fewer than 2 female or 2 male registered athletes available to compete, they may still take part in workouts for the purposes of participation, but their scores do not count and each such workout is forfeited, with the opposing team awarded a bonus point win. If a missing athlete arrives and the team reaches the 2F + 2M minimum, the team’s scores count again from that point onwards for any remaining workouts — there is no retroactive credit for workouts already forfeited while short of the minimum. Whether a late-arriving athlete is fit to compete remains subject to the host gym owner or coach’s authority over health and safety and fixture management (see Section 7) — for example, where joining a workout without an adequate warm up would present a health and safety concern.

Fixture Rotation

To ensure gyms are consistently busy on weekend time slots, fixtures follow a rotating schedule:

• Weekend 1: RX+ and RX divisions.
• Weekend 2: Intermediate and Scaled divisions.
• The rotation continues alternately throughout the season.

With 8 teams per division competing in a full home and away format, Season 1 comprises 14 fixtures per team. The Trial Season comprises 4 fixtures per team.

Programming

All workouts are programmed by an experienced third-party programming team established within the functional fitness community. Programming is designed to be fair, appropriately scaled, and suitable for competition use.

• The full programming pack — fixture timings, workouts, movement standards, and scoresheets — is issued by email on the Friday 8 days before fixture weekend for RX+ and RX divisions, and on the Friday 15 days before fixture weekend for Intermediate and Scaled divisions.
• Gym owners are requested to deliver the prescribed programming as written wherever possible.
• Where a gym does not have the space or equipment to run a workout as prescribed, or otherwise needs to adapt it, this is permitted provided the main stimulus of the workout is preserved and conditions remain equal for both competing teams.
• If a gym owner is unsure whether a planned adaptation preserves the stimulus or keeps conditions fair, they should contact hello@theboxleague.co.uk in advance of the fixture.

05 Scoring System

Points Per Fixture

Points are awarded based on how many of the 3 workouts a team wins within a fixture. There are no draws — tie-break times are used to determine the winner of any workout where scores are equal.

Tie-Break Times

Where two teams achieve the same score in a workout (e.g. same number of reps, same weight, same distance), the workout winner is determined by tie-break time — the time at which the tied score was reached. The team that reached the score first wins the workout.

Season Tiebreakers

If two or more teams are level on points at the end of the season, the following tiebreakers apply in order:

06 Attendance & Lateness

Late Athletes

If an athlete arrives late to a fixture, it is at the sole discretion of the home gym owner or coach whether the athlete may join in with workouts starting later in the fixture.

Team No-Show or Insufficient Athletes

• If a team fails to show up for their fixture, or arrives too late for the fixture to continue, they forfeit the entire fixture. The opposing team is awarded a fixture win and a bonus point win.
• If a team arrives with fewer than 2 female or 2 male registered athletes for a workout, they forfeit that workout. The fixture continues for remaining workouts if minimum numbers can be met (e.g. if an athlete arrives before the second workout starts and the team now fulfils the 2F + 2M).

Supporters

A team turning up with only 4 athletes (the minimum) must bring at least 1 supporter to fulfil the judging role. A second supporter may optionally attend to monitor opposition judging — this is not compulsory.

07 Judging

Who Judges

• Of the resting athletes per workout (1 female + 1 male), one is responsible for judging their own team and the other is responsible for monitoring the opposition’s judging.
• Supporters may also fulfil the judging or monitoring role in place of resting athletes.
• The judge (resting athlete or supporter of the same team) is solely responsible for judging — their word is final.

Role of the Host Gym Coach

The host gym owner or coach may encourage good movement standards during a fixture. However, they are not the judge and do not have the authority to overrule a judge’s decision during a workout. Their authority relates to H&S, timing, equipment, and overall fixture management.

Opposition Monitoring

The opposition’s resting athlete or supporter assigned to monitor judging may help to raise an appeal if they believe judging has been carried out poorly, by flagging the concern to their team captain. The team captain formally raises the appeal. Appeals are handled after the fixture — see Section 9.

