NAME

#

TEAM

CODE

Q

OFFENCE

SUSPENDED

New this week

Jordan Weatherill

22

East Kent Mavericks

TGT

2

Player made forcible contact with their helmet/shoulder pad to the head area of the ball carrier who was in the grasp of other defensive players and whose forward progress had also been stopped.

02/08/15 v Solent Thrashers

Previous weeks

Steven Wilson

92

East Kilbride Pirates

FPF

2

As the play came to an end, a prone Lancashire player attempting to get up was aggressively head butted by East Kilbride defender #92 knocking him back to the floor.

01/08/15 v Tamworth Phoenix

Sean Lewis

1

London Olympians

FPF

3

Player retaliated to being hit late out of bounds. The retaliation instigated unrest from a large number of players leading to 4 Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties.

09/08/15 v Bristol Aztecs & 1 more game

HOME TEAM

REPORT

NEXT HOME GAME

New this week

Tamworth Phoenix

Hash marks at inbounds lines had completely washed away prior to game - field markings faint at sideline. Changing rooms just adequate for four man crew, but as five is norm, and we were seven, quite small and a long distance from the field. Officials assistants slow and inattentive despite long briefing from HL prior to game. Improved in second half following change of down box operator. Plaudits to both teams for a see-saw game worthy of its Premier status and undecided until the final seconds.

Mike Cavanagh #465

Unknown

Manchester Titans

90 yard field with some sanded areas was well marked in Blue with missing limit lines and the Sideline Hashes were only 4" long. Apart from that it was very good.

Chris Jarvis #10

Unknown

Northumberland Lightning

No limit lines,no 9 yard marks. Field incorrectly marked at one end with hash marks extending into the endzone, this due to a miscalculation on the length the field was going to be.90 yard field with 10 yard endzones. Team area marked between the 30 yard lines. One ball person changed at half time.

David Hewitt #607

Unknown

Colchester Gladiators

Sideline extension hashes were incomplete at one end of the field, other lines were faint in parts but held up well and remained visible throughout the game despite the poor weather. Two stoppages to repair the chain set. One ball needed to be inflated a couple of times during the game. Game held up by 20 minutes due to late arrival of East Kent players and no roster being available, delay penalty was enforced on the opening kickoff.

Phil Clarke #262

02/08/15 v Farnham Knights

Carlisle Sentinels

Field is 80 yards in length, the 3-yard PAT line is on the 2-yard line at one end of the field. Some hashmarks not aligned perfectly but a good surface despite the weather. Facilities and hospitality showed by GM excellent.

A G Miller #124

09/08/15 v Walney Terriers

Wembley Stallions

Due to a player being injured and the ambulance being required to transport him to hospital, with 6 minutes of the 4^th Q remaining and the clock being a running clock the head coaches and the referee agreed to shorten the 4^th Q to 0 minutes and the game was declared finished

Keith Wickham #423

Unknown

Merseyside Nighthawks

Well marked 90-yard field, however 9-yard marks were not present, the mark for the extra point/two point conversion was at the two yard line instead of the three and team areas were not marked.

Paul Todd #289

Unknown

Outstanding items from previous weeks

Halton Spartans

Game was suspended for 50 minutes for lightning. 90 yard field impeccably marked as well as a commentator, referee's microphone and electronic scoreboard making Halton a brilliant gameday experience.

Aminul Hassan #534

02/08/15 v Walney Terriers

London Hornets

The field between the goal lines was marked into 80 segments, each of more than 1 yard. The chains were accurate at 10 yards and were used exclusively in preference to field markings. Penalty yardage was paced to ensure fairness. There were no nine-yard marks or numbers, the coaching box was marked at 3 feet (ignored), the team area at 3 feet (became the coaching box) and the limit lines at 3 feet. The officials' changing room was a significant upgrade from previous experiences at this venue, being of a large size, with showers and toilets. It was however a significant distance from the field. The KO was delayed by 15mins due to the medical provision getting stuck in traffic.

Steven Leonard #370

09/08/15 v London Blitz B

Doncaster Mustangs

No limit lines, 3 yard marks or 9 yard marks. Hash marks on sidelines weren't always at 1 yard intervals, one was only half a yard past a main line. The game was suspended for approx 60 mins with 3.43 left in the 3rd quarter due to a rather violent thunderstorm which fortunately cleared quickly. One ball person then had to be changed due to needing to go to work. Plaudits go to the players and coaches of both teams for clearing the field quickly and showing good humour despite what was obviously a frustrating wait to re-start.

