FOR OFFICIALS, ABOUT OFFICIALS, BY OFFICIALS

December 2005

Table of Contents

1. Welcome
   - a message from the editor.
2. A Welcome Return
   - after a gap - its back again.
3. Communications
   - the Director "must do better".
4. Development Plan 2006
   - direction for BAFRA.
5. The President
   - a new man in the role.
6. The Annual Exam
   - how it will work in 2006.
7. The AGM, Training Weekend & Annual Convention
   - advance notice of the Convention.
8. The Financial Director's Report
   - thoughts from Charlie.
9. Youth and Development Report December 2006
   - Terry's bit.
10. Times Past
    - thoughts from Phil Cottier.
11. We Need You Back
    - opinion from a prodigal son.
12. 10 Differences between British American Footall now and in the 1980s
    - an old fogie reminisces
13. Why I Became an American Football Official
    - Pete from player to official.
14. Humour?
    - an attempt, at least.
15. Helpful Hints for Better Officiating
    - thoughts on how to do it.
16. Linesman and Chain Crew
    - liaising with with them.
17. Coin Toss
    - a true story.
18. I'm an Official - get me out of here!
    - a story in a picture.
19. Classified Ads
    - buy and sell.

WELCOME

Have you ever wondered how in magazines they always manage to have some letters in the letters page, even though the magazine has only just come out? Well, having taken over the helm of editing the resurrected Flag Down, I have learnt the answer - they write them themselves.

I will be honest, the thought did cross my mind, but with so many clever people within the officiating fraternity, I was sure that nobody was going to be fooled by the Dear Ed, "I think the yearly BAFRA membership fee is far too low", type of letter.

So instead you have got this; a plea from the heart (yes some officials have got one) for you to write in, and get those burning issues off your chest or wherever else you may keep them! Do not be afraid to speak your mind, the more contentious the issue (2" or 1" striped shirts) the better the read. The questions you want to ask are probably the questions we all want to ask, so, please write in today.

In this Issue you will find some new correspondence but you will also find some useful hints from past editions which may assist you now, some 10 - 15 years from its first publication.

This is my first attempt at editing anything and due to this lack of knowledge you may find the layout somewhat confusing, "so am I", so let me know what you want included and how you would like YOUR magazine presented.

Also in the next edition I will hopefully get the size of the fonts correct and all of the margins etc in the right place.

Ed.

A Welcome Return

It's been a long time since an edition of Flagdown was issued and hopefully there will be a lot more to follow this one. I'm sure everyone would join me in thanking Colin for his efforts in putting this edition together.

Communications

When asked to contribute an article for this edition I initially thought, "What am I going to write about" however, after talking to a few other Officials and Directors it became clear that communicating more with the membership was something that needed to be addressed. There was a general feeling that The Board of Directors did not communicate enough and should use outlets such as Newsflash to keep everyone up to date on the current issues within BAFRA, the game within the UK and also our plans for the future. Hopefully we can do better during the next 12 Months.

Development Plan: 2006

At the recent AGM there were a few concerns raised as to the future of BAFRA. Questions such as, where are we going, what tasks or targets do we have for next year, how are these going to be achieved, and do we have a budget laid out, who is going to do what and when. These were all really good and relevant questions that demand some sort of answer.

In light of the above, at the Directors meeting held in November I was tasked with putting together a Development Plan for 2006. This would be a working document, which clearly laid out all our plans and responsibilities for the period. Although we are calling it a Development Plan in real terms it could possibly be described as BAFRA's Business plan. It will include various sections such as an Executive Summary, Key Objectives and Responsibilities, Development, Recruitment, Training, Budgets, Financial Statements, etc. My target for submitting the first draft is mid January 2006 with a view to issuing the completed plan to the membership not long after.

