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How BAFRA Works

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BAFRA is governed by eight directors who are responsible to the membership for the smooth running of the Association. The eight are elected bi-annually (four each year) and report to the membership at the AGM held every year during the BAFRA Convention. The Association has a constitution (laid out in the member's handbook) and all members are expected to adhere to it. The directors are:

• President
• General Secretary
• Director of Finance
• Director of Operations
• Director of Training
• Director of Recruitment
• Director Without Portfolio #1
• Director Without Portfolio #2

For an up to date list of who holds which post, please refer to the contacts page.

The directors are responsible for the day to day running of the Association. They meet periodically to discuss strategic issues and to determine BAFRA's response to external matters such as relations with BAFA and other organisations. BAFA is the 'umbrella' organisation for British American Football. A good deal of BAFRA's directors' business is now conducted by telephone or online as this cuts down on costs.

Briefly, the directors have the following responsibilities:

• President - Chairs BAFRA and co-ordinates business and is the first 'port of call' by organisations outside of BAFRA
• General Secretary - Deals with the general administration of BAFRA, arranges Directors meetings and is responsible for membership issues
• Director of Finance - Looks after all aspects of BAFRA's money, including dealing with teams and leagues on any financial matters
• Director of Operation - Liaises with the leagues and is the person with overall responsibility for the scheduling of games and Officials
• Director of Training - Co-ordinates all training programmes, assessment and exams and is responsible for the organisation of the Annual Convention
• Director of Recruitment - Co-ordinates recruitment activities, first point of contact for prospective officials
• Director’s Without Portfolio - No specific responsibilities. Instead (as and when required) they are assigned to be lead director on specific tasks.

In addition BAFRA has a number of standing Committees. These Committees can be divided into two sorts: 'Expert' and 'Judgemental'.

Examples of the former are:

• The Rules and Mechanics Committee
• The Examinations Committee

Examples of the latter are :

• The Selection Committee
• The Officiating Review Committee
• The Disciplinary Committee

These Committees are open to all members of BAFRA. Generally, volunteers are called for and if too many are forthcoming then an election takes place.

Many areas of the country have enough officials to form a Local Association. Some hold regular meetings at which discussions are held over rules questions, peculiar happenings during games etc.

There are, in addition, some volunteer positions within the organisation. The Director of Finance has assistants who help him with the weekly financial administration work. The Director of Training has people scattered around the country who help with induction training. Last but by no means least, there is a person whose responsibility it is to receive and then disseminate the paperwork from each game.

All this means that there are a lot of people involved with the running of BAFRA and they are all volunteers!

If you think you can assist in any way contact the General Secretary (or any other Director). All comments are welcomed.