The ten teams were divided into two pools of five teams. The teams that finished first in the pools played-off to determine which team would partake in the World Group play-offs next year. The two nations coming last in the pools were relegated to Group II for 2001.
The fourteen teams were randomly divided into two pools of four and two pools of three teams to compete in round-robin competitions. The play-off stage of the group was used to determine placings. The top two teams from each pool would be drawn in a knockout stage to determine which teams would be promoted, while the remaining teams played-off to determine the other placings.