Issue 8/20 4th March 2020
BAFRA Newsflash | |||
BAFRA ANNUAL CONVENTION – SAT 4th AND SUN 5th APRIL 2020
Week 7 Update
So, the good news is that our numbers have reached the 100 mark, and are still rising (currently 106). The bad news is that I will be reminding you next week about the payment cut off date. Per last week’s Newsflash, those of us attending the convention will get to hear a presentation on the new style BAFRA Annual Exam, from Pete Parsons. This will definitely be a presentation to sit up and take notice, considering how close we are to exam time.
Location
The Convention will be held at Yarnfield Park Training & Conference Centre, Yarnfield Lane, Yarnfield, Staffordshire, ST15 0NL. Yarnfield Park is a leading training and conference centre in the heart of the UK. I would recommend that you look over the facility on their website where you can also find details of the location and directions: www.yarnfieldpark.com.
Registration
Please note we have introduced a change to the registration process
You can now register to attend the Convention at the undernoted website and book accommodation if required: www.bafraconvention.com
Administering the registration process and processing payments is a time-consuming task given our high attendance figures. As such I would request that you register and make your room payments as early as possible.
Accommodation
In our efforts to make the Convention more accessible to everyone, this year we have again negotiated excellent rates for accommodation which are detailed below. In addition, the BAFRA Board has agreed to provide some funding to keep down the costs. The rates indicated are per room, per night and include all discounts and a full breakfast.
Remember, to take advantage of the above rates you must book your room via www.bafraconvention.com
Payment
Payment for Convention rooms are due by 14th March. Payment can be made either electronically or by cheque.
It is appreciated that some people may wish to spread the cost and make multiple payments over the weeks leading up to14th March. Please use the same instructions as above. If you wish to make multiple payments, then you must make the payments electronically and not by cheque.
Unfortunately, payment for the Convention cannot be taken from Game Fees. The administration work involved is far too time consuming and does not fit well with our electronic process of paying Games Fees by direct transfer to your bank account.
Friday Night
Again, like last year, many attendees stayed on the Friday night to save an early rise and travel on Saturday morning. As such the above rates are available for both the Friday and Saturday nights. I would recommend booking your room as early as possible.
Ian Sneddon - Convention Delivery Team
AGM OF BAFRA LIMITED
As always, the Annual General Meeting of BAFRA Limited will be held at 5:00pm on the Saturday of the Convention, 4th April. It is open to all members. A full agenda will be circulated to members nearer the time. Part of the AGM is the election of directors for the Company. This year, four directors are standing down having completed their term of office: President, General Secretary, Director of Training and Director without Portfolio #1.
These positions are open to all qualified members. Nomination forms have been circulated electronically to qualified members and should be returned in accordance with the instructions on the forms.
The present incumbents have notified that they will be seeking re-election for the positions of President and Director without Portfolio #1 but the General Secretary and the Director of Training will be standing down when their term of office expires at the end of the AGM.
Members are reminded they have until 5:00pm on 7th March to submit their nominations. As of 10:00pm on 3rd March, the following nominations had been received.
President:
None received to date
General Secretary:
Richard Moger #472; Nominated by Roger Goodgroves #602; Seconded by Liam Wooton #478
Director of Training:
Amir Brooks #593; Nominated by Pete Thom #200; Seconded by Russell Newton #324
Alan Dobson #308; Nominated by James Ford-Bannister #479; Seconded by Liam MacDonald #565
Director without Portfolio #1:
None received to date
The final list of nominees will appear in next week’s Newsflash.
Paul Sutton – General Secretary
BAFRA CHARITY
Each year, members are invited to nominate the BAFRA Charity for the coming year. Any member may make a nomination and those members present on the Saturday of the Convention will have the opportunity to make the final choice.
If you wish to make a nomination, please send me the details (ensuring the correct full name for the charity of your choice) to reach me by 5:00pm on Saturday 21st March 2020.
Paul Sutton – General Secretary
UPDATED CREW COMMUNICATIONS SETUP GUIDE
This is to reiterate an announcement that we made about a month ago that a new edition of the communications setup guide has been produced. This will be of benefit to members who have purchased a Retevis RT24 radio - a different image file is required to program those.
See http://www.bafra.info/members/crewcomms/index.php for details.
If anyone is encountering technical problems in programming their radio, please bring it along to the Convention and we will do our best to help.
Jim Briggs & Ben Griffiths
UPDATED CREW COMMUNICATIONS SETUP GUIDE
A process document for managing Elite Video Reviews has been added to the BAFRA website under the training tag. This is the direct link.