Video Recording

• Every team must film each of their workouts from start to finish. Cameras should be positioned at approximately knee to hip height, allowing judges to clearly assess whether proper depth (e.g. squat depth) has been achieved. This guidance is included with the programming pack issued ahead of each fixture weekend (see Section 4 — Programming). Two cameras may be used if necessary to suit the available gym space, which also provides a backup should one camera experience technical issues.

08 Movement Standards

Movement standards for The Box League fixtures mirror functional fitness movement standards. Athletes, coaches, and judges will already be familiar with these standards from functional fitness training and competition.

Standards are consistent within each division. Lower divisions may have modified standards to reflect the ability level of competing athletes — for example, reduced squat depth requirements in the Scaled division.

During Fixtures

Strict movement standards apply during fixtures, as individual workout wins directly affect league points. A judge may award a “no rep” where an athlete fails to meet the required movement standard for a repetition. The judge’s decision is final.

09 Appeals

Free Appeal Allocation

• For the Trial Season, each team is allocated 2 free appeals. From Season 1 onwards, each team is allocated 6 free appeals per season. Appeals reset at the start of each new season.
• 1 appeal = 1 workout only — not 1 fixture. A team may submit multiple appeals from the same fixture if required, each consuming one appeal.
• Additional appeals beyond the free allocation can be purchased at £30 per appeal (£5 per athlete per team) via the team dashboard.

Appeal Timeline

• Appeal Stage 1 — 1pm Sunday → 1pm Monday: The appealing team logs their appeal on The Box League platform against the specific workout and fixture, with a written reason.
• Appeal Stage 2 — 1pm Monday → 1pm Tuesday: The opposing team is notified and has until 1pm Tuesday to submit their workout video via the platform and raise a counter appeal if they choose.
• Appeal Stage 3 — 1pm Tuesday → 1pm Wednesday (if applicable): If a counter appeal is raised, the original appealing team has until 1pm Wednesday to submit their own workout video.
• Within 1 week of fixture: A review is completed and the result communicated. The Box League aims to complete reviews before the next fixture so both teams know their current points and remaining appeals.

How to Appeal

Appeals are logged via The Box League platform. Each appeal is submitted against a specific workout within a specific fixture and must include a written explanation. Videos are uploaded via the platform or via a provided link. Counter appeals are submitted through the same system.

Results are communicated simultaneously to both team captains via email and updated in the platform dashboard.

Appeal Outcomes

• Every appeal raised uses one of the team’s appeal allocation, regardless of outcome.
• Unsuccessful appeal: The opposing team’s score stands.
• Successful appeal: The offending team’s score is corrected and the result updated.
• If a successful appeal changes the workout winner, the offending team also loses one of their own appeals as a penalty. If the offending team has no appeals remaining, they instead lose 1 league point.

Inconclusive Footage

If footage is submitted in good faith but the camera angle makes the appeal genuinely unresolvable, The Box League will treat the outcome as inconclusive — the score stands as originally submitted. In this case, the appeal is returned to the submitting team’s allocation and does not count as used. The team did everything required of them — filming, submitting, appealing correctly — and should not be penalised for an outcome beyond their control. The video recording guidance in Section 7 exists to minimise this scenario.

Where footage is missing or unusable because a camera stopped recording, ran out of battery, was knocked over, or the footage was corrupted, this is the responsibility of the filming team and is not treated as inconclusive footage. In these circumstances, the on-the-day judge’s decision is final.

Deliberate tampering with the opposition’s camera or filming equipment is treated as a breach of the Code of Conduct (see Section 19) and will be investigated as a disciplinary matter, separately from the workout result itself.

10 Substitutions

A substitution is the temporary replacement of a registered team member by another athlete for one or more fixtures. Substitutions are permitted within the same team and do not count as team transfers. An athlete may be substituted in and out of the same team multiple times within a season without restriction, provided all eligibility and deadline requirements are met.

