Teams comprise five riders including a non-programmed reserve. Team A wears the red helmet colour and is numbered 1 to 4 and 17, Team B wears the blue helmet colour and is numbered 5 to 8 and 18, Team C wears the white helmet colour and is numbered 9 to 12 and 19, whilst Team D wears the yellow/black helmet colour and is numbered 13 to 16 and 20. The reserves take Nos. 16 to 20, and there are no restrictions on who may ride in these positions unless competition rules state otherwise.
Meetings may be run over sixteen or twenty heats. The heat format is determined as follows:
| Heat | Gate A | Gate B | Gate C | Gate D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1: | 12 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
| 2: | 6 | 3 | 13 | 11 |
| 3: | 2 | 9 | 8 | 15 |
| 4: | 7 | 1 | 16 | 10 |
| 5: | 9 | 16 | 6 | 4 |
| 6: | 3 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
| 7: | 13 | 12 | 7 | 2 |
| 8: | 11 | 14 | 1 | 8 |
| 9: | 8 | 4 | 10 | 13 |
| 10: | 14 | 7 | 9 | 3 |
| 11: | 5 | 11 | 2 | 16 |
| 12: | 15 | 6 | 12 | 1 |
| 13: | 16 | 8 | 3 | 12 |
| 14: | 4 | 15 | 11 | 7 |
| 15: | 10 | 2 | 14 | 6 |
| 16: | 1 | 13 | 5 | 9 |
| The following heats are added for twenty-heat meetings: | ||||
| 17: 4th Highest | Red | White | Y/B | Blue |
| 18: 3rd Highest | Blue | Red | White | Y/B |
| 19: 2nd Highest | White | Y/B | Blue | Red |
| 20: Highest | Y/B | Blue | Red | White |
Riders take the starting gate positions indicated. Gate A is on the inside of the track, whilst Gate D is on the outside.
Unless competition rules state otherwise, a reserve may have a maximum of four rides in a sixteen-heat meeting, and five rides in a twenty-heat meeting that can be taken at any time. All exclusions count towards the maximum number of rides.
Unless competition rules state otherwise, no rider is required to take a minimum number of rides.
In Heats 17 to 20, each team is represented by their 4th highest, 3rd highest, 2nd highest and highest scorers respectively (reserve excepted). Team members scoring an equal number of points may be nominated for any heat where they are eligible.
Race points scored over all heats are used to determine the final placings. Where two or more teams are tied for a place, each team nominates a rider for a runoff.