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

Not Long Now

Only 3 weeks to go now till the main event of our year. Preparations are going well and I’m sure it will all go to plan on the day. There are many dedicated people working in the background to make it a success. Every year the number of people staying at the Convention on the Friday night increases and this year has been no different. We have now reached 75 which is fantastic! I look forward to meeting everyone again.

104 and counting

The following 104 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, K Halvorsen, 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 Mallia, 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, M 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, H Wiltshire, L Wood, L Wooton, D Wright, J Wyse, B Yates, C Young and S Young.

Convention Details

Full details of the Convention will be in Newsflash in 2 weeks however I understand some people have been asking about the start time on the Saturday. The Welcome Desk will open at 9:00am with the Convention starting at 9:30 prompt. As such you need to be there for 9:00am. There are travel details and directions on the Convention Centre Website: www.yarnfieldpark.com.

It’s Closing Time. Almost!

The closing date for registering to attend the Convention has passed. However you can still come along if you decide fairly quickly to register. Nearer the time we will only have, Convention Packs, DVD’s etc. for those who pre-register. 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: Have you paid?

Payment for Convention rooms were 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

2015 UNIVERSITY BOWL GAME

The BAFRA Selection Committee is pleased to announce the following crew for the 2015 BUCS Bowl Game:

Referee: Brian Yates

Umpire: David Parsons

Head Linesman: Martin Cockerill

Linejudge: Les Connor

Backjudge: Richard Prattley

Fieldjudge: Jed Brookes-Lewis

Sidejudge: Tim Ockendon

This Final will be played at Allianz Park, London, NW41RL, on Saturday 21^st March 2015 at 2.30pm. Please join with the selection committee in congratulating these officials on their appointments.

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN AREA FINALS

The National Division of the BUCS League will have two area finals this season. The winner of each of these will be promoted into the Premier Division in 2015/16. Several officials have asked about the status of these games. I can confirm that they are neither Bowl Games, nor games solely for Elite officials. Both these games will be played on Sunday 22^nd March 2015, the exact venues are still to be announced.

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

OTHER GAMES IN MARCH

This Sunday sees the only round of Play-Off games before the finals. However, we have had a few requests from teams for officials to cover Varsity Games and Pre-season games this month. Officials assigned to the latter must ensure that they and the teams are aware of the rule changes which do apply to these games. These are available at http://rules.bafra.org/rules/index.htm. It is therefore essential that you keep Arbiter updated in March.

Varsity games scheduled to be played midweek will not be assigned via Arbiter, instead I will contact all officials living in the area to see if they are available. Although no games are being played over the weekend of the BAFRA Convention, if you do hear of such a game then please let me know immediately.

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

REGULAR SEASON

The Senior League season starts 4^th/5^th April, although the final version of the BAFA fixture list is still to be finalised, I anticipate about 15 games will be played. This is Easter weekend so it is really important you Block Out these dates on Arbiter now if you are unavailable.

I will give more detail about the senior/junior league season at the Convention.

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

DISCIPLINARY UPDATE

In last week's Newsflash, we reported the disqualification of Nick Lennox of Durham Saints. This disqualification actually took place on 8^th February 2015, but the referee forgot to report it and it was not brought to BAFA's attention until 22^nd February. In the meantime, Lennox had played in a game on 15^th February, for which he should have been suspended.

Normally playing a suspended player would result in a team forfeiting a game, but on this occasion Durham were able to provide considerable evidence that they had attempted to clarify the status of their player with BAFA, the league and the referee for their game on the 15^th. Thus they will not be required to forfeit the game and instead will be fined £50. Lennox will be suspended for their semi-final on 8th March.

It's a long time since we had a cock-up by a BAFRA member on a disciplinary report matter. The person concerned has apologised, but it behoves us all to be vigilant about reports. It also begs the question why nobody else on the crew spotted that the disqualification didn't appear in that week's Newsflash? We have checks and balances in place, but even the best processes can be defeated by combinations of human error.

Jim Briggs

discipline@britishamericanfootball.org

2015 SAPPHIRE SERIES TOURNAMENT

Can I begin by thanking the 14 officials who covered Round 2 of the Sapphire Series last Saturday. Round 3 will be played on Saturday 14^th March. Details are below.

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.

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 Road, 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.

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

RULES UPDATE

The new BAFA rules came into force on 1^st March and apply to any BAFANL pre-season friendlies (but not remaining BUCS games). I will be going over the new rules at the Convention, and also the mechanics for 40/25-second play clocks, but if anyone needs to clarify anything before then, please contact me.

Jim Briggs

rules@britishamericanfootball.org

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. The agenda and all accompanying papers will be sent out electronically to all members this week. If you have not received yours by 7^th March, please contact me.

As always, a proportion of the Directors will stand down at the AGM as their two year term of office is completed. Thank you to those who have put themselves forward for election to the vacancies. They are as follows:

Director of Finance:

1) Roger Brown (469); Proposed by David Knight (135); Seconded by Jim Briggs (31)

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

Director of Operations:

1) Richard Vernon (103); Proposed by Brian Yates (29); Seconded by Graham Coleman (177)

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)

Therefore, Steve Tonkinson and Richard Vernon are automatically elected. Qualified members will be asked to vote between Roger Brown and Charles Young for the Director of Finance post and between John Griffin and Kevin Stanton for the Director of Recruitment post. Only qualified members may vote and proxy voting papers will be sent to all qualified members this week for those unable to attend the AGM. Again, please contact me as a matter of urgency if yours has not arrived by 7^th March.

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

QUALIFIED

Congratulations to Daniel Johnston on completing all of the requirements necessary to become Qualified. Thanks to Liam Wooton and all those who are helping with Daniel‘s training.

Pete Thom

training@bafra.org

DISCIPLINARY CASES

GAME MANAGEMENT REPORTS

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CALENDAR