Injury During a Fixture

There are no mid-fixture substitutions. A team competes with the 6 athletes present on the day. Once the 4 athletes for a workout have been selected, those 4 athletes must complete that workout — there is no swapping between working and resting athletes mid-workout. Allowing a fresh athlete to replace a tiring one mid-workout would create an unfair competitive advantage.

If an athlete is injured mid-workout, their team concedes that workout. The opposing team continues to complete the workout and their score stands. The injured athlete is benched for the remainder of the fixture. The team continues with their remaining athletes for subsequent workouts, subject to the minimum 2F + 2M requirement set out in Section 4.

Substitution Eligibility

• Substitute athletes must be registered to The Box League and to the team they wish to substitute in for. Substitutes must not be registered to another team.
• To prevent unfair advantage, a substitute athlete’s individual ranking must not exceed the division ranking cap notified to all teams at the start of the season. This cap applies division-wide.

Substitution Process

• The incoming athlete registers on The Box League platform, completing all required documentation including the Athlete Waiver, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and ability stats.
• The home gym owner of the gym the athlete is registered to approves the substitution via the platform. Once approved, the athlete is deemed accepted for any fixture for the remainder of the season — this approval step does not need to be repeated.
• The team captain submits the substitution request on the platform, naming the incoming athlete and declaring the number of fixtures the substitution applies to.
• The Box League calculates any top-up fee based on the number of declared fixtures and the applicable bolt-on rate. The captain is notified of any top-up payment required and makes payment within 48 hours. The substitution is not confirmed until payment is received and the Wednesday deadline has not passed.
• For each fixture the substitute plays, the captain confirms via the platform that the substitute is included in the matchday 6, so the host gym can verify eligibility and payment on fixture day.

Financial Arrangements

Season fees for each team are paid as a single upfront payment by the team captain at the start of the season, covering all registered athletes for the full fixture schedule. Where a substitution changes the membership status of an athlete slot, the following applies:

• Non-member replacing a member: a top-up is payable by the captain, calculated as the difference between the member and non-member bolt-on rates multiplied by the number of declared fixtures (e.g. if the member rate is £8 and the non-member rate is £12, the top-up is £4 per declared fixture). The Box League only ever collects the rate differential — not the full bolt-on fee.
• Member replacing a non-member: the overpaid bolt-on difference for the remaining declared fixtures is held as a credit on the team’s account. This credit may be applied to any future non-member substitution within that season. If unused at season end, the credit is retained by The Box League in accordance with the no refunds policy.
• Member replacing a member: no top-up or credit applies.
• Non-member replacing a non-member: no top-up or credit applies — the slot was already paid at the non-member rate for the season.

If a substitute is used for more fixtures than originally declared, a further top-up covering the additional fixtures is payable before those fixtures take place. If a substitute is used for fewer fixtures than declared, the overpaid difference is held as credit — no refund is issued.

Any financial settlement between an outgoing athlete and an incoming substitute in respect of remaining fixture fees — for example, where a departing member asks an incoming non-member to contribute their £8 member rate — is a private arrangement between those individuals. The Box League does not facilitate or arbitrate such arrangements.

11 Ranking

Ranking Format

• Athletes complete 3 individual ranking workouts, one per discipline: Weightlifting, Gymnastics, and Cardiovascular Endurance.
• Workouts are performed and scored as an individual — not as a team.
• Athletes may reattempt each ranking workout as many times as they wish but may only submit one score per workout.

Ranking & Division Placement

• Each athlete receives an individual ranking based on their 3 submitted ranking scores.
• A team’s ranking is the combined sum of all 6 athletes’ individual ranking scores.
• Team rankings determine division placement. Teams are placed to compete against others of equal or similar ability.
• Once all 6 team members are registered, gym-authorised, and have verified ranking scores, division placement is automatic.

