BAFRA Newsflash

http://www.bafra.org

Issue: 18/11

18^th May 2011

COORDINATOR FOR ASSOCIATE OFFICIALS

After discussion, the Directors have decided to appoint a Coordinator for Associate Officials (as we have one for Elite Officials). The main purpose of the rôle would be to provide assistance to the Directors of Training and Recruitment to keep in touch with associate officials and their mentors whilst they are undergoing training and throughout their first ten games. The coordinator will help in assessing progress and be there to help or intervene if any problems develop. The successful candidate will also act as deputy to the Director of Recruitment.

If you are interested in this rôle, please let me know by 31^st May. If you require any further information before making your application, please contact either of the Directors of Training or Recruitment or myself.

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

PETERBOROUGH SAXONS

Due to unforeseen circumstances the Peterborough Saxons will be unable to complete the remainder of the season. This was a very difficult decision for the players and management to make but unfortunately circumstances at the club left them with no other choice. On a positive note, the club intends participating in the league next season and has already started the process of rebuilding. I'm sure everyone will join me in wishing them well.

Davie Parsons

president@bafra.org

FLAG FOOTBALL

I am looking for volunteers to officiate Flag football, this is done in the same way as the 5 v 5 Kitted. All those interested please contact me on dwp1@bafra.org.

They are holding tournaments on:

May 28^th

June 11^th

July 16^th

August 6th

All tournaments will be held at Tudor Grange Sports Centre in Solihull. It is on Astroturf. Tournaments are scheduled to run 11:00 to 17:00 and they will run 3 games at a time. Each tournament should have 3 to 6 Junior teams and 2 to cadet teams. So when they say U/16 they mean all levels U/16!

We will run as we did last year. £5.00 BAFRA fee. Volunteer crews (no fee). Expenses to be agreed directly between the crews and the organisers.

Martin Cockerill

dwp1@bafra.org

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

Congratulations to Alan Wilson on completing the Induction Training Programme. Thanks to Davie Parsons for helping with his training.

Also congratulations to Kyle Barker who has completed all of the requirements to become a qualified

official. Thanks to Ben Griffiths and others involved in his training.

Charles Dean-Young

training@bafra.org

EXAM 2011

Now that the exam period is finally over, I provide, as promised, a few statistics. 116 BAFRA members sat the exam (which is a higher number than any time since back in the 1990s). This reflects the gradually growing membership. All qualified officials sat the exam, but it was particularly heartening to see a large proportion of associate officials sit it as well. The average mark was around 73.6% which was nearly 5 lower than the 2010 exam and around 3.8 lower than the average of the past ten years. It was the second lowest average mark of the past ten years. Part of the reason the average score was so low was the number of people taking the exam for the first time. The average mark for people who had sat the exam before fell only 1.3 on their previous average efforts over the past ten years. However, it is also clear that the exam was slightly harder than usual this year.

The highest score was 96 – achieved by three people – with two more scoring 95. Unusually, six people scored less than 50. The highest score by a person sitting the exam for the first time was 83 – a very creditable performance from an associate official.

I would like to place on record my thanks and those of the Directors to the Exam Committee of Les Connor, Tzvi Lindeman and Peter Parsons who have been working on the exam since October 2010. Thanks also go to Steve Tonkinson who tested the exam by sitting it in February an advising the Committee on changes to wording. They all certainly made my job as Exam Committee Chair a much easier task than it may otherwise have been.

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

BAFRA ON TWITTER

With prompting and assistance from Simon Purcell at the Lancashire Wolverines, BAFRA is now on Twitter. We can be found @BAFRAOfficial. Interestingly, within seven hours of putting a Tweet on inviting people to join BAFRA, we got our first enquiry for membership through this source.

