NAME

#

TEAM

CODE

Q

OFFENCE

SUSPENDED

New this week

Richard Hurst

66

Manchester Titans

FGT

2

Player was seen to drag an opponent from a pile of players by the face cage.

24/05/15 v Walney Terriers

Alan Carr

52

Halton Spartans

FGT

2

In retaliation to the above event the player was seen to throw a punch

24/05/15 v Carlisle Sentinels

Matthew McCormack

78

Manchester Titans

FGT

2

Player came off the sideline into the field of play without his helmet to take part in a fight and squared up to an opposing player

24/05/15 v Walney Terriers

Rob Bainbridge

46

Manchester Titans

TGT

2

Player launched into the back of an opponent leading with his helmet

24/05/15 v Walney Terriers

JJ Crawford

56

Glasgow Tigers

TGT

1

Player led with the crown of the helmet and made forcible contact with an opponent's helmet while making blind-side block on interception return.

07/06/15 v Newcastle Vikings

Julian Tovar

76

Hertfordshire Cheetahs

FGT

4

Player was seen to head-butt an opponent. This is this player's second ejection in a calendar year, he is therefore suspended for two games.

31/05/15 v Solent Thrashers & 07/06/15 v Colchester Gladiators

John Kelly

54

Bournemouth Bobcats

FGT

1

Player took exception to a hard, but good tackle by Sussex #45 by punching him several times.

24/05/15 v Hastings Conquerors

Daniel Branch

45

Sussex Thunder

FGT

1

As part of the above incident, player retaliated by throwing punches at Bournemouth #54.

24/05/15 v Kent Exiles

Ruairidh McKillop

77

Lanarkshire Longhorns

FPF

2

Player head-butted an opponent who had fouled him.

Previous weeks

Alexander Saunders

54

Yorkshire Rams

FPF

1

The player threw a punch at an opposing player and connected with their helmet.

24/05/15 v Coventry Jets

Adam Burn

??

DC Presidents

Offence carried over from previous season

22/05/15 v Burnley Tornadoes

HOME TEAM

REPORT

NEXT HOME GAME

New this week

Sheffield Predators Junior

No nine yard marks, team areas marked between 20 yard lines. One one goal, the uprights above the cross bar were approximately 2 feet high and the plane of the goal was approximately 45 degrees off the plane of the endline, this goal was deemed unusable and therefore unavailable and therefore the game was played with only one goal. The field has been heavily sanded by the ground-staff and as a consequence divots are starting to form in some areas of the field, if corrective work is not done these could become a trip hazard in a subsequent game.

The visiting team only arrived at the venue 30 minutes before the scheduled kick-off time because they initially went to the wrong venue. The scheduled kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes. Ball persons and chain crew were later in being provided and two members of the chain crew were changed at half-time.

Ben Griffiths #228

Unknown

Sheffield Predators

Field as above. The umpire had to leave the game in the fourth quarter having earlier injured his ankle in one of these divots. The remainder of the game was officiated with six officials.

Ben Griffiths #228

30/05/15 v East Kilbride Pirates

Northumberland Lightning

Changing room suitable for 3 Rugby officials but no more. Crew was six in number so we also used another room which was in use as an equipment storage room and did not have toilet or washing facilities adjoined to it.

Ian Cubit #457

31/05/15 v Dundee Hurricanes

Hastings Conquerors

NFL-style hashmarks. NFL-style team areas (between 30-yard lines). Chain broke during game. Balls under pressure when presented and short delay while pump found. Changing room building was locked and not reopened for the officials until 23 minutes after the game had ended.

Jim Briggs #31

24/05/15 v Bournemouth Bobcats

London Hornets

Game played at Hornets' new venue East London Rugby Club. The field was marked in blue across the full width of a rugby field. Hash marks were too wide although in proportion to the sidelines and went through the entire length of the endzones. The field was also inaccurate in 10 yard {metre} sections so the chain was definite in all instances. There was also a dangerous bald and shingle covered section within the away teams team area. This will not be a problem when the field is marked out correctly.

Lee Mills #70

Unknown

Leeds Bobcats

No nine yard marks. No limit lines. 80 yard field.

Dan Holt #371

24/05/15 v Leicester Falcons

Manchester Titans

The 90 yard pitch was marked with blue lines with paint that unfortunately does not go well on sand; there was a large sand patch between the 15 and 30 yard lines. There were more broken lines on the field than solid ones as the pitch has to be repaired after the rugby season. Hash marks were often difficult to spot so the umpire took spots from the wing officials which in some cases delayed ball placement slightly

Lee Taylor #183

24/05/15 v Walney Terriers

East Kilbride Pirates

Field marked in red, doubles as Youth field, so 9 yard marks are actually the sideline for the youth field. Otherwise, excellent game management, and a superb day had by all.