Ability Stats — Collected at Registration

All athletes submit their ability stats as part of the registration process, regardless of which pathway they use. Stats cover three categories:

• Cardio: 2km Row Time
• Lifting: Snatch 1RM, Clean & Jerk 1RM, Deadlift 1RM (all in kg)
• Unbroken Skills — tick all that apply: Jumping Pull-Ups, Pull-Ups, Chest to Bar Pull-Ups, Bar Muscle-Ups, Ring Muscle-Ups, Handstand Push-Ups, Strict Handstand Push-Ups, Handstand Walks, Double Unders

Score Verification — Gym Members

• For athletes who are members of an affiliated gym, the gym owner verifies ranking workouts as part of the standard athlete authorisation — no separate step required. Authorisation and stat verification happen in one action.
• Gyms are encouraged to programme ranking workouts into their regular class timetable so athletes can complete them in a normal session before registering.

Score Verification — Non-Members Joining a Specific Team

• Non-members joining a specific gym or team are encouraged to complete their ranking workouts at their intended home gym. The home gym owner verifies the scores — this also gives the athlete a natural opportunity to meet the team before the season begins.
• Alternatively, non-members may submit a video of each ranking workout for The Box League review at a fee of £15. Verification confirmed within 5 business days.

Ongoing Registration

Registration and ranking remain open throughout the entire season, allowing athletes to join the league as substitutes at any point. Any registered athlete with a verified ranking score has an official ranking, making substitution eligibility checks straightforward.

12a Gym Responsibilities

The host gym owner or coach is responsible for the full management of each fixture hosted at their venue. The following sets out the specific responsibilities at each stage of fixture day.

Step 1 — Welcome

Gather all athletes together at the start of the fixture to take an attendance register and prepare for the briefing. Ensure the gym space is ready and equipment is in place before athletes arrive.

Step 2 — Register

Verify that each athlete present is who they say they are. Confirm that every athlete has completed The Box League registration, signed the Athlete Waiver, agreed to the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Code of Conduct. For substituted athletes, verify their eligibility against The Box League registration records, waivers, and division ranking limits. The gym owner or coach may request proof of identity — such as a driving licence or passport — where there is any doubt about an athlete’s identity. Athletes who cannot be verified must not be permitted to compete.

Step 3 — Briefing

Deliver a clear briefing to both teams covering all of the following:

• The sequencing of workouts and the timing of the fixture as provided by The Box League
• The time allocated before each workout for warm up and equipment reconfiguration
• Movement standards for each workout — reinforcing correct technique and the judging standard that will apply
• A check for any injuries or reasons why an athlete may not be able to safely participate in a workout
• Any gym-specific house rules that athletes and spectators must observe during the fixture

Note: The gym owner or coach is not the judge and cannot overrule judging decisions during workouts.

Step 4 — Time Management

Following the briefing, the gym owner or coach is responsible for time management only, in accordance with the fixture format provided by The Box League. This includes managing the time allocated for warm up, each workout, transition and equipment reconfiguration periods between workouts, and warm down. It is each athlete’s responsibility to be ready to begin at the start of each workout period. The gym owner or coach does not lead the warm up or warm down — they monitor health and safety during these periods and are available to provide first aid if required. A qualified first aider must be present and a stocked first aid kit must be available for the duration of every fixture.

Step 5 — Score Submission

At the end of each workout, record the scores for both teams on The Box League scoresheet. At the conclusion of the fixture, both team captains must sign the completed scoresheet. The gym owner or coach photographs the signed scoresheet and uploads the photograph to The Box League platform as part of score submission. Six photographs are required in total — one per workout per team (3 workouts × 2 teams). The Box League reviews the uploaded photographs to confirm scores are accurately recorded. Scores must be submitted within Window 1 (1pm Saturday to 1pm Sunday). Failure to submit within this window will result in the penalties set out in Section 12b.

Step 6 — Conclude the Fixture

Once the time allowance for the warm down has elapsed, thank both teams for attending and formally bring the fixture to a close. Ensure both captains have signed the scoresheet before any athletes leave the venue.