The President

As I'm sure everyone is aware, our current President, Keith Wickham is stepping down after 3 plus years in the role. I would personally like to thank Keith for all the help he has given me over the last 14 months. During my first year as Director of Training I have had to learn a few things about the general workings of our Association and my overall responsibilities. Keith was always there to offer an opinion or point me in the right direction. I made a few mistakes as part of the learning curve and hopefully they will stand me in good stead for next year

So, what does the future hold? Well it's clear we have had a lot of new recruits sign up via the website, however we are still not able to cover all the games and training the new guys is not always easy given the low number of active officials. Is BAFRA going forward? I would say yes and hopefully the Development plan will help move us forward much more quickly. I personally hope the next President is someone who continues Keith's commitment to driving BAFRA forward and leading the Board of Directors in achieving our aims and goals.

The Annual Exam

Due to delays in printing rulebooks the Exam was put out later this year and response in general could have been better. A number of active officials did not actually complete the exam. This has led to a lot of discussion and debate within the Board of Directors on how best to handle the matter. Many members have also stated their opinions and how they believe we should move forward.

So, after great debate, we decided that we must make all members fully aware of our plans for the Exam, when it will be issued, timescales for return and what we have to do if a member does not return a completed answer paper. I'm sure everyone who completed the Exam earlier this year will probably agree with the following.

The Examination Committee this year will be made up of Roger Stangroom, Paul Sutton and Will Marriage. Tzvi Lindeman will be the Exam Tester.

The layout of the exam will change back to an old format. 100 questions with True or False answers. This would appear to be a welcome change as I have had a lot of members asking for this over the last year.

• The Exam will be issued at the AGM and Training Weekend provisionally set for 26th March 2006 (see article below). Members who attend will have 5 full weeks from the date of the AGM to submit their answer sheet, i.e. 30th April 2006
• Those members who do not attend will be sent the Exam by post or email within 7 days of the AGM and it must be returned by 30th April 2006
• A maximum of 1-week extension may be granted, but only in exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Director of Training.
• Members who complete the exam within the 5-week period will be given priority on all Bowl and Play-off games.
• Members who do not complete the Exam within the defined timescales will not be scheduled to any games whatsoever.

• Note: This may sound harsh, however, as BAFRA's Board of Directors, we are bound to make all efforts to ensure BAFRA is not put at risk, by having un qualified Officials on the foeld that could subsequently raise questions on Insurance cover and possible liability.

The AGM, Training Weekend & Annual Convention

Following the disappointing attendance at this year's AGM and Convention, I have spoken to a number of members who have provided some really good feedback and some good constructive criticism on why it possible failed to attract the membership. Having taken this on board we have at present an outline plan on the next one and hopefully it will be structured in such a way that everyone will want to come along.

Although there are still a lot of things to finalise, I can say we do intend to invite a guest speaker over from the States and hopefully hold the weekend on the 25th/26th March 2005 at the College Bowl. I will be putting more information in Newsflash as and when possible.

As this is your Convention, why not drop me a note and let me know why you did not attend this year and let me know what you would like to see happen at the next one. The more feedback I get the better and we can tailor it to your needs.

Closing Note

Hopefully the above has been reasonably informative and I'm sure some of the topics and content will spark debate. Send me an email or give me a call if you want to discuss anything or offer an opinion, or even if it's just for a general moan - they can be good for the soul.

Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Davie Parson
BAFRA: Director of Training
training@bafra.org

Financial Directors Report

On the financial side, last years accounts are being prepared for auditing but currently show a profit of £6000 to recover the £7000 loss from the previous year. We have no bad debts and are targeting for a neutral fiscal year.

Most of my time during the College season is spent sending out cheques to officials, this year from pre-paid teams, and last year from non paying teams. The senior season is mainly banking cheques, and paying mileage claims. The decision to put the mileage allowance up to 20p per mile will have an effect on the cash flow, but hopefully as crews travel together more often the effect should be limited. The recruitment drive hopefully will allow us to cover more games, therefore bringing in more revenue. The most important savings were on not having to print rule books which BAFA pay for, hopefully the teething problems on this subject have been ironed out.

The Directors had a meeting in November at which it was decided that the exam will revert back to the 100 questions of the true/false format. It will be issued at the AGM and posted out the following week following to those who don't attend anybody who does not take the exam, unless otherwise exempt will not be allocated games.