Please note that this process, while to be used for all Elite games, can also be used for any other game that members request. If any crew wishes to have a game reviewed using the process, they should make sure they can get a copy of the game film from a team as soon as possible. Once they have the film, which may be by getting a team to share it on HUDL with the British American Football Referees Association account, they should make a request to the Elite Co-ordinator (elite@bafra.info). Subject to the availability of reviewers, he will instigate a review for the crew. This may take a modified form from the elite review to best suit the crew and reviewers.
The intention is that good practices gained from the Elite process can benefit all members.
Keith Wickham - Elite Coordinator
QUALIFIED
Congratulations to Jon Franklin, Josh Rainey and Gus McKechnie on completing all of the requirements necessary to become Qualified.
Thanks to Tim Vickers, Steve Tonkinson, Simon Ryan and all those who are helping with Jon, Josh and Gus's training.
Pete Thom - Director of Training
DISCIPLINARY CASES
NAME | # | TEAM | CODE | Q | OFFENCE | SUSPENDED | |
New this week | |||||||
Luke Boxall | 22 | Birmingham Lions | NOR | 1 | At the end of the first quarter, the Referee was informed that #22 had a ripped jersey and was changing his shirt number to #43. As this was the end of the quarter, the away HC was immediately advised of this and the Referee proceeded to change the number on the roster form. It was then discovered that he did not appear on the roster under this or any other number. This was confirmed with both coaches. | 15th Mar 2020 v Durham Saints | |
Ollie Clerkin | 25 | Portsmouth Destroyers | TGT | 4 | In the fourth quarter, Mr. Clerkin was seen to dive into a pile, leading with the crown of his helmet making contact with an opponent. | Mr. Clerkin is due to serve his suspension in the next competitive game he is eligible to play in. This is expected to be the next regular season game for the Portsmouth Destroyers. | |
Louix Moakes | 57 | Solent Redhawks | TGT | 4 | With 5:39 left in the 4th quarter white number 57 targeted a defenceless opponent with a bling side block to the head and neck area. | 15th Mar 2020 v Bournemouth Bobcats | |
Previous weeks | |||||||
Ethan Myers | 11 | Essex Blades | FGT | 4 | With 8:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, the player was seen to kick an opponent whilst in the pile at the end of the play. | Mr. Myers is due to serve his suspension in the next competitive game he is eligible to play in. This is expected to be the next regular season game for the Essex Blades. | |
James Simpson | n/a | NTU Renegades | REM | Ball person from the home team under rule 9-2-7 for using abusive language towards an opposition player. | This is Mr Simpsons’s second offence in the previous 12 months. He is therefore subject to a two game suspension. He is expected to serve this in the first two games of NTU’s 2020/21 league season. * As this was a disqualification of a non-player, this is a whole game day suspension as opposed to just a playing suspension. | ||
GAME MANAGEMENT REPORTS
HOME TEAM | REPORT | NEXT HOME GAME |
New this week | ||
Birmingham Lions | Lines were faint but all present. Team areas marked with cones at perimeter. One change to chain crew and ball person at half time. Brian Yates #29 | Unknown |
Bristol Barracuda | Multiple stops during play to repair the chain occurred. Colin Edwards #76 | 15th Mar 2020 v UCL Emperors |
Brunel Burners | Played at Hertfordshire University and kick off delayed by 20 minutes due to traffic causing issues with the Exeter team transport. 90-yard rubber crumb field marked faintly in yellow (can be difficult to see under bright sunlight or floodlighting). No painted team areas, three-yard marks, nine-yard marks nor numbers. Chain broke once. Balls provided were under-inflated but this was remedied by an official’s pump. James Ford-Bannister #479 | Unknown |
Cambridge Pythons | Kick off was delayed by 15 minutes due to the first game of double-header finishing 15 minutes prior to the second game’s scheduled kick off time. Alisha Darkins #573 | Unknown |
Cardiff Cobras | Played at SGS College Filton. Marked out with black lines on green rubber crumb field. Markings were faint and hard to see in sunlight - causing issues with spotting the ball. Changing rooms just about big enough for three people to fit in comfortably and seating only available for two persons. Krister Halvorsen #217 | 8th Mar 2020 v Exeter Demons |
Cardiff Cobras (Sapphire) | Game suspended twice for 10 minutes due to injuries. Darryl Morton #493 | Unknown |
Durham Saints | 100-yard field with other sports lines of various colours. No three-yard marks. Team areas were missing but marked out with cones. David Hewitt #607 | 15th Mar 2020 v Birmingham Lions |
Leeds Gryphons | 80-yard field. The game kicked off at 4:30 and floodlights are in use, but are just adequate. One-point tries and field goals over the boundary fence require careful collection, due to the swamp they land in. Ian Wainwright #567 | 8th Mar 2020 v Loughborough |