12b Score Submission & Confirmation

The Scoresheet

• At the end of every fixture, a The Box League scoresheet must be completed recording the result of each workout for both teams.
• Both team captains must sign the scoresheet before leaving the venue. The signed scoresheet is the ground truth for all score submissions and disputes.
• The gym owner photographs the signed scoresheet and uploads it to the platform as part of score submission.

Fixed Submission Windows

All score submission windows operate on fixed 24-hour blocks from the fixture start time (assumed 1pm Saturday unless otherwise confirmed):

• Window 1 — Gym Owner Submission: 1pm Saturday → 1pm Sunday. The gym owner photographs both captains’ signed scoresheets and uploads them to the platform. The Box League reviews the photos to confirm scores are accurately recorded.
• Window 2 — Captain Appeal Window: 1pm Sunday → 1pm Monday. Both captains may raise an appeal against the submitted scores. If no appeal is raised, scores lock automatically at 1pm Monday.

Appeal Types

• Typo appeal: The opposing captain believes a score was entered incorrectly on the platform. The Box League reviews against the uploaded scoresheet photographs and corrects if necessary.
• Judging dispute: The opposing captain believes the opposing team’s judging was unfair during a workout. This appeal skips the gym owner and goes directly to The Box League for review with footage. See Section 9 for the full appeals process.

Late Gym Owner Submission

• If scores are not submitted by the end of Window 1, The Box League sends an urgent email immediately and follows up with a phone call on Monday morning.
• The captain appeal window (Window 2) begins from the point the gym owner actually submits — both captains retain their full 24-hour appeal window regardless of when submission occurs.
• First offence: Formal written warning issued via the platform.
• Second offence: £30 fine deducted from the gym owner’s hosting fee payment for that fixture.
• Persistent failure may result in a review of the gym’s hosting rights for the remainder of the season.

13 Cancellations & Penalties

Late Opening / Late Coach

• If a hosting gym opens late or the coach arrives late, the gym must continue to host as much of the fixture as possible in the remaining time.
• If insufficient time remains to complete a workout, the workout win is awarded to the away team. No fee reimbursement applies in this scenario.

Cancellation Within 48 Hours (Non-Exceptional)

• If a gym cancels a fixture within 48 hours of the scheduled start time, and the cancellation is not due to exceptional circumstances:
• The gym will not be paid their hosting fee for the fixture.
• Athletes will be reimbursed their fixture fees.
• The away team will be awarded a bonus point win for the fixture.

Failure to Reschedule

The same outcome (no gym fee, athlete reimbursement, away team bonus point win) applies if a gym:

• Fails to host a fixture through no fault of the athletes and is unable to reschedule, or
• Refuses to reschedule a cancelled fixture.

Exceptional Circumstances

If a cancellation is due to unexpected circumstances beyond the gym’s control — including extreme weather, fire, flooding, or other force majeure events — the fixture may be rescheduled to a mutually suitable date. No penalty applies in this scenario.

Gym Permanently Closes Mid-Season

• If a gym permanently closes during the season and the division reduces to 7 teams:
• All remaining 7 teams are refunded the fixture fee for the fixtures they were due to play against that gym.
• All scores from fixtures already played against the now-closed gym are deleted from the standings.
• If the affected team is able to find a new home gym to continue hosting their fixtures, the team may remain in the division and scores are preserved.

14 Fees

Away Fixture Fee

Away athletes pay a nationally standardised away fixture fee equivalent to a discounted drop-in rate. This is currently set at £12 per athlete per away fixture — subject to revision as a national baseline is established.

This fee is collected by The Box League acting as agent on behalf of the host gym owner. It is not The Box League’s income. It is held by The Box League and distributed to the host gym owner following each fixture. The national rate of £12 is set by The Box League to ensure consistency and fairness across all clusters — a Home Counties team pitted against a London team pays the same away fee regardless of the London gym’s typical drop-in rate.

Home Fixture Fee (Gym Discretion)

Gym owners may charge their home athletes an additional bolt-on fee for hosting fixtures. This is entirely at the gym owner’s discretion — only they know their true running costs and what their athletes can afford. This fee is collected by The Box League acting as agent on behalf of the gym owner and distributed to them in accordance with the hosting fee payment schedule.

