CLEATS - VERY IMPORTANT

With wet, wintery weather well-set, football fields are found failing to foster favourable footing.

It would appear that muddy conditions are encouraging players to wear boots with cleats (studs) that may be longer than the half-inch maximum mandated by rule (1-2-5-e and f, 9-2-2-d). This raises serious concerns both about safety and fairness.

At this weekend's games, please can all referees expressly ask head coaches before the game to verify that none of their players is wearing illegal cleats. If players' cleats are illegal, they must change their shoes or remove the cleats. If players don't have replacement shoes, they can either play barefoot or not play. Hopefully all offending cases will be dealt with before kickoff, but if a player is found during the game with illegal cleats he must be disqualified.

We will endeavour to communicate this message to all BCAFL teams before this weekend's games.

Under no circumstances should officials waive these rules (even with the agreement of both teams/coaches). Doing so may make you liable for any injury caused as a result.

The full rules about what is legal and illegal cleats can be found at http://www.bafra.org/rulesctee/rulebook/2006/1.html#LABEL1-4-5-e.

Note that a shoe that is legal for other sports such as soccer or rugby is not necessarily legal for American football.

Sorry to sound so serious, but this is a safety issue. Anyone with any questions about this should get in touch with me asap.

Jim Briggs
rules@bafra.org

The opinions expressed in this Newsflash are those of the contributors, and are not necessarily those of BAFRA or its Directors.