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

RESULTS

BAFA CL Premiership

London Warriors 7 - 7 London Blitz

Bristol Aztecs 42 - 0 Coventry Jets

BAFA CL Division 1

Oxford Saints 0 - 39 Birmingham Bulls

Colchester Gladiators 0 - 54 London Olympians

Yorkshire Rams 6 - 13 East Kilbride Pirates

East Kent Mavericks 20 - 42 Sussex Thunder

Gateshead Senators 6 - 34 Doncaster Mustangs

BAFA CL Division 2

Maidstone Pumas 0 - 61 Watford Cheetahs

Shropshire Revolution 10 - 24 Lancashire Wolverines

Essex Spartans 35 - 6 Milton Keynes Pathfinders

Glasgow Tigers 0 - 60 West Coast Trojans

Gloucester Banshees 2 - 26 Berkshire Renegades

Cornish Sharks 36 - 6 Bournemouth Bobcats

Clyde Valley Blackhawks 51 - 3 Carlisle Border Reivers

BAFA CL Junior

Colchester Gladiators 0 - 8 Cambridgeshire Cats

London Warriors 12 - 14 London Blitz

Peterborough Saxons 16 - 12 Leicester Falcons

East Kent Mavericks 34 - 24 Kent Exiles

Lanarkshire Longhorns 24 - 14 Gateshead Senators

BAFA CL Youth

Balby Carr Mustangs 45 - 12 Chester Romans

Balby Carr Mustangs 20 - 14 Chorley Buccaneers

Chorley Buccaneers 20 - 2 Chester Romans

Coventry Jets 0 - 28 Balby Carr Mustangs

Coventry Jets 25 - 26 Chester Romans

Coventry Jets 13 - 46 Chorley Buccaneers

Edinburgh Coyotes 0 - 28 Inverclyde Pheonix

Highland Wildcats 17 - 0 Edinburgh Coyotes

Highland Wildcats 40 - 0 Inverclyde Pheonix

DISCIPLINARY CASES

NAME	#	TEAM	CODE	Q		OFFENCE	SUSPENDED
New this week – none
Steven Wilson	7	East Kilbride Pirates	FPF	4	Player grabbed an opponent's facemask with both hands and forcibly shook them long after the play had become dead.		29/05/11 v Doncaster Mustangs
Previous weeks
Lee Smyth	60	Peterborough Saxons	FUC	3		At the end of the play the player started to punch an opponent at the head. This is the player's second ejection of the season.	22/05/11 v Nottingham Caesars
Note: it is the responsibility of the individual teams to ensure that their suspended players serve their suspensions in the proper game (according to the BAFA Disciplinary Code), and any dates mentioned here are intended only as a guide.

GAME MANAGEMENT REPORTS

HOME TEAM	REPORT	NEXT HOME GAME
New this week
Gloucester Banshees	Game suspended for 31 minutes due to an apparent serious ankle injury to a player, outside ambulance called. No BAFRA fee paid. Andy Binns #575	05/06/11 v Bournemouth Bobcats
Gateshead Senators	The kick-off time on Arbiter and the BAFCL website was 14:30, however the home team believed kick-off was 14:00 (they claimed that's when all their games kick-off). This will need to be clarified as a matter of urgency to avoid any clashes in the future. As with all games at Gateshead; there were a number of white and yellow non-American Football markings on the field. The coaching line was not marked and the team areas were not marked between the 25 yard lines. Chain Crew were changed at half time and on of the crew were changed during the 3^rd quarter. Mark Snow #430	10/07/11 v Yorkshire Rams
Shropshire Revolution	The field was marked in sky blue, there were a number of white athletics markings traversing the field. Coaching line and team area markings were marked at approximately 9 feet and 18 feet respectively. The changing room provided for the officials was the disabled female changing rooms and it was not lockable, however suitably sized with warm showers. Apart from one ball person being changed at half-time, Shropshire's game management was great including a stadium announcer and Referees microphone. Ben Griffiths #228	18/06/11 v Sheffield Predators
Bristol Axtecs	Field markings very faint, especially the sidelines. This made it difficult to rule on out of bounds. Jim Briggs #31	22/05/11 v Farnham Knights
Yorkshire Rams	Plaudits to Yorkshire Rams for the hopsitality and for finding the crew alternative changing facilities as the normal officials changing room is rather small. Chris Jarvis #10	05/06/11 v Merseyside Nighthawks
Glasgow Tigers	No limit lines, team box and coaches box marked between 30 yard lines and also too near the sideline. Endzones only 5 yards deep so had to short field of play to 80 yards to allow endzones to be extended Henry Richardson #25	29/05/11 v Edinburgh Wolves
East Kent Mavericks	The field markings had been left as marked for game on 08/15 (see Newsflash 17/11). The lack of hash marks and main lines not being 5 yards apart made half distance penalty enforcements more protracted as the distance to the goal had to be paced off and then half the distance back. Lack of coaching boxes and incorrect main lines led to misunderstanding with away coach as to where he should be standing during an officials' discussion. Home team coach appeared to be out of his coaching area on a couple of occasions. Ground conditions meant several players having to go off for bleeding to be treated. Chain crew provided very close to kick off (ball persons after intended kick off time) and there were several changes to the personnel during the game. Dan Bridgland #506	19/06/11 v Colchester Gladiators
Outstanding items from previous weeks
Highland Wildcats	No limit line, no hash marks on sidelines, no numbers on field. Henry Richardson #25	22/05/11 v Edinburgh Wolves
South London Renegades	Played at Streatham & Croydon RFC. Field 20 feet too wide with Rugby markings the same colour as the Football markings. Yardlines marked every 10 yards although unevenly spaced. No hashmarks at sidelines and inbounds lines only every 5 yards. Goals too wide and with crossbar too high. Only one adequate game ball; one other supplied was well worn and another was not at an adequate pressure and no pump could be found. Tim Ockendon #481	31/07/11 v Cambridgeshire Cats Junior
Bristol Aztec Junior	On arrival we were informed that St John's Ambulance had rung at about 11:00 to advise that they could not provide a vehicle for the scheduled 12:00 kick off. Although they were able to provide a medical first aider he was not a doctor or physio and splints and stretcher were not available. After a number of call they were able to source a properly equipped ambulance but this would not arrive until about 13:00 in the end kick off was 1hr 15 mins late at 13:15. Julian Mallia #336	22/05/11 v Farnham Knights Junior
Carlisle Border Reivers	Line markings very light due to heavy rain previous night washing lines away, with sidelines and goal lines remarked immediately prior to game at officials instructions. Team areas not marked with lines, used cones at the 25 yard line. Chains and down marker 'makeshift' and very difficult to control numbers as they are paper in a plastic sleeve. Game Management recognised the issues and will work to rectify before their next home game. Mark Snow #430	22/05/11 v Clyde Valley Blackhawks
Lincolnshire Bombers	Venue Changed while officials were in transit. Only 8 Pylons available field 90 yards long with 10 yards end zones. Both Teams in RED Jerseys the Bombers had Black Numbers and Pants with Black Helmets, the Surge had white numbers and pants with predominantly white helmets, there was enough difference for the game to proceed. Chris Jarvis #10	22/05/11 v Chester Romans
London Olympians	Goals are Association Football goals with extended posts - Goals are therefore too wide with the crossbar too low. Endzones are only 7 yards long. Hashmarks in the centre of the field disappeared quickly due to the field surface being bare of grass and very dusty. 3 stoppages of over 5 minutes for separate player injuries. Chains in poor condition with a breakage to one of the stakes that had been fixed with packing tape Dave Knight #135	12/06/11 v East Kent Mavericks
Watford Cheetahs	The game was called with 8:40 remaining in the 4th quarter with the agreement of both coaches after the Norwich coach declared his team unable to continue. The score was 37-0 to Watford at the time. Playing surface was somewhat uneven and patches of the field contained very long grass. Dean Wright #553	19/06/11 v Milton Keynes Pathfinders