• Gym owners do not have to charge a home bolt-on fee if they feel membership costs already cover the service.
• Non-member home team athletes may be charged an additional fee at the gym owner’s discretion.
• All athletes who are members of the same gym pay the same home rate, regardless of their ability or division allocation.

The Box League Administration Fee

Athletes who register at the start of the season pay a £50 administration fee directly to The Box League per season — £300 per team of 6. This fee covers the full season for the registered team, including league management, workout programming, platform operation, and administration. It is non-refundable once the season has commenced. This is The Box League’s own fee — distinct from the away fixture fee and home bolt-on fee which are collected as agent on behalf of gym owners.

The £50 administration fee does not apply to substitute athletes. The fee is already covered by the team’s original season registration. Substitutes are only subject to any applicable bolt-on top-up fees as set out in Section 10.

Additional Appeals

For the Trial Season, each team receives 2 free appeals. From Season 1 onwards, each team receives 6 free appeals per season. Additional appeals can be purchased at £30 per appeal (£5 per athlete per team) via the team dashboard.

15 Media & Content

• All athletes must film each of their workouts in full (start to finish) for potential appeal review purposes.
• By registering for The Box League, each athlete waives the right to object to being filmed during fixtures and ranking, and consents to The Box League using footage as social media content.
• Any unkind behaviour or negative abuse of media content — whether by athletes, teams, gym owners, or supporters — will be investigated by The Box League. Disciplinary sanctions, up to and including disqualification from the league, will be issued.

16 Liability

The Box League takes no liability for consequential losses incurred by athletes, teams, or gym owners as a result of fixture cancellations, rescheduling, or any other circumstances arising from participation in the league. This includes, but is not limited to, loss of travel costs to away fixtures.

Athletes participate in The Box League at their own risk. All athletes are required to sign the necessary waivers prior to competing. Gym owners are responsible for ensuring their venue meets all relevant health and safety requirements for each fixture hosted.

17 Season Calendar

18 Gym Owner Responsibilities & Conduct

18.1 Deputy Contact

Every affiliated gym must nominate a deputy contact — a coach or manager with full platform access — who can act in the primary owner’s absence. This is mandatory and must be completed during gym registration. If the primary owner is unavailable on fixture day, the deputy assumes full responsibility for fixture management and score submission.

18.2 Score Submission

Score submission windows, deadlines, and late submission penalties are set out in full in Section 12b. Persistent failure to submit scores on time may result in a review of the gym’s hosting rights for the remainder of the season.

18.3 Equipment Confirmation

The programming pack is published by The Box League on the Friday 8 days before fixture weekend for RX+ and RX divisions, and on the Friday 15 days before fixture weekend for Intermediate and Scaled divisions (see Section 4 — Programming). Gym owners must confirm via the platform that they have all required equipment within 72 hours of the programming pack being published.

18.4 Cancellation Policy

Cancellations must be logged on the platform and emailed to hello@theboxleague.co.uk. Cancellation by text, email, or phone call to the away team captain alone is not sufficient and does not constitute a valid cancellation notice. Cancellations within 48 hours of the fixture start time that are not due to exceptional circumstances result in: the gym’s hosting fee being withheld, away athletes being reimbursed, and the away team being awarded a bonus point win.

18.5 Exceptional Circumstances — Definition

Exceptional circumstances are defined as events that are sudden, unforeseeable, and entirely outside the gym owner’s control. These include: fire, flood, severe structural damage to the venue, extreme weather making the venue unsafe or inaccessible, a government-mandated closure, or a serious medical emergency involving the gym owner personally where no deputy is available. The following are explicitly NOT considered exceptional circumstances: coach sickness where a deputy or standby coach could cover, low athlete turnout, equipment failure that could have been identified in advance during the equipment confirmation step, a gym owner double-booking the venue, or personal scheduling conflicts. The Box League has final say on whether a cancellation qualifies as exceptional.

