CONVENTION

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who came along to the Convention this year. Attendance figures were up on last year and initial feedback would suggest everyone enjoyed themselves and learned from the experience.

It takes a lot of people to help make the Convention successful and I would personally like to thank everyone who gave presentations, took break-out sessions, managed the welcome desk and provided additional support throughout the day.

So what for next year? Do we have the Convention at the same location? Do we tie in again with the College Bowl? Do we have a different format or hold it later in the year? Let's have your feedback.

You will find attached a Convention Feedback Form. I would ask that you all take the opportunity to complete the document and return it to training@bafra.org. Let’s hear about your likes and dislikes. What did you think about the speakers and what you would like to happen next year? We want to tailor the Convention to meet the needs of BAFRA and its members so please take this opportunity put forward your thoughts and opinions.

Davie Parsons
training@bafra.org

EMAIL RECEIVED FROM JEFF ROBERSON

Dear Davie,

Thank you to you and all the wonderful officials of BAFRA for making my family and me feel so welcome during our visit. We are very happy that we had the opportunity to visit the UK and I personally feel very fortunate to have had an opportunity to be a presenter at the 2007 BAFRA Convention. I hope everyone learned something at the convention – I know I did.

Please pass along our thanks to the members of BAFRA. Best wishes to you and BAFRA. If I can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Jeff Roberson

EDITORIAL

Convention

I am sure those who attended this year's Convention would agree with me that it was a huge success, with in excess of 50 members attending. The guest speaker, Jeff Roberson, was very knowledgeable and entertaining - we all now know that his home town of Texarkana is split by a road with one side being in Texas (the better half according to Jeff) and the other in Arkansas.

The break-out sessions were extremely good, but the question on everybody's lips on Sunday morning was whether Charlie had made a profit at the dogs the night before.

Annual Examination

The examination papers were issued to the attendees at the Conference and the intention was to send the balance to the non-attendees subsequently. Whilst the examination papers were indeed issued as planned, we have been let down with the production of the rulebook which was not ready in time for the Convention.

I have finally got the printed rulebooks and I'll be putting these into envelopes, and will post them out to everyone this weekend. Included will be the examination papers for those who did not attend the Convention.

Anyone who has not received either their examination paper and/or their rulebook by the middle of next week should contact the examination committee via exam2007@bafra.org.

Annual General Meeting

The AGM was held on Saturday evening and the minutes for this will be sent via a separate email to all Association Members.

College Bowl

As in earlier years, the College Bowl followed the Convention on the Sunday afternoon. Again, following the precedent set last year, the team who scored first lost heavily, and the BAFRA "crew" sitting in the stands managed to pick up more fouls than the crew on the field - whether it was the fact that we had a higher view or that there were more of us I do not know. Perhaps in the new edition of the Mechanics Manual, Dr Jim should suggest that the crew officiate from the warmth and comfort of a box in the stands.

The John Slavin Award was presented to a representative of the Surrey Stingers by Charlie at the end of the game.

Roger Stangroom
secretary@bafra.org

REFEREES' PACKS AND AUDIT FORMS

A few people asked me at the weekend why the referees' packs contain two audit forms - the Field Audit we used last year and a new Game Management Audit.

The Rules Committee agreed that leagues would take over the Field Audit this year, but we are yet to hear confirmation from BAFL that they have everything in place to do that. If they do, BAFRA will just do the Game Management Audit this season. If not, the BAFRA directors will make a decision as to whether we are going to do one or the other, or both.

Views on who should be responsible for the Game Management Audit are welcome. Is it something the Umpire should be responsible for?

Jim Briggs
president@bafra.org

PROPOSED BAFRA HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY

As discussed at the Convention, I have now started work on BAFRA’s Health and Safety Policy. The first 2 draft documents, which are both Policy Statements, can be viewed via the following link: http://www.bafra.org/members/legal/h&s.htm. If you have any comments, feedback or suggestions please drop me an email.

It is my intention to add further documents which will provide Health and Safety information and guidance to the membership and the practical tools we will use to implement and monitor the policy.

We are under no great pressure to have a Health and Safety Policy in place. However, it is something I believe will be of great benefit to everyone. It will also play a part in demonstrating to external bodies that BAFRA is not an organisation standing still and we are continually looking at positive ways to develop the Association.

Davie Parsons
training@bafra.org

BAFA NEWS

Some good news from BAFA

BAFA has just won its first public funding! A significant amount has been received from Sport England to contribute towards sorting out adult flag and the central registration system. See http://www.bafa.org.uk/artman2/publish/bafa/BAFA_receives_Sport_England_funding.shtml for the press release.

Jim Briggs
president@bafra.org

GAME ADMINISTRATION FEE

Please note that the Admin Fee has been amended to £60 (£30 for Youth games) and will apply to all games played on or after 1st April 2007 - see the Annex to the Terms & Conditions http://www.bafra.org/info/handbook/tcannex2007.htm for full details.

Roger Stangroom
secretary@bafra.org

AVAILABILITY

Please note that the availability form on the web has been updated to reflect the dates for the forthcoming senior season. You should visit this and update your availability as soon as possible.

Please also ensure that you mark each week with your availability ("yes" or "no") rather than just the weeks that you are available.

Pete Thom
operations@bafra.org

DISCIPLINARY CASES

GAME MANAGEMENT REPORTS

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