BAFRA Newsflash

http://www.bafra.org

Issue: 18/15

28st May 2015


FINANCE UPDATE


Please add Newcastle to prepaid teams list. The following games were paid yesterday:

Please let me know if you are missing any payment.


Charlie Dean Young

finance@bafra.org


BAFRA ELITE PROGRAMME (BEP)


Now that the Annual Examination is complete the process of selecting the 21 members of the BEP can commence. Should you wish to be considered then you must apply in writing to the Director of Operations at operations@bafra.org. Applications will be accepted immediately and the closing date is Friday 5th June 2015. So far I have only received 12 requests so if you are considering applying you have one more week to submit your Expression of Interest.


Applications will only be considered from Qualified BAFRA members who meet specific criteria. Full details of the criteria can be found in the Elite Programme Policy in Section 7 of the Members Handbook. Details of the next Elite Training Day will be confirmed very shortly. Also, as part of the criteria includes your rating on the Selection Spreadsheet, which must be 80% or above, I would also recommend you read the Scheduling and Selection Policy which can be found in Section 6 of the Members Handbook.


If it is your intention to apply then I would recommend that you read the document in full. If you are considering applying and would like an informal discussion please contact either me or Ben Griffiths who is the BEP Co-ordinator.


Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org


BAFRA SELECTION SPREADSHEET


As I stated at the Convention once the exam process is completed all BAFRA officials can find out their current rating on the Selection Spreadsheet If you want this information please send an email to operations@bafra.org and I will come back to you with a detailed breakdown of your scores in all areas that are graded.


NOTE - All acknowledgements to BEP Expressions of Interest and all replies to requests for Selection Spreadsheet Information will be done after next Monday 1st June. If you have not had a reply by 4th June please contact me.


Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org


GREAT RESPONSE FOR COVERING 5 on 5 TOURNAMENTS


Firstly, a big thank you this week goes out to the 7 officials covering the Birmingham and Solent tournaments this Saturday. Five of these officials have not worked a U17 tournament before so I hope it encourages others to do the same and have a go at helping with the grass-roots development of the game.


In addition to the events below there will be tournaments at Woodham and Cobham on 20th June and Norwich on 27th June. I can provide more details on request about these. Here are a list of tournaments taking place throughout June:



Burnley Tornados Tournament; Holt House, Harrison Drive, Colne, BB89SF; Saturday 13th June 2015; Contact: Ivan Jackson (07973 676229), isjackson@virginmedia.com


Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org


DIAMOND SERIES SCRIMMAGE


I have been asked if any officials can help out at Diamond 3. This will be at Hertfordshire University on 13th June. The time for the scrimmage is 3pm to 6pm. The venue is De Havilland Campus, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, AL10 9EU


Let me or Tim Ockendon know if you can assist, it is also a great opportunity to work a new position and gain valuable practice time in a non-competition setting.


Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org


SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE


On Facebook we new followers 18 since we last reported. Our new feature "Know Your Ref" went down very well reaching 727 people which is 161 more than follow the page. This is happens when a post is shared and likes/comments are added. Thank you to Graham "Wolfman" Hedges for being our first volunteer. If you want a bit of the limelight please drop us an email or PM.


On Twitter we have 24 new followers since we last reported. If you are on Twitter do pop over for a chat, your contribution really matters. If you have any suggestions on what we can include in features and updates do let us know by email or start the conversation online.


Thank you


Susannah Taylor (#335) and Sean Walsh (#458)


QUALIFIED


Congratulations to Richard Moger on completing all of the requirements necessary to become Qualified. Thanks to Dean Wright and all those who are helping with Richard‘s training.


Pete Thom

training@bafra.org


DISCIPLINARY CASES


NAME

#

TEAM

CODE

Q

OFFENCE

SUSPENDED

New this week

Daniel Sowerby

40

Newcastle Vikings

TGT

2

Player committed a blind side block in which he forcibly contacted an opponent to the head.

31/05/15 v Aberdeen Roughnecks

Previous weeks

JJ Crawford

56

Glasgow Tigers

TGT

1

Player led with the crown of the helmet and made forcible contact with an opponent's helmet while making blind-side block on interception return.

07/06/15 v Newcastle Vikings

Julian Tovar

76

Hertfordshire Cheetahs

FGT

4

Player was seen to head-butt an opponent. This is this player's second ejection in a calendar year, he is therefore suspended for two games.

31/05/15 v Solent Thrashers & 07/06/15 v Colchester Gladiators




GAME MANAGEMENT REPORTS


HOME TEAM

REPORT

NEXT HOME GAME

New this week

Lancashire Wolverines

Excellent pitch markings even included chain clip reference marks on both sides of the field.

Ben Griffiths #228

14/06/15 v Yorkshire Rams

Manchester Titans

Multiple areas of the field dominated by sand, particularly between the hash marks. Field was marked in dark blue. There are solid white rugby lines also on the field with try-lines just one yard away from the football goal-line which can be a source of confusion.