The AGM will probably be the same weekend as the College Bowl, we are awaiting confirmation of venue, so we can book rooms, guest speakers etc. Dave Parsons will report later, hopefully everyone will make space in their diary for the meetings.

We have made plans for a sudden influx of interest when Kevin Caddel's attempt at officiating is shown on "SKY". We hope to have one day meetings around the country to cover the new rookies; we will keep you informed via Newsflash. Having looked at the game fee which has not increased since 1990 we have requested an increase from the Leagues, an increase of £5 per grade from the next senior season. We have as a "quid pro quo" cut the BAFRA fee by £10 for the first year to make the net increase only 5%, we are awaiting acceptance.

The tragic death of John Slavin set us thinking about how to remember his contribution to officiating. We are to set up a memorial trophy which will be awarded to the best game management each season. We will set up a committee to come up with some criteria.

The Directors have decided to stop keeping rosters from teams. The game day paperwork (blue form) will be amended so that as well as game management signing as normal, each of the head coaches will sign the coach's certification. This IS a legal requirement, and must be adhered to. We discussed rookie training, and recruitment. The selection committee will, as well as looking at the bowl games will also look at EFAF officials. We will also try to arrange training for flag officials and try to get them under our banner.

I wish all readers a Merry Christmas, and ask you to spare a thought for the Slavin and Diamond families, two colleagues we and the game sadly lost this year.

For those of you who did not learn Latin at school, the wonderful expression "quid pro quo" literally translates as "something for something". It is normally used when talking about what is given or done in return.

Youth and Development Report December 2005

Youth: The Youth league continues to grow; however out main problem is that they still intend to play during the summer. We will continue to cover as many as games as possible and hopefully officials will attend as many flag tournaments as they can, remember they are our future.

Development: The Directors are looking at ways to increase BAFRA membership. At this moment we are in discussion with the SGA (Scottish Gridiron Association) to try to use the mailing list of the Scottish Claymores to mail shot its supporters, yes there are some.

No doubt some members will have seen the advertisement on Sky TV about Kevin Caddel the Sky presenter becoming an official and they are planning to "sky" some footage in the next weeks. We are hoping that this will open the floodgates to increase our membership. I will not hold my breath but I would like to thank all the people involved in this venture.

And lastly let me welcome all previous members back to the fold, including some very old members Chris Jarvis, and the Editor or this edition of Flag down Colin Payne, you never know who will be back.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Times Past

BAFRA used to have a large membership and, when it did, BAFRA had conventions which were attended by the vast majority of those members. The weekends were not all heavy, rules and mechanics orientated - there was usually a light hearted session implanted somewhere along the line. One such session was to imagine what new rule could be brought in for the benefit of the game.

Bearing in mind that Coaches were much more vociferous and critical in those days! Robert Banks suggested what he called; The Robert Banks Five Yard Rule.

Essentially what this meant was that if the official on the side line got any agro or jip from the Coach, he or she would throw a flag and the offending team would be marched back to their own 5 yard line (or half the distance if they were already 5 yards or less from their goal line).

I seem to re-call this was generally accepted as an excellent idea, although an amendment was suggested, that being, that the penalty should also incur a loss of down if the offending coach's team were of the offense at the time.

Phil Cottier

Still appears a good idea...

WE NEED YOU BACK!!!

To all retired officials,

I thought I would put pen to paper as to why I rejoined BAFRA after 10 years of retirement.

About 10 years ago I found my self without the time to dedicate to officiating I thought this great sport of ours deserved. At that time of my life it was important I dedicated all my time to my career and family.

It was a hard decision as I enjoyed officiating and have many great memories from those halcyon days of working with some great personalities who made up BAFRA's 400+ officials at that time. One of my best recollections was refereeing a game at Leicester, Saffron Lane, between GB and DDR "ALL GIRLS" teams, even though I was the Ref I still insisted on carrying out the equipment check! It was the dirtiest game I ever officiated. We threw record "20" personal fouls and could not have a shower afterwards as one guy tried it and came back without his towel!

