ANNUAL EXAMINATION

The Annual Examination was distributed to all Qualified and Associate members who attended the Convention along with the 2009 BAFA Rule Book. For those who did not attend, the Examination and Rule Book have been posted to your notified address. If anyone has not received these by Tuesday 14th April they should contact me for a copy of the Examination and the Director of Training for a copy of the Rule Book.

The Examination Period closes on 9^th May 2009. Any member who wants an extension must contact the Director of Training. Only the Director of Training has the authority to grant such an extension.

For all qualified officials, completion of the Examination is mandatory. Failure to return your paper will invalidate your insurance and mean that BAFRA will not be able to assign you to games. For associate officials, it is a good opportunity to identify some of your strengths and weaknesses and assist you and your training officer with your future development.

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

START OF SEASON REMINDERS

Here is some information and reminders to set you on the right course for the first round of BAFL games on 12th April. We covered most of these at the Convention, but they are published here for the benefit of both those who were there and who weren't.

Fees and expenses

1. The BAFRA admin fee is still £65 for adult games and £32.50 for youth games. If you do a double-header, you only charge one (the higher) fee.

2. The standard officiating fees (paid to the official) are still:

a. £40 per qualified official

b. £25 per associate official

3. The new policy is that teams are charged £40 per official on the crew (up to the normal size of the crew) and the £15 difference between the qualified fee and the associate fee is now paid to BAFRA (to contribute towards the associate official's training).

4. On BAFL Premier Division games we will charge for a 5-man crew (provided we supply 5 officials).

5. Where there is more than the normal number of officials on the crew, there is now a standard ready reckoner that says how much each should be paid. You'll find a copy in your pack of game forms or on the website at http://www.bafra.org/info/handbook/crewfees2009.pdf.

6. Note that although Charlie Dean-Young has stepped down as Director of Finance, his address in Uttoxeter is still the destination for game day paperwork.

Rules and mechanics

7. Everyone at the Convention should have received their rulebook – the remainder are being sent out by post. It's also on the website at http://rb.bafra.org/index.htm.

8. Remember that after a run out of bounds, the clock now starts on the ready except in the last 1:59 of each half.

9. A reminder to referees to estimate 12-15 seconds from the end of the previous play before declaring the ball ready for play.

10. Be sure to clamp down on illegal helmet contact as defined in the new rule and as seen in the "Heads Up" video.

Game day paperwork

11. This season, BAFRA is basing the John Slavin Award on the Game Management Audit.

a. A form must be completed for every league game and sent in with the game report.

b. Normally, the Umpire should be responsible for completing the form, but it is the Referee's responsibility to ensure that it is done, and for sending it in.

c. Remember that if there is more than one problem relating to a line of the form, tick the box that scores the highest.

12. We are not running the Field Audit this season.

13. Referees need to ensure that the Crew Grade is completed on the game report after every game. This should reflect a fair assessment by every member of the crew on each official's performance.

Operations

14. Please keep Pete up to date with your availability, either via the members' area of the website (http://www.bafra.org/members/index.htm) or by email (operations@bafra.org) or phone.

15. We have said that we expect to cover at least 17 fixtures each Sunday this season. Please help us achieve that goal – someone will mention team judges if we do not.

16. Please remember to confirm to your referee that you are OK for each game. This should normally be done by Thursday evening (for a Sunday game) at the latest.

Finally

17. Have a good season and if you have any questions, contact me or one of the other directors.

Jim Briggs

president@bafra.org

CHANGES TO THE REGULATIONS OF BAFRA LIMITED

Annually, the Directors are required to review the above regulations to ensure that they are up to date and fit for purpose. Some minor changes have recently been agreed and I summarise them below.

The fees for affiliate and junior (when we have them) members is fixed at £10 per annum with a £5 discount in their year of joining and a further £5 discount if renewal payment is received by the first day of November. In addition those who join after 1st June in any year will not be required to renew in that autumn.

A category of temporary membership has been created for overseas officials who wish to officiate when visiting Britain.

A clarification has been put in to state that only qualified and associate members are required to pay the BAFA fee (this includes honorary members in those categories) unless the person is also a member of BAFA through membership of another affiliated organisation.

The role of the Directors of Recruitment and Training with respect to new members is clarified.

The membership of the Membership Appeals Sub-Committee (who hear appeals from anyone whose application to join BAFRA has been rejected) has been reduced.

Restrictions on the membership of the Appeals Committee (who hear appeals relating to disciplinary proceedings) have been clarified.

The full regulations are available in the Members’ Handbook on the website. If anyone has any queries about the Regulations, they should contact me in my role as Company Secretary.

Paul Sutton

secretary@bafra.org

2009 CONVENTION AND AGM

Like many others I got home fairly late on Sunday, tired but still buzzing from a great weekend. I would like to thank everyone who came along to the Convention this year; it was without doubt one of the best for many a year. The enthusiasm shown by everyone over the weekend was the key factor in why it all went so well. Attendance figures were up on last year again 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. Steve’s History of BAFRA display was quite a crowd puller and brought back a lot of memories for us “older” members.

Our guest speaker, Greg Gautreaux was excellent and received a standing ovation after his final presentation. I'm sure he thoroughly enjoyed his visit to our shores.

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. Tell me 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 to put forward your thoughts and opinions.

Davie Parsons

training@bafra.org

RULEBOOK ERRATA

The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted a couple of small errors in the text of the rulebook. Approved Ruling 7-1-3:VIII parts 2 and 3 should read:

2. Lifts a hand or hands from the ground immediately when threatened by B1, who is in the neutral zone, and A66 or A72 is in or beyond the neutral zone. RULING: Blow the whistle immediately. Team B dead-ball foul, offside. Penalty -- Five yards from the succeeding spot.

3. Lifts a hand or hands from the ground upon initial charge by B1, who (a) does not enter the neutral zone or (b) enters the neutral zone but does not threaten the position of A66 or A72. RULING: In both (a) and (b), blow the whistle immediately. Team A dead-ball foul, false start. Penalty -- Five yards from the succeeding spot.

The changed text is in bold above. Please amend your copy of the rulebook. The website version has already been corrected. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Jim Briggs

rules@bafra.org

RESULTS

BUAFL National Championship Game

Birmingham Lions – 42 Newcastle Raiders – 2

DISCIPLINARY CASES

GAME MANAGEMENT REPORTS

CALENDAR