18.6 Conduct During Fixtures

The gym owner or coach manages the fixture in a neutral capacity. They are not the judge and cannot overrule judging decisions during a workout. Their authority is limited to health and safety, timing, equipment management, fixture briefings, and score submission. Active interference in judging decisions — particularly in favour of their own team — constitutes misconduct. If confirmed via video review, a £30 misconduct fee is deducted from the gym owner’s hosting payment and the affected team’s appeal is reinstated at no cost to them.

18.7 Right to Abandon a Fixture

The gym owner has the right to abandon a fixture at any point if behaviour from either team — athletes, captains, or supporters — breaches the gym’s house rules or The Box League’s code of conduct. Grounds for abandonment include but are not limited to: physical aggression or fighting, verbal abuse directed at any person present, deliberate damage to gym property or equipment, or any behaviour that compromises the safety of anyone on the premises. Where necessary, emergency services must be contacted before any platform notification.

Upon abandonment the gym owner must immediately log the incident on the platform with a full written account. No points are awarded to either team pending investigation. The gym owner’s hosting fee is put on pause. All available footage must be submitted to The Box League. The Box League investigates within 5 business days and determines: which party was responsible, whether points should be awarded, reinstated, or permanently voided, whether the hosting fee is paid or withheld, and what disciplinary sanctions apply. If the gym owner is found to have abandoned the fixture without sufficient grounds, the fixture is replayed and the hosting fee paid in full.

18.8 Fee Management

All athlete fees are collected upfront by The Box League at the point of registration. Gym owners set their member and non-member bolt-on fees during registration. These fees are locked for the season — they cannot be changed once athletes have registered and paid. Any fee changes take effect from the following season only. The Box League distributes hosting fees to gym owners on a per-fixture basis following confirmed score submission. Gym owners never collect fees directly from athletes on fixture day.

18.9 Dashboard Obligations

Gym owners are expected to check their dashboard regularly throughout the season. Athlete approval requests must be actioned as soon as possible. Persistent failure to action approvals may leave teams incomplete and unable to compete — The Box League will alert the gym owner and escalate to manual resolution if required.

18.10 Mid-Season Withdrawal

If a gym owner withdraws from the league mid-season without exceptional circumstances: all outstanding hosting fees not yet distributed are permanently withheld by The Box League. No financial penalty beyond the withheld fees is applied. Teams registered at the withdrawing gym are given the opportunity to find a new home gym. If a new home gym is found, team records stand. If not, the permanently closed gym rules apply — remaining teams are refunded affected fixture fees and scores against the withdrawn team are deleted from the standings. A disputed score or appeal outcome is never considered grounds for mid-season withdrawal — the appeals process exists for this purpose. A gym owner who withdraws mid-season without exceptional circumstances will be liable to suspension from The Box League.

19 Athlete Responsibilities & Conduct

19.1 Waiver

All athletes must sign The Box League Athlete Waiver digitally during registration. The waiver must be completed before the gym owner can authorise the athlete. No waiver, no authorisation, no competition. The waiver resets and must be re-signed at the start of each new season.

19.2 Fee Payment

All season fees — away fixture fees, home bolt-on fees, and the £50 The Box League administration fee — are paid in full at the point of completing registration. The £50 administration fee is non-refundable once the season begins. Away fixture fees for cancelled fixtures are refunded by The Box League within 5 business days where applicable. Substitute athletes do not pay the £50 administration fee — this is already covered by the team’s original season registration. Substitutes are only subject to any applicable bolt-on top-up fees as set out in Section 10.

19.3 Team Transfer

Athletes may request a transfer to a new team once per season. A transfer request is submitted via the platform. The original team captain has 72 hours to respond. If no response is received within 72 hours, The Box League grants the release automatically — a captain cannot indefinitely block an athlete’s transfer request. Once released, the athlete returns to free agent status and may join a new team subject to the normal registration and authorisation process. A second transfer request in the same season is automatically rejected. The transfer limit resets each new season. An athlete’s ranking is attached to them personally and carries to their new team.

