Approximately half of the teams in each division will make the playoffs. In Flights A, X and B, all playoff matches will be 32 boards; all other matches will be 28 boards. In Flight C, the final playoff match will be 32 boards; all other matches will be 26 boards.

The playoff schedule will be a single elimination knockout. Any playoff match resulting in a tie will be resolved by an immediate six board playoff. In each round of the playoffs, the highest ranked surviving team, based on the final regular season standings, will play the lowest ranked surviving team (of the other division, if available). Exception: if the number of surviving teams means bye(s) will be necessary, the bye(s) shall go to the highest ranked teams and the rest will be paired as above.

For the 2002-2003 season, 4 teams from Flight A, 3 teams from Flight X, 6 teams from Flight B and 2 teams from Flight C will advance to the playoffs. In Flight X, the top team from round-robin play will receive a bye to the final; in Flight B, the top two teams will receive a bye to the semi-finals.

In Flight X, all players must have 0-3000 masterpoints; Flight B players must have 0-1500 masterpoints; but Flight C players must be non­Life Masters with 0-500 masterpoints. The Flight C division will be stratified 0-100/100-NLM, according to the team member with the largest masterpoint holding. A player who is eligible to play in a flight on September 1, 2002 is eligible for the entire season.

Teams must start the season with at least four players and no more than six. One of the players must be designated as captain and is responsible for contacting other captains to arrange matches. After the initial rosters have been submitted, roster moves will be limited to the following.

1. Deleting a player:
   A player who has not yet played in any match but appears on a team's roster may be deleted from the roster at any time. A player who is unable to continue playing due to an unforeseen emergency may also be deleted.

2. Adding a player:
   A player who has not yet played in any match for any other team may be added, so long as the addition does not cause the team to have more than six players. No player may be added after the conclusion of the regular season.

3. Using an emergency player:
   If a captain is unable to field a team because an expected player has not arrived, and there is an eligible player present who has not played in any match for any team, that player may be used as an emergency player, unless the other team objects. Each team is permitted to use up to two emergency players during the regular season. No emergency players are allowed to play in the playoffs.

The Commissioner may penalize teams that stretch the rules.

League matches will be scored in Victory Points using the Victory Point Scale shown below. Matches will be played in two halves with comparison of scores at half­time.

Seating rights will be given to each team for one of the two halves, which half to which team to be decided before the match by the team captains. Disputes will be resolved by a coin toss. If the captains do not consult before the match and a dispute arises at half­time, neither team has seating rights for the second half.

Matches may be played at bridge clubs or at any venue agreed by the team captains. Matches played outside of a bridge club should have a means by which a director can be called if necessary.

The winning captain is responsible for ensuring that the report slip is completely filled out and that the report slip gets to the Commissioner.

In Flights A and X, failure to meet a deadline will result in a forfeit for one or both sides, depending on which side is at fault. Teams that are having problems scheduling a match by the deadline should make the Commissioner aware of the problem. The teams will then schedule the match for the next period, but they must also play the originally scheduled match for that period as well. If no alternate date is possible, the Commissioner will declare a forfeit or double­forfeit depending on which side is at fault.

In Flights B and C, all deadlines will be on Tuesday evenings. It will be assumed (by default) that every match will be played on the deadline date. If either team cannot play on the deadline date, the captains must reschedule during the regular match period, but they must do so well in advance. Captains that have problems rescheduling their match should notify the Commissioner and reschedule for the next period. If no alternate date is possible, the Commissioner can declare a forfeit or double­forfeit depending on which side is at fault.

1. rescheduled without penalty to the non­offending team;
2. forfeited to the non­offending team; or
3. completed using the emergency player, only if permission was given by the non­offending team before any boards were played.

In the case of a tie in Victory Points between two teams, or a tie among three or more teams which has been broken by the procedure in the next paragraph to leave two teams tied, the tie­breaking procedure is: most wins (a draw is 1/2), most VPs against common opponents (if not playing a round robin), most wins against common opponents (if not playing a round robin).

If there is a tie in Victory Points among three or more teams, the tie­breaking procedure is (in order of precedence): most wins (a draw is 1/2); highest average VPs against teams in the tied group; best win­loss record against teams in the tied group; most VPs against common opponents (if not playing round robin). If teams are still tied after the tie­breaking procedure is used, and the playoff ranking is at stake, the teams must play a seven board playoff to decide the final positions.

Forfeiting cannot disadvantage other teams. If a team forfeits a match against another team, and because of the VPs received by the forfeit, the second team finishes ahead of a third team, the Commissioner may reclassify the forfeiting team down enough positions so the forfeiting team finishes below the third team.