I am an avid fan of the Washington REDSKINS and have followed their demise throughout the years, I actually thought they were getting their act together this year but another false dawn has materialised!

The Brit Bowl games were advertised on Sky; these games were to be played at the Sheffield Don Valley Stadium, so my wife and I decided to go to see what the standard is these days. Prior to going to Sheffield, Janis (my better half) stumbled on the BAFRA Website.

Jim Briggs, with whom I had had some great banter in the past, was still the Rules wizard he had always been, I decided to e-mail him to see if he was attending the game? Jim said he was Referee of the final and invited me to go and have a chat before the game. We met and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting some of the guys and they asked if I was thinking about coming out of retirement!

Up to that point I had not even considered it!

Terry Treloar was doing his recruitment bit in the foyer and he told me of the dire straits officiating was in the UK. He said that there was only about 70-80 registered officials now and they were struggling to cover games. When I think back there were over 400 officials when I decided to hang up my whistle, this was not a good state of affairs!

The game was played at a reasonable standard and the guys on the crew seemed to cover everything well. During that game I found myself watching the officials more than the plays. I thought that this may be a good way of getting some, much needed, exercise and help out the teams again by offering my services as long as the old legs could stand it!

I talked to Terry to ask what I had to do to get back in to officiating and he told me I could apply on line at www.Bafra.org. I would need to pass a competency exam as he did not think it would be necessary for me to work as a Rookie, but I had my doubts!!!

The main factors for rejoining were:-

1. I have more time now.
2. I really enjoyed my officiating in the past.
3. If I could help cover some more games, I would be giving something back to the sport I am still passionate about.
4. I missed the camaraderie of working with guys and girls who shared my love of the game.
5. It would help me as a distraction away from the every day HUM DRUM of work and give me something else to think about.

In essence it would help me to get fitter and in my own little way I could hopefully help the game.

As soon as I applied Davie Parsons phoned me and ensured I had everything I needed to start officiating again, the Bafra website was a good tool for reading the Rules and Mechanics, I was surprised how little had changed over the years. Davie sent me the competency exam and I worked through it quite well, as they actually give you the rules reference to work from, which really gets you back in to the rule book!

Once this had been checked by Davie, low and behold I had passed!!!

I was assigned to my first game at Leeds Celtic's and boy was I nervous!,Muz Gibson (R), Cam Gibson (HL) and Tony Newsham (LJ) were the crew on my first game back, I decided to work as the Umpire, as this is were I could do least harm, we all agreed! The game went by like a train; I was actually enjoying every minute and was very surprised how much I had remembered!

I have now worked some 4 games and I think I am getting better every week, it is however, the same old story for the teams, their heart is in the right place, but they need BAFRA trained officials to make sure everything is played safely and properly.

So if you find yourself thinking "I might want to help out again", please give any of the directors a call and I am sure they will make you as welcome as they made me.

WE NEED YOU BACK!!!

Merry Christmas and I hope to see you in the New Year.

A football coach was asked his secret evaluation his new recruits. " Well", he said, " I take them out in the woods and make them run. The ones that run round the trees, I make into running backs. The ones that run straight into the trees, I turn into linemen."