19.4 Filming Obligations

Every team must film each of their workouts in full, from start to finish. Camera positioning guidance is set out in Section 7 — Video Recording, and is included with the programming pack issued ahead of each fixture weekend (see Section 4 — Programming). Failure to provide footage for a workout that is subsequently appealed means the appeal is automatically upheld against the team that failed to film. Filming is not optional.

19.5 Media & Social Content

Athletes may share fixture footage for personal and promotional use. The following are prohibited: posting footage to mock or humiliate any athlete or official, editing footage to misrepresent a result or score, and using footage commercially without The Box League’s written consent. The Box League investigates all complaints within 5 business days. Sanctions range from a formal warning to removal from the league for the remainder of the season depending on severity.

19.6 Code of Conduct

All athletes are expected to conduct themselves with respect toward opponents, officials, gym owners, coaches, and supporters at all times. Behaviour that brings The Box League, a gym, or any individual into disrepute — whether at a fixture, online, or in any other context — may result in disciplinary action. The Box League reserves the right to suspend or permanently remove any athlete from the league for conduct that is deemed to be in serious breach of this code.

20 The Box League Responsibilities

The Box League commits to the following obligations to all registered athletes, captains, and gym owners. These commitments form part of the agreement between The Box League and its participants.

20.1 Programming

• Workouts will be programmed independently and impartially by The Box League or a contracted programming team.
• The programming pack will be published to gym owners on the Friday 8 days before fixture weekend for RX+ and RX divisions, and on the Friday 15 days before fixture weekend for Intermediate and Scaled divisions (see Section 4 — Programming).
• Programming will be appropriate for each division level and will be consistent in difficulty across all gyms competing in the same division.

20.2 Verification & Onboarding

• Companies House verification for new gym registrations will be completed within 5 business days of submission.
• The Box League will provide a pre-season gym owner meeting for each cluster before the season begins, covering all rules, platform use, and expectations.

20.3 Appeals & Disputes

• All appeal reviews will be completed within 1 week of the fixture, with the aim of concluding before the next fixture weekend wherever possible.
• Appeal outcomes will be communicated simultaneously to both team captains and both gym owners via email and platform notification.
• Exceptional circumstance cancellation claims will be reviewed within 48 hours of the cancellation being logged.
• Fixture abandonment investigations will be completed within 5 business days of the incident being logged.
• Social media and media conduct complaints will be investigated within 5 business days of the complaint being received.

20.4 Payments

• Gym owner hosting fees will be distributed within 30 days of a fixture’s scores being confirmed by both captains.
• Away athlete fee refunds for cancelled fixtures will be processed within 30 days of the cancellation being confirmed.
• Any fines or misconduct deductions applied to gym owners will be communicated in writing via the platform before being deducted from hosting fee payments.

20.5 Platform & Support

• The Box League will provide a support email address with a guaranteed response time of 48 hours for all platform-related issues during the active season.
• The platform will enforce all eligibility, ranking, waiver, and fee rules automatically to minimise the risk of human error.
• Platform maintenance that could affect fixture management will be scheduled outside of fixture weekends wherever possible and communicated to all users at least 48 hours in advance.

20.6 Season Calendar

• Division allocations and the full fixture schedule for each season will be published in early January ahead of the April season start.
• Ranking workout details will be published at the start of the November ranking window.
• Any changes to the season calendar will be communicated to all registered participants with a minimum of 4 weeks notice wherever possible.

20.7 Intellectual Property & Data

• The Box League will not share athlete or gym owner personal data with any third party without explicit consent, in compliance with UK GDPR.
• The Box League retains the right to use fixture footage, athlete names, team names, and gym names for promotional and marketing purposes, subject to the media consent agreed during registration.
• The Box League’s scoring system, fixture format, platform, rulebook, and all associated documentation are the intellectual property of The Box League and are protected by copyright. Unauthorised reproduction or adaptation is prohibited.