David Hewitt #607

09/08/15 v Chester Romans

Sussex Thunder

Chains run on home team sideline at the request of home team. Only one of the pylons was weighted and capable of standing erect. The others had to be removed after being blown onto the field on several occasions. Game temporarily suspended with 7.38 remaining in 2nd quarter to allow game management to repair a trip hazard.

Tim Ockendon #481

09/08/15 v Portsmouth Dreadnoughts

Hertfordshire Cheetahs

Changing room not lockable. No limit lines. One ball person changed at half time.

Pete Parsons #321

09/08/15 v Ouse Valley Eagles

Lincolnshire Bombers

90 yard field, 10 yard end zones shortened to 7 yards - too close to perimeter fence. No 9 yard marks or coaching boxes.

Richard Whitby #136

09/08/15 v Humber Warhawks

London Olympians

Played at Peckham Rye Park. Field marked in blue with other sport markings in white. Posts only at one end so all scrimmage plays went towards that end. Field surface uneven in places but any trip hazards had been filled with sand. No numbers or 9-yard marks and inbounds lines at NFL distance. No team area markings but spectators were separated from the field but suspended ropes that approximated as a limit line. Officials assistants only provided just before KO despite best efforts of gameday management and two personnel changes were made at half time. Changing facilities good but not locked during game.

Tim Ockendon #481

09/08/15 v Bristol Aztecs

Leeds Bobcats

The pitch is only 80 yards long,but the playing surface and markings were good.

Muz Gibson #268

02/08/15 v Humber Warhawks

Birmingham Bulls

Field was well marked but faint, one goal was standard rugby size, the other was Gallic football with a lower crossbar and different width. Game was played using both sets of posts, neither side objected.

Ian Wainwright #567

09/08/15 v Cambridgeshire Cats

Clyde Valley Blackhawks

Possibly the best marked out pitch I have seen so far, very little to fault. Changing room was small and had no coat hooks, but did have a bench and was lockable. One change of ball person for the second half. Game was abandoned prior to the start of the second half at the request of the away Head Coach due to insufficient players to continue the game safely. The result was declared final following the agreement of both coaches.

John Roberts #145

09/08/15 v Nottingham Caesars

PLAY OF THE WEEK:

New this week

Play: 1^st and 10 for Team A at the Team A 4 yard line. Lineman B90 is caught offside at the snap. Quarterback A4 takes the snap in the pocket and drops back into the endzone, realising that B90 has been drawn offside decides to throw the ball towards the sidelines where no Team A eligible receiver is in a position to catch the ball. The ball lands on the ground incomplete at the Team A 2 yard line. A4 was under no pressure when he threw the ball. Ruling?
Ruling?

Last week

Play: A's ball on B's 3, try. A56's snap goes high and is caught by kicker A4 above his head at B's 8. A4 attempts a quick drop goal, the trajectory of which is low. The ball hits A56's helmet behind the line of scrimmage and rebounds into the possession of A4. A4 runs into the end zone with the ball. Ruling?

Ruling: Try is good, team A score 2 points. The ball never crossed the line of scrimmage, therefore the ball can be recovered and advanced by either team.

MECHANICS:

New this week

Game Situation: 2^nd and 10 at team A's 23 yard line. Quarterback A6 drops back to pass the ball. As A6 begins to pass the ball at the 15 yard line, he is contacted by B78. A6 continues with his throwing action and releases the ball. The ball lands on the ground on team A's 20 yard line. There are no receivers in the area where the ball landed. It is not clear who the Quarterback was trying to throw the ball to before he was contacted.
Answer next issue...

Last week

Play: On a 3 man crew, which officials have the forward progress of the kick returner?
Answer: The Linesman sets up in his normal position, with the Linejudge on the pressbox sideline on team A's restraining line. The Referee sets up deep in the middle of the field. The wing officials have responsibility for their entire sidelines and must rule on the ball carrier's forward progress.

Date

Event

Contact for details

2015

September 26^th (Sat)

Britbowl

October 31^st (Sat)

BUCS season begins

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.