A total of seven qualifiers will be held and these will be overseen by the Crufts working party. Qualifiers will be hosted independently or by a BFA/UKFL host team and will be run during a BFA/UKFL show at an approved BFA/UKFL venue or at a Kennel Club approved venue. Teams, dogs and handlers do not need to be registered with the BFA or UKFL but must abide by the Crufts qualifier rules and any regulations listed on the entry schedule.
Each team will consist of six handlers and dogs, four of which will run at any one time. Each team can also have a team captain, a box loader and an additional person to act as runner/ball collector. A team may name a seventh dog and handler on the entry form for a qualifier. This dog and handler will act as an emergency reserve for the team at the Crufts final should they be required.
A club can enter more than one team and qualify more than one team for the finals at Crufts. No team member or dog can enter/compete in more than one team.
Qualifiers will be based on a single or double elimination system.
All dogs entering the qualifiers must be a minimum of 18 months old at the time of the qualifier and be registered on The Kennel Club Breed Register or Activity Register.
At least one dog in each team must be a designated breed dog. The designated breed dog must be registered with The Kennel Club on the Breed Register or on the Activity Register as a Kennel Club registered breed. Teams should reflect the diversity of breeds in the sport and not consist of solely one breed.
There must be at least one designated breed dog running in each heat and at the finals at Crufts.
The two highest placed teams at each qualifier will be invited to compete in the flyball competition at Crufts, for which an entry fee will be charged. The current Crufts champion and runner up from the previous year will also be invited back to the Crufts final. Dogs and handlers for invited teams must be declared by the closing date of the final qualifier.
The Crufts final will be a team competition (knockout), also known as a single eliminator. In this competition the best of three runs will decide the winners which will to go into the next round.