Aminul Hassan #534

31/05/15 v Crewe Railroaders

Humber Warharks

No team or coaching areas marked out. No 9 yard marks. Hash marks in the centre of the field were poorly marked out with white aerosol spray and were too short. The ball person on one sideline was changed 3 times for varying reasons. Credit to both sets of players for playing the game in the best spirit of the game.

Dave Hewitt #607

31/05/15 v Lincolnshire Bombers

Newcastle Vikings

NFL Style hash-marks. Otherwise excellently marked 4G field. one change of chain crew personnel in 1st half. With 59 seconds remaining in the game and Newcastle in possession with a large lead, there was a significant injury to an Aberdeen player. Expecting this to take a while to handle both teams agreed to call the game with the score final.

Stuart Young #33

07/06/15 v Glasgow Tigers

Chorley Buccaneers

100 yard field with no goalposts. Kick off was delayed by 15 minutes due to the late arrival of the away team.

Aminul Hassan #534

Unknown

Merseyside Nighthawks

Junior game played on a full width 90 yard field, there are a number of other sports played on the same pitch including a number of rounders/ softball diamonds and a running track. Despite this the field is in pretty good condition with a few small divots

Lee Taylor #183

Unknown

Hastings Conquerors

Game was suspended in 2nd quarter for 70mins due to serious injury which required specialist medical assistance. Daylight was not an issue but coach drivers time was. We were able to run normal clock but decided to shorten half-time to 10mins.

Simon Ryan #408

31/05/15 v Portsmouth Dreadnaughts

Outstanding items from previous weeks

Sheffield Predators

The umpire had to leave the game in the fourth quarter having earlier injured his ankle in one of these divots. The remainder of the game was officiated with six officials.

Ben Griffiths #228

30/05/15 v East Kilbride Pirates

Northumberland Lightning

Changing room suitable for 3 Rugby officials but no more. Crew was six in number so we also used another room which was in use as an equipment storage room and did not have toilet or washing facilities adjoined to it.

Ian Cubit #457

31/05/15 v Dundee Hurricanes

Carlisle Sentinels

Well marked out field, with the only issues being the numbers were marked too close to the sidelines (about 7 yards to the top) and the field only being 80 yards long. Game was temporarily held up in the 4th quarter due to the attempts of two male streakers to ingress onto the field.

John Roberts #145

31/05/15 v Staffordshire Surge

East Kilbride Pirates

Field marked in red, doubles as Youth field, so 9 yard marks are actually the sideline for the youth field. Otherwise, excellent game management, and a superb day had by all.

Mike Cavanagh #465

28/06/15 v Birmingham Bulls


END ZONE


PLAY OF THE WEEK:


New this week

Play: Team A has no timeouts left. After the ball is dead, B40 charges into A60 at the waist, knocking him to the ground. As A60 hits the ground his helmet comes off. Ruling? Does A60 have to leave the field? (This was Q64 on this year's BAFRA exam)
Ruling?

Last week

Play: 1st and 10 at Team A’s 4-yard line. A12, deep in his end zone, throws a forward pass which is muffed by A25 at Team A’s 2-yard line and then caught by A80 at Team A’s 6-yard line. A80 advances to Team A’s 18-yard line. A60 had gone downfield 5 yards before the pass was thrown. Ruling? (This was Q34 on this year's BAFRA exam)


Ruling: 1st and 10 for Team A at their own 18 yard line. A legal forward pass has crossed the neutral zone when it first strikes the ground, a player, an official or anything beyond the neutral zone inbounds. It has not crossed the neutral zone when it first strikes the ground, a player, an official or anything in or behind the neutral zone inbounds. (2-19-3-a) Therefore since the ball first touches A25, who is behind the neutral zone, this is NOT a forwards pass crossing the neutral zone. Therefore there is no ineligible downfield penalty against A60 here (7-3-10), it is a legal play.


MECHANICS:


New this week

Game Situation: A34 is leaving the field as part of a substitution. The player is 6 yards from his sideline when he removes his helmet, he then walks slowly into his team area. Ruling?
Answer next issue...

Last week

Play: On a 3 man crew, which official should be responsible for timing team timeouts?
Answer: 3 man crews will generally operate with a Linejudge, Lineman and Referee. The referee will be responsible for timing team timeouts (M-23-1-2).


CALENDAR

Date

Event

Contact for details

2015

July 18th (Sat)

BAFRA Board Meeting

secretary@bafra.org

November 14th (Sat)

BAFRA Board Meeting

secretary@bafra.org


BAFRA Directors

President

David Parsons

president@bafra.org

General Secretary

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

Finance

Chalies Dean Young

finance@bafra.org

Operations

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

Recruitment

Kevin Stanton

recruitment@bafra.org

Training

Pete Thom

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