10 Differences Between British American Football now and in the 1980s

1. At its peak around 1987, our sport had about 200 senior club teams. Now we have 30 or so. On the other hand the number of college teams has grown from a handful to nearly 40.
2. From its origins in 1984 to the end of 1987, BAFRA recruited 499 members. How would we cope if that number joined in the next 3 years?
3. When I took over as BAFRA Director of Operations in 1990, BAFRA was covering 40 games each summer Sunday. That figure was probably down from a peak a year or two earlier. This year I don't think we covered more than 10 games per day without doing double headers.
4. In the mid-eighties all the major teams played in proper stadiums: either football grounds, rugby clubs or athletics stadiums. Among the league football grounds I officiated at were Leeds United (Leeds Cougars), Coventry City (for an international match), Luton Town (Dunstable Cowboys) and Partick Thistle (Glasgow Diamonds). Nowadays, most games at even the highest level are played on open fields. The only exceptions I know of are London Olympians, Coventry Jets (who have both only recently moved in to stadiums) and Yorkshire Rams who play at Dewsbury rugby league stadium.
5. Typical crowd for a 1985 top level match - 2000 (most of whom paid to get in). Typical crowd for a 2005 top level match - 50 (none of whom paid to get in).
6. In the 1980s, the state of the art in miniature electronics was a radio mike that could be strapped to the referee's belt and used to provide spectators with useful information about penalties and the like. Now, miniaturisation has become so advanced that both the radio mike and the spectators have disappeared!
7. In the 80s there was a serious discipline problem in the sport. Unsportsmanlike conduct, particularly dissent and abuse towards officials, was rife. A number of teams were renowned for their dirty play and difficulty to control. 1986 was especially a problem season - all the players who had played in the first league season in 1985 thought they knew it all, while BAFRA had a very large number of rookie officials, many of whom knew nothing! Since the introduction of the BAFA Disciplinary Code in 1990, the number of ejections and incidences of major problems has been falling consistently. Rare it is now for officials to even discuss how to "handle" difficult players and coaches - it's largely a non-issue.
8. Twenty years ago, the best officials in Britain were all US personnel from the air bases. Now we've far exceeded the ability levels of all but a few of those original members. Four British-based officials have worked in the World League/NFL Europe, and several of us have worked major European tournaments and championship games.
9. For the first 2 or 3 years of British American football, BAFRA officials wore 2-inch stripe shirts (like NFL officials do). The referee wore a black cap and the rest of the crew wore white. Stirrup socks were mandatory and everyone on a crew had to wear the same length sleeves. Now we even allow people to turn up to games without a tie. How standards have fallen!!
10. Finally, twenty years ago my mind was young and agile and I had no difficulty thinking up lists of 10 things.

Jim Briggs

Why I Became an American Football Official

Back in 1991 I was eleven and a half stone, fairly fit and still playing free safety for the Enfield Bullets and as the oldest player on the team I was the obvious choice for club president.

The obvious choice for two reasons.

1. I had a reputation for telling people what to do.
2. No one else wanted to do it.

So nothing has changed, except the weight of course.

As part of my duties as club president I had to represent the team at League meetings and at one of those meetings I was given a rule book. Now maybe this was the first year the league had been given them out to the teams or perhaps my predecessor had a cupboard full of unopened rule books, either way no one on the team had seen one before. I took it home and began to read it.

At first I was looking up rules that I wasn't sure about or penalties that had been called on our game the previous week, I wanted to make sure the refs had got it right, but the more I read, the more I wanted to know.

Like most players I learned the rules from other players and coaches and from watching Channel 4 or Sky Sports but it was all a bit hit and miss, some rules we had right, some half right and some completely wrong. I started bugging our game officials each week by pointing out fouls that the other teams were committing, questioning their penalty enforcement and letting them know they wouldn't get away with much because I had a rule book and wasn't afraid to use it.

T Hutchinson asked me after one game if I had ever thought of becoming an official, I hadn't, until then, she convinced me that with one or two exceptions officials were only human beings with a love for the sport and a sense of fair play.

I made the decision that when my playing days were over, I would give it a try and after playing my final season in 1993 I joined BAFRA and I am still reading that rule book.

Pete Thom

HUMOUR?

Local Football Star

Larry, a local football star, is jogging down the street when he sees a building on fire. A lady is standing on a third floor ledge holding her pet cat in her arms.

"Hey lady," yell Larry, "Throw me the cat."

"No," she cries, "It is too far."

"I play football, I can catch him."

The smoke is pouring from the windows, and finally the woman waves to Larry, kisses her cat goodbye, and tosses it down to the street. Larry keeps his eye on the cat as it comes hurtling down to him. The feline bounces of an awning and Larry runs into the street to catch it. He jumps siz feet into the air and makes a spectacular one-handed catch. The crowd that has gathered to watch the fire breaks into cheers. Larry does a little dance, the cat held above his head, wiggles his knees back and forth, then spike the cat into the pavement!