END ZONE

PLAY OF THE WEEK:

New this week

Play: A's ball, 4th and 10, on A's 22. A6's punt is blocked. The ball is rolling at A's 12 when B66, reaching down in an attempt to recover the ball, unintentionally kicks the ball into A's end zone where A77 recovers while grounded.
Ruling?

Play from issue 09 11

Play: A's ball, 4th and 7, on B's 45. As punter A7's kick is in the air, A84 goes out of bounds untouched, and returns immediately on B's 42. B23 muffs the punt on B's 11 and A44 falls on the ball on B's 12.

Ruling: A's ball, 4th and 12, on the 50. A84 fouls when he returns to the field of play after going out of bounds voluntarily during the down. A44 legally recovered the punt on B's 12. Team B will accept the 5-yard penalty.

MECHANICS:

New this week

Game Situation: 3^rd and 10, after a timeout and after the ball has been blown ready for play, Team A line up ready to snap the ball while the team B coach – unaware that the timeout is ending – continues to talk to his players at the sidelines. How should officials react to this situation?
Answer next issue...

Last week

Game Situation: Name the 6 actions that constitute Defensive Pass Interference.
Answer: i) Not playing the ball, ii) Playing through an opponent iii) Grabbing an arm iv) Arm Bar v) Cut Off vi) Hook and Turn (M-3-3-8-a)

CALENDAR

Date	Event	Contact for details
2011
July 23^rd (Sat)	BAFRA Board Meeting	secretary@bafra.org
November 6^th (Sun)	BUAFL 2011/12 Season Starts
November 19^th (Sat)	BAFRA Board Meeting	secretary@bafra.org

BAFRA Directors
President	David Parsons	president@bafra.org	General Secretary	Paul Sutton	secretary@bafra.org
Finance	Andrew Lovell	finance@bafra.org	Operations	Richard Vernon	operations@bafra.org
Recruitment	Tim Vickers	recruitment@bafra.org	Training	Charlie Dean Young	training@bafra.org
Director without Portfolio #1	Martin Cockerill	dwp1@bafra.org	Director without Portfolio #2	Steve Tonkinson	dwp2@bafra.org

The opinions expressed in this Newsflash are those of the contributors, and not necessarily of BAFRA or its Directors.

All Incident Reports to be submitted via www.bafra.org.

Deadline for articles submitted by email (newsflash@bafra.org) is midnight Tuesday.

Editor: Dean Wright - Email: newsflash@bafra.org