League Structure and Rules

Our goal is for the Winners and 2nd place teams in Group A to represent NCL and their respective teams in a European league in the fall of 2025.

Promotion and Relegation Rules:

• Winner of Group B: Automatic promotion to Group A
• Last place in Group A: Automatic relegation to Group B
• 2nd place in Group B faces the second-to-last team in Group A in a best-of-five series
• If the Group A team wins, they remain in Group A. If the Group B team wins, they are promoted to A, and the A team is relegated to B
• Winner of Group C: Automatic promotion to Group B
• Last place in Group B: Automatic relegation to Group C
• 2nd place in Group C faces the second-to-last team in Group B in a best-of-five series
• If the Group B team wins, they stay in Group B. If the Group C team wins, they are promoted to B, and the B team is relegated to C

Registration and Qualification:All teams, both new and existing, must register for the spring league by December 29, 2024.For new teams seeking to compete in NCL season 1, qualification matches will determine their group placement:

• Group A: Not available for direct qualification
• Group B: New teams play qualification matches against top-performing teams from the autumn league in Group C. Winners enter Group B; losers enter Group C, while the C team is promoted
• Subsequent new teams compete against the 2nd and 3rd best scores from autumn, with winners entering Group B

NCL will announce dates for qualification matches.Each group has a maximum capacity of 8-10 teams. If a group reaches its limit, the team with the best score from the autumn league is promoted to the next group up.