BAFRA Newsflash

http://www.bafra.org

Issue: 06/15

5th March 2015


BAFRA ANNUAL CONVENTION – SAT 28TH & SUN 29TH 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 2nd 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 21st 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 22nd 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 4th/5th 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 8th February 2015, but the referee forgot to report it and it was not brought to BAFA's attention until 22nd February. In the meantime, Lennox had played in a game on 15th 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 15th. 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 14th March. Details are below.


The Sapphire Series is the national championship for women’s contact football. The series, which comprises of 3 Rounds, (14th February, 28th February, 14th 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 – 14th 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 - 4th 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 1st 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 28th 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 7th 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 7th 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


NAME

#

TEAM

CODE

Q

OFFENCE

SUSPENDED

New this week – none








Previous weeks – none











GAME MANAGEMENT REPORTS


HOME TEAM

REPORT

NEXT HOME GAME

New this week

Teeside Steelers

2 fields were marked out with cones only, which made it very difficult to judge Touchdowns, out of bounds plays, halfway and the 5 yard zone, the 12 yard cones for 2 point tries were also missing. There were no Down Box indicators on either game, these would help the officials greatly with the location of the previous spot.

All 4 teams fought hard and showed great spirit; the future of this league will only get better with time.

Chris Jarvis #10

Unknown

Greenwich Mariners

80 Yard field. Markings almost non existent in most places. No hash marks in the middle of the field and inbound marks only on one sideline. No 9 yard marks or numbers. Team areas not marked out. Chain set had one of the headers missing from the stake. Greenwich could only provide one legal game ball so City provided two of their own.

Lee Mills #80

Unknown

Keele Crusaders

100 yard field with one set of goalposts so all drives went one way. Field was also narrow. Home team were only able to provide us with 2 game balls which were very poor quality. Fortunately the away team bought their game balls too so we agreed to use them instead. Keele were also not able to provide ball persons and there was a change in chain crew at half-time.

Aminal Hassan #534

Unknown

Manchester Titans

The pitch was well marked for the 5v5 games of the Sapphire series. With 3 minutes to go in the second half an injury to a Leeds player delayed the game by 45 minutes.

Lee Tayor #183

Unknown

Outstanding items from previous weeks

Kingston Cougars

No 9 yard lines. No Hash Marks on inbounds lines running in line with posts. Field extremely muddy in parts. Team and Coaches area marked using cones only.

Richard Vernon #103

08/03/15 v Swansea Titans

Birmingham Lions

Kick-off delayed for an hour due to late arrival of away team. Field markings v. faint.

Jed Brooes Lewis #395

08/03/15 v Stirling Clansmen


END ZONE


PLAY OF THE WEEK:


New this week

Play: A's ball, 4th and goal, on B's 2. The score is A21-B26. QB A14's quick pitch from the Team B 4 yard line is muffed by A33 on Team B's 6 yard line. The ball rolls into Team B's end zone where A74 recovers. Time expired in the fourth quarter during the down. Ruling?
Ruling?

Last week

Play: A's ball, 3rd and 8, on B's 48. A15's throws a legal forward pass to A89. B33 turns his back to the line of scrimmage and waves his hands near A89's face. A89, attempting to come back to the under-thrown but catchable ball, knocks B33 down on B's 34 and the pass falls incomplete.


Ruling: A's ball, 1st and 10, on B's 34. Defensive pass interference. B33 was not playing the ball when the contact occurred. It is Team A's ball at the spot of the foul since the foul occurred less than 15 yards beyond the previous spot.


MECHANICS:


New this week

Game Situation: In the event that an official throws a flag for a foul, and that flag falls in the wrong location, how should the official act to ensure the flag is moved to the right place?
Answer next issue...

Last week

Play: How should a Linesman and Linejudge work together during a penalty enforcement to ensure that yardage is marked off correctly? Note that this is not a free kick play.
Answer: M-19-3-6 & M-19-3-8. The Linesman shall move the same distance as the Umpire and ensure that the distance moved is correct. The Linejudge shall remain at the enforcement spot until all officials are happy that the penalty has been enforced correctly.


CALENDAR

Date

Event

Contact for details

2015

March 7th (Sat)

BAFRA Board Meeting

secretary@bafra.org

March 21st / 22nd

BUCS FinalsWeekend


March 28th & 29th

BAFRA Annual Convention

president@bafra.org

May 9th (Sat)

BAFRA Board Meeting

secretary@bafra.org

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

Andrew Lovell

finance@bafra.org

Operations

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

Recruitment

James Meredith

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