Mike Cavanagh #465

28/06/15 v Birmingham Bulls

Outstanding items from previous weeks

Newcastle Vikings

Field was extremely well marked out. However, only 8yd end zones and NFL style hash marks. Chain crew was changed at half time and overall were poor. Game balls provided were old and worn but were still suitable for use.

Ian Cubitt #457

24/05/15 v Aberdeen Roughnecks

Sussex Thunder

Game started 15min late due to late ambulance.

Ellis Bowyer #502

24/05/15 v Kent Exiles

Gateshead Senators

Goalpost crossbars 3 yards beyond end line. Game balls provided were in good condition but were NFL balls without the white band on them. Visiting coach was happy to use them. Down box marker sometimes not displaying number one correctly and only four foot high.

Ian Cubitt #457

24/05/15 v Doncaster Mustangs

Humber Warhawks

At approx 5.00pm with 10 mins remaining in the 4^th quarter the game was suspended due to a brief thunderstorm. After allowing for the 30 minute period required by rule the game resumed at approx 6.00pm. Due to the away team needing to leave by 6.45pm it was agreed by both head coaches to have a running clock for the final 10 minutes. The game concluded at 6.18pm without further incident. Thanks were expressed to both head coaches for their co-operation in both clearing the field with haste and agreeing on the best way to proceed once the game was able to be re-started.

David Hewitt #602

24/05/15 v Sandwell Steelers

Carlisle Sentinels

Well marked out field, with the only issues being the numbers were marked too close to the sidelines (about 7 yards to the top) and the field only being 80 yards long. Game was temporarily held up in the 4th quarter due to the attempts of two male streakers to ingress onto the field.

John Roberts #145

31/05/15 v Staffordshire Surge

Clackmannanshire Ravens

Yard lines were not of correct distance. Some were 9.5 yds and some 10.5. There was one section that had 5 yard hash marks instead of 4 marks. The rest of the field was correctly marked and dimensions were regulation 80 x 40. Teams both had black uniforms but with contrasting colours for numbers. Referee was notified of this situation by BAFRA/BAFA earlier in week and said it was ok to play. Confusion over the kickoff time meant that the game kicked off at 1:45pm. Officials were given home team's locker room that had been vacated by team already. This room had a shared shower area that ended up being used as changing space for visiting players as their locker room was too small for team and provided no privacy from players.

Shawn Sombati #15

24/05/15 v East Kilbride Pirates

Bournemouth Bobcats

Team is playing on a new field this year, adjacent to old field. 90yd field with some "largish" 10yd zones. Team areas marked to 20yd lines. No 9yd marks. Hash-marks spray-painted at inconsistent intervals.

Simon Ryan #408

25/05/15 v Solent Thrashers

PLAY OF THE WEEK:

New this week

Play: 1st and 10 at Team A’s 4-yard line. A12, deep in his end zone, throws a forward pass which is muffed by A25 at Team A’s 2-yard line and then caught by A80 at Team A’s 6-yard line. A80 advances to Team A’s 18-yard line. A60 had gone downfield 5 yards before the pass was thrown. Ruling? (This was Q34 on this year's BAFRA exam)
Ruling?

Last week

Play: 1st and 10 at Team B’s 40-yard line. A12 throws a forward pass to airborne receiver A90 who is at Team B’s 35-yard line. A90 controls the ball and, seeing he is about to land out of bounds, while still airborne he throws the ball forward to A80 who catches the ball at Team B’s 30-yard line where A80 is downed. Ruling? (This was Q6 on this year's BAFRA exam).

Ruling: 1st and 10 for Team A at the Team B 30 yard line. A catch is not completed until a player returns to the ground holding the ball. Therefore A90 is not in possession of the ball during this play (2-4-1a). This means that A90 bats the ball, there is no second forward pass (2-11-3). Since any eligible player can legally bat a forward pass in any direction (9-4-1-a), the action by A90 is legal and A80 is awarded with a catch and first down.

MECHANICS:

New this week

Game Situation: On a 3 man crew, which official should be responsible for timing team timeouts?
Answer next issue...

Last week

Play: How many times should the umpire allow the ball to fall off the tee at a kick off before insisting that the kicking team get a player to hold the ball in place?
Answer: M-10-1-c-1. After the ball has been blown or fallen off the tee twice, insist that the kicking team use a holder.

Date

Event

Contact for details

2015

July 18^th (Sat)

BAFRA Board Meeting

secretary@bafra.org

November 14^th (Sat)

BAFRA Board Meeting

secretary@bafra.org

BAFRA Directors

President

David Parsons

president@bafra.org

General Secretary

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

Finance

Chalies Dean Young

finance@bafra.org

Operations

Richard Vernon

operations@bafra.org

Recruitment

Kevin Stanton

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.