BAFRA ANNUAL CONVENTION – SAT 28^TH & SUN 29^TH MARCH

Ton Up!

Back in 2006 when I organised my first Convention as Director of Training we attracted 36 members. I was really disappointed that year as I thought we could have done a lot better. Since then we set out to make the event more attractive and affordable to all and my ambition was to reach that magical number of 100. Well this week we finally reached that mark when Alan Christopher became the 100^th person to register. This landmark figure demonstrates how BAFRA has developed and grown over the last 10 years and we should all be proud of this achievement.

As the person who takes the lead in organising the Convention I do tend to attract a lot of the praise. However it’s the work and effort put in by the BAFRA Board and many unnamed members over the years that have brought us to where we are today. I will ensure those people get the appropriate recognition at the Convention. Looks like we will have a busy weekend

100 and counting

The following 100 members have booked their places at the Convention. If you are not listed it may be because you have only recently confirmed your place in the last couple of days. An updated list will be issued next week.

S Alger, M Allen, J Bennett, S Bernardi, F Bevan, S Blake, J Briggs, A Brooks, J Brookes-Lewis, R Brown, J Burns, D Burridge, M Burrows, A Christopher, P Clarke, A Cockerill, M Cockerill, G Coleman, L Connor, I Davies, R Davis, S Egan, D Froom, Mt Gibson, Muz Gibson, K Glover, R Goodgroves, R Grace, J Graveling, J Griffin, B Griffiths, A Hassan, G Hedges, D Hewitt, R Hill, D Holt, H Horner, P Hume, J Ikins, C Jackson, B Jacquin, C Jarvis, L Johnson, D Knight, A Lambert, B LeMonnier, T Lindeman, A Lovell, J Mead, J Meredith, A Miller, R Moger, A Murrell, T Newsham, M Niven, T Ockendon, P Ogden, F Oldfield, C Olsson, D Parsons, P Parsons, E Paterson, A Pickles, R Prattley, M Prentice, S Quick, H Richardson, P Roberts, J Roberts, S Ryan, R Samples, I Sneddon, S Sombati, K Stanton, D Sterling, P Sutton, L Taylor, S Taylor, P Thom, F Thomson, P Todd, S Tonkinson, R Vernon, T Vickers, J Walmsley-Foxton, D Welsh, S Welsh, R Whitby, K Wickham, C Willox, A Wilson, M Wilson, L Wood, L Wooton, D Wright, J Wyse, B Yates, C Young and S Young.

It’s Closing Time. Almost!

The closing date for registering to attend the Convention has been extended to Monday 2^nd March. You can still come along if you decide nearer the time however we will only have, Convention Packs, DVD’s etc. for those who pre-register before this date. Also worth noting is the accommodation subsidy will not be available after this date as we need to confirm numbers to the Convention Centre and make a payment. To register please contact Charles Young at convention@bafra.org.

If you are not taking advantage of the excellent accommodation rates available at Yarnfield Park Training & Conference Centre you still need to register to attend the Convention. To register please contact Charles Young at convention@bafra.org. Full details of the Convention and accommodation rates can be found at the following link: http://www.bafra.org/newsflash/2015/201501.htm

Payment

Payment for Convention rooms are due by 2^nd March, and cheques should be made payable to BAFRA Ltd and sent to Charles Young at 8 Shaw Square, Earby, Barnoldswick, Lancashire, BB18 6SF. Cheques may not be cashed till this date. If you wish to pay out of game fees please let finance@bafra.org know. If paying electronically please quote booking reference and name and use the account numbered 10255350, sort code 16-16-11, BAFRA Ltd, RBS, Cheetham Hill, Manchester. Please let us know by email if you use this method to finance@bafra.org.

Davie Parsons

president@bafra.org

PLAY OFFS/AREA FINALS AND PREMIER BOWL

March sees the completion of the BUCS League. The Premier and Area Semi-Finals (2 Southern/2 Northern) will take place over the weekend 7^th/8^th March. The Premier Bowl is Saturday 21^st March at Allianz Park, London, NW4 at 2.30pm. The two area finals will take place on 22^nd March.

