( Life by DailyBurn ) -- Hold onto your foam fingers , football fans . There 's a new league in town , and it 's all about fast and furious fitness . Combining weightlifting , bodyweight movements , gymnastics and more , the National Pro Grid League has drafted some of the most able-bodied athletes in the world , split them into eight teams , and is letting their strength , strategy and collective badass-ness determine the score . The best part : Grid does n't discriminate . Men and women compete against and alongside each other , players over 40 are integral to the mix , and all-around athletes and specialists can each make a difference when it counts . So how does the team sport plan to change the face of fitness ? DailyBurn went Grid-side as the New York Rhinos faced off against the Los Angeles Reign to witness the action at the first match of the inaugural 2014 season . DailyBurn : 5 beginner-friendly CrossFit workouts . Welcome to the big leagues : How Grid started . Sure , the idea of team functional fitness is n't exactly new . If the CrossFit Games come to mind when watching Grid athletes clean , jerk and kip at lightning speeds , it 's no coincidence . The league 's founder and commissioner is Tony Budding , a 10-year CrossFit executive who left the mega-brand to create a true co-ed spectator sport with greater mass appeal . DailyBurn : How fit are you , really ? Taking cues from the NFL and NBA , in April 2014 , Budding kicked things off with a football-esque Grid League Combine ( athletes were selected via invite and application ) , which put hopefuls through every imaginable fitness test , from squats to handstand walks . Next came a traditional style draft in July , where coaches from the eight squads selected the best men and women for their rosters â€ ” factoring in not just their combine performance and fitness resume , but also personality and overall `` fit '' for the team . Once the teams were stacked , players were off to team training camp ( albeit some no more than a week long ) , followed by pre-season scrimmages to get familiar with the ins and outs of league play , because no , it 's not exactly intuitive . Unlocking the Grid : How it works . The action takes place on a 94-by-50-foot grid , split up into eight quadrants ( four for each team ) plus a start and finish area . Every team roster must consist of 20 athletes -- 10 men and 10 women , and on game day , only five men and five women are selected to start the match ( including one 40-plus athlete of each gender ) . If anything goes wrong , injury or otherwise , three athletes are on standby on each team 's bench . The two-hour match pits two teams against one another in 11 different races that progress across the grid . Races -- some of which are coed , some of which are male or female-only -- can include anything from handstand push-ups , burpee box jumps , rope climbs and double-unders for time . Then there 's the `` clean ladder , '' where athletes must lift progressively heavier loads as they move down the grid ( topping the scales at 340 pounds ! ) , with the weight of each player 's lifts added together for a combined team score . For each battle , the winning team gets two points ( exception being the last race which counts for three points ) , and the losing team gets one . If the squad does n't complete the challenge , they walk away with zero points for that race . When all is said and done , the team with the highest number of points at the end of the match gets the W. Of course , it 's not just about brute strength and top-end speeds . There 's plenty of strategy involved : Players can tag in and out to keep pace during each race or if they 're incapable of completing one more rep . But do n't consider a minute on the sidelines much of a break . `` When you 're competing as an individual you can find your own pace and if you mess up , you have a longer time to make up for it , '' says Annie Thorsidottir , captain of the New York Rhinos . `` But on the grid , everything is so fast and high-intensity that you need to move fast while you 're out there . If you start slowing down , it 's time to rotate and change out . You need to be moving full speed , all the time . '' Rhinos co-captain Mat Fraser , who also earned second place at the 2014 CrossFit Games , says the relentless speed is something Grid athletes , himself included , will need to adjust to . `` It 's just all-out until the tank is empty . I have never done 20 burpees over a box that fast ... `` Fraser says of the 9th race , one of the more challenging from his first match . `` When I hit that finish line -- I usually try to stay standing -- but I just flopped down . There was nothing left . '' It 's this high-octane format that brought spectators to their feet in the last few seconds of each battle at Madison Square Garden . It 's also what might just hold the attention of fans for seasons to come , says New York Rhinos coach Ian Berger . According to Budding , there 's plenty of potential for the players , too , stating that one of the many goals with this new league is to make functional fitness something the best in the world can finally make a living at . `` The icing on the cake is that my parents competed at Madison Square Garden when they were athletes , '' said Fraser , whose parents were professional pairs figure skaters . Faster together : The road ahead . In this abbreviated first season , teams will play three matches each , giving fans 12 live events total ( and ideally adequate time for the league to work out any remaining kinks ) . In 2015 , teams are slated to play 12 matches apiece ; in 2016 and beyond : 16 matches . Playoffs will commence in September , and will culminate in the Grid League Finals in Las Vegas , to be aired on NBC Sports on October 3 . The ultimate prize : the Pinnacle trophy ( and a coveted place in Grid history ) . Until then , fans can watch regular season match-ups on NPGL.com via web broadcast . Or , check out the 2014 schedule to find an event near you . For 2015 , expect eight more teams to join the league , including the Carolina Crush and others to be announced later this year . Prefer to get in on the action yourself ? There 's always next year 's Grid League Combine . Start practicing those cleans today !
National Pro Grid League was started by CrossFit executive Tony Budding . League games take place on a 94-by-50-foot grid , split up into eight quadrants . Each quadrant is divided into four divisions of five teams each.