Rookie

"I just don't understand it," the official complains to his assessor. "one game I do very well, and the next game I'm terrible. And that's what you saw today."

"Well" said the assessor helpfully, "Maybe you should just do every other game".

My Reason for Becoming an Official

I love football but could never understand it.
I am visually challenged and of uncertain parentage.
I love to run around on a football field, in the cold wind and rain.
I love to be abused and physically threatened.
I have the knack of always being able to make a wrong decision.

Helpful Hints for Better Officiating.

• Emphasise your signals to the point that you are sure you must look ridiculous then you probably have it right.
• Sell your call by signalling as soon as you have made a judgement, if you see there is a turnover, as well as marking forward progress, signal a first down in the new direction of play.
• All officials should copy timeouts or winding the clock. Even touchdowns unless you have a penalty. A time out signal could be given if there is doubt about a recovery of a fumble. Team direction can come later when the officials are POSITIVE which team has the ball.
• All officials should CHECK the down and distance EVERY play.
• If you don't see the foul don't throw it. Take your time, be sure, and when you are sure DON'T delay.
• Particularly line judge and referees ensure on "previous spot plays" that you do not take or give yards away.
• Be aware of first down possible measurements; remember it is measured from the dead ball spot not the hash marks.
• Be especially alert during the last two minutes "hurry up" offense.
• A timeout signal should be given if there is doubt about a recovery, fumble or first down.
• No disqualification should be made unless necessary, be sure to see the entire action, check with other officials to check what they have seen.
• Questions of judgement on the part of any official are not open to argument, either on the field or after the game.
• Do not be too familiar with the coaches, players or owners.

Linesman and Chain Crew

When the Linesman briefs his chain crew always instil that if they do everything else wrong it will not matter as long as they drop the chains when the play comes their way. Even if they drop the chains and the players never reach the sideline we can always reset the chains, but it is not so easy to reset a broken leg.

You must always ensure your downs-man does not move when there is a flag, therefore at the start of the game let it always be your signal to move the downs-man and not his impulse.

Before the game have the crew practice the moving of the chains on a first down situation, so that the following things are done.

• You mark the spot of first down with the heel of your foot.
• Down-Box marks the spot and has first down indicated.
• The back stakes-man moves up to the down-box and holds the down-box.
• The front stakes-man pulls the chain tight.
• The downs-man puts the clip on the chain at the first 5 yard line.
• The chain crew move back from the sideline.

On all plays mark the dead ball spot with the heel of your foot by the sideline, this ensures the box is where the officials judge the dead ball spot to be.

Get to know your chain crew especially the downs-man by name, it is always easier to call him by name.

Make sure at half time they know what time to be back for the second half. Always ensure they are going to be available to be the chain crew for the WHOLE game.

On measurements, you should bring the clip so that the correct 5 yard line is used, the line-judge should help in this.

After a measurement if the ball is outside the hash marks and it is not a first down, use the chains to reset the ball on the hash marks.

Coin Toss

This happened at a game recently, the names of the teams have been with-held to save further embarrassment.

Whilst visiting the coaches before the game the referee asked both head coaches " have you informed the speaking captain your preferences on the coin toss?", both coaches said their captains had been briefed.

At the coin toss: Ref - Ok Captain you won the toss, would you like to receive the ball, kick off, choose an end to defend or you can defer your options to the second half.

Winning Captain - We'll defer!

Ref to Losing Captain - What would you like to do, receive the ball, kick off or you can choose an end to defend?

Losing Captain, after looking for help from his coach " Can we defer?"

Ref - No! You can choose to receive the ball, kick off, or pick an end to defend.

Losing Captain - Umm, we'll defend that end.

Ref - Ohhh Kay

Ref to winning captain - Well that leaves you with receiving the ball or kicking off, what would you prefer ?

Winning Captain - We'll kick off 'cos we want to receive the ball in the second half.

I'm an " Official " - Get me out of here !

CLASSIFIED

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