LJMU Fury | Game was delayed by 20 minutes due to the late finish of the football match prior. Peter P Roberts #87 | Unknown |
London Warriors (Sapphire) | Two 53-yard fields with eight-yard end zones, marked very faintly in blue, with other sport markings in white, yellow and red. Sidelines accentuated with cones for greater visibility. No team areas. Changing rooms too small and not lockable. The London v Sandwell game had both teams wearing similar jerseys as neither team had access to an alternative, there was sufficient difference in the Jerseys for the game to proceed. Tim Ockendon #481 | Unknown |
Manchester Tyrants | 80-yard field. Officials' changing room door had to be propped open with a brick as officials were warned that if it slammed shut they would be locked in. Tim Vickers #129 | 15th Mar 2020 v Liverpool Raptors |
Newcastle Raiders | No coaching boxes, and team box lines were minimal. Limited cones available. The first and second half kickoff was delayed due to no chain crew in the first half and a last minute change in the second half. Shawn Sombati #15 | Unknown |
Portsmouth Destroyers | Played at Wide Lane, Southampton. Sidelines repainted just before kick off, but other markings were faint and difficult to see. Kick off was delayed by ten minutes. Oliver Maskell #221 | Unknown |
Stirling Clansmen | Team areas were marked to the 30-yard lines, so cones were placed at the 25-yard lines. The game was suspended for 14 minutes with 2:09 remaining in the fourth quarter, whilst the ambulance crew treated an injured Swansea player. Ian Sneddon #427 | Unknown |
Sussex Saxons | Hash marks connected to the side line with no gaps. Endzone marked in blue like the rest of the field markings, but the endline is too close to the perimeter fence. A white line ten yards from the goal line was used as the end line. Due to moving the endline the plane of the cross bar was no longer on the end line. Team areas marked with cones. Whole chain crew changed at half time. David Knight #135 | Unknown |
UWE Bullets | During the first quarter, one member of the officiating crew suffered an injury. The rest of the game was played with a four-man crew. The whole chain crew and one ball person were changed just before the end of half time. This resulted in the second half being delayed whilst the new assistants were briefed. Amir Brooks #593 | 15th Mar 2020 v Stirling Clansmen |
Outstanding items from previous weeks | ||
PLAY OF THE WEEK: | |
New this week | Play: 4th & 2 at the B-32. The score is A 30 – B 35 and the clock is running with 0:58 remaining in the 4th quarter. Team A lines up in a regular scrimmage formation. B99 is tight to the neutral zone and lined up just to the left of the center but still inside the right guard. B99, trying to time the snap, takes a hard step towards the center. The right guard reacts coming out of his three point stance. The clock is now at 0:52 when this is shut down. What is the status of the clock?
|
Last week | Play: 4th & 10 at the A-25 yard line. Team A line up to punt the ball, A49 punts the ball and it is blocked by defender B94. The loose ball is recovered by B51 at the A-11 yard line. At the snap Team A had five players in the backfield.
As the kick did not cross the neutral zone, there is no option to enforce the penalty at the spot where the subsequent dead ball belongs to Team B (tack on) (6-3-13). Therefore the only enforcement option is to enforce the 5 yard penalty from the previous spot and replay the down. Team B will very likely decline the penalty and the enforcement of this should be considered obvious (M19.4.2.c). |
MECHANICS: | |
New this week | Game Situation: After a forward pass has been thrown, how much time should the umpire spend continuing to observe the action in the vicinity of the line of scrimmage before turning to assist deep and wing officials with the pass?
|
Last week | Game Situation: On a 8 man crew, which officials should escort the team captains into the centre of the field for the coin toss?
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Date | Event | Contact for details |
24th March (Tues) | BUCS Premier Bowl (University of Nottingham) | |
24th March (Tues) | BUCS Division 1 Final (University of Nottingham) | |
4th - 5th April (Sat-Sun) | BAFRA Convention | |
16th May (Sat) | BAFRA Board Meeting | |
18h July (Sat) | BAFRA Board Meeting | |
14th November (Sat) | BAFRA Board Meeting |
BAFRA Directors | |||||
President | David Parsons | General Secretary | Paul Sutton | ||
Finance | Roger Brown | Operations | Roger Goodgroves | ||
Recruitment | Ollie Maskell | Training | Pete Thom | ||
Director without Portfolio #1 | Peter Parsons | Director without Portfolio #2 | Steve Tonkinson | ||
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.info. Deadline for articles submitted by email (newsflash@bafra.info) is midnight Tuesday. |