All officials are asked to ensure that their Arbiter information is up to date as selection for these prestigious games will take place shortly.

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

MORE GAMES OVER THE WEEKEND 21^ST/22^ND MARCH

In addition to College Finals we now have an increasing number of other games, including college varsity games and senior league pre-season games on both 21^st and 22^nd March. Please make sure you update Arbiter as we will be assigning crews to these games which are mainly in the south east/south coast and east.

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

2015 SAPPHIRE SERIES TOURNAMENT

The Sapphire Series is the national championship for women’s contact football. The series, which comprises of 3 Rounds, (14^th February, 28^th February, 14^th March) sees teams compete across a number of tournaments in the 5 v 5 format. Last week I requested volunteers to come forward to assist with Round 2 of this series of 5 v 5 tournaments. I am pleased to report a number of officials did come forward so we are able to fully cover all three Tournaments this Saturday, 28^th February.

Officials are needed to cover these tournaments; a game fee will be paid for covering these events.

We now require officials to cover Round 3. Officials who have officiated the Opal Series last year are asked to provide their valuable experience but I also encourage newer officials to try to officiate at one of these events. So far 8 officials who had never officiated 5 v 5 football have worked these games so this is a great opportunity to develop your officiating skills.

ROUND 3 – 14^th March

Hertfordshire Tournament (1300 start):

Venue: Herts Sports Village, de Havilland Campus, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9EU

Sandwell Tournament (1200 Start):

Venue: Tipton Sports Academy, Wednesbury Oak Roak, Tipton, West Midlands DY4 0BS

Leeds Tournament:

Venue and other details to be confirmed

TOURNAMENT FINALS DAY - 4^th April

Venue: University of Derby.

Let me know by email if you can cover any of these events. Should you require any additional information I will be pleased to assist.

AGM

The Annual General Meeting of BAFRA Limited will be held at 5:00pm on 28^th March 2015 at Yarnfield Park Training & Conference Centre, Yarnfield, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0NL as part of the Convention. All members are invited to attend. As always a proportion of the Director posts are up for election. This year they are: Director of Finance, Director of Operations, Director of Recruitment and Director without Portfolio #2

As always, the Directors encourage qualified members to put themselves forward for election to all posts. Please note that the closing date for nominations is 5:00pm on Saturday 28^th February 2015, so if you are considering standing for any of the posts, please ensure that I have received your nomination by then.

To date, the following nominations have been received (correct to 11:00pm, Tuesday 24^th February 2015):

Director of Finance:

1) Charles Young (258); Proposed by Andrew Lovell (559); Seconded by Jonathan Ikins (104)

Director of Operations: - No nominations yet received.

Director of Recruitment:

1) John Griffin (598); Proposed by Martin Cockerill (345); Seconded by Alisha Cockerill (573)

2) Kevin Stanton (157); Proposed by Pete Thom (200); Seconded by Mike Cavanagh (465)

Director without Portfolio #2:

1) Steve Tonkinson (99); Proposed by David Parsons (425); Seconded by Graham Coleman (177)

The final list will be published in next week’s Newsflash.

Any qualified member considering standing for one of the above posts and wishes to know more information about what it entails should contact me or, should they so wish, any other director. Papers for the AGM will be sent to all members by 7th March 2015. Proxy voting applications for qualified members unable to attend the AGM will be sent by the same date

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

BAFRA CHARITY 2015

The Directors again invite members to nominate a charity for BAFRA members to support in 2015. Any member wishing to nominate a charity should send their suggestion to me by 28^th February. Thank you to those who have already made suggestions. The final list with web links to the charities proposed will be in next week’s Newsflash.

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

QUALIFIED

Congratulations to Stephen Donaldson and Jason Mead on completing all of the requirements necessary to become Qualified. Thanks to all those who helped with the guys' training.

Pete Thom

training@bafra.org

DISCIPLINARY CASES

GAME MANAGEMENT REPORTS

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CALENDAR