John Slavin Awards 2008

The old joke goes that the University Boat Race is rowed every year, and each year Oxford and Cambridge make the final! When quality of field markings is the measure, the John Slavin Trophy is a bit like that too.

In the Trophy's first year, 2006, Oxford Saints were pipped for the overall title by Cambridgeshire Cats. This year the same two teams came out top, but this time Oxford managed to grab the title by a tiny margin.

The title is awarded to the team that has comes out best in an audit carried out by BAFRA members at each game. This year, like in 2006, the audit covered field markings. Were all the lines on the field and in the team areas marked? Were they straight and clear to see? Were the goals in the right position? A perfectly marked field scores 0, and the award is made to the team that averages the lowest score over the season.

The award is named after John Slavin. John was a long-serving BAFRA official and sometime director of the Association who sadly died in October 2005. In his memory, BAFRA has dedicated an award made to a team that shows commitment to improving the game experience for players and fans, as well as officials.

The full results of the 2008 awards are:

Oxford Saints were awarded their trophy at half time of the Division 1 final at BritBowl weekend. The other winners received framed certificates at half time in their division's championship game. BAFRA President Jim Briggs and Director of Finance Charlie Dean-Young made the presentations.

BAFRA expresses its appreciation to all the teams who put in the extra effort to improve their facilities in 2008, and looks forward to them achieving even better in 2009.