Issue 34/26 29th October 2026
BAFRA Newsflash | |||
CHANGE TO BUCS REGULATIONS
BUCS has made a minor change to its regulations for the 2026 season. Now, the home team must supply at least 5 people to be the chain crew and ball persons. This was the case last year for the National League, but it now applies to all divisions. There is no longer a requirement for the away team to provide a ball person.
Other regulations are unchanged. The full list is at https://rules.bafra.info/docs/leagueregs.htm.
Jim Briggs - Chair, IFAF and BAFA Rules Committees
CHANGE TO RADIO RECOMMENDATIONS
We have removed the Retevis RT24 and RB637 radios from our list of recommended equipment. New models of these radios can no longer be programmed to BAFRA's radio frequencies. However, if you have one of these radios already programmed, it should continue to work.
Other radios on our recommended list still appear to be programmable, but please let us know if you find otherwise.
The updated guidance documents can be found at https://www.bafra.info/members/crewcomms/index.php.
Jim Briggs and Ben Griffiths
DISCIPLINARY CASES
NAME | # | TEAM | OFFENCE | SUSPENDED |
New this week | ||||
Zayan Mitton-Richards | 68 | Kingston Cougars | Fighting | 1st November 2026 v Brighton Panthers |
GAME MANAGEMENT REPORTS
HOME TEAM | REPORT | NEXT HOME GAME |
New this week | ||
Chichester Spitfires | The crew arrived to the field to find that the markings were inadequate. The field was hand marked 90 yards with two unequal end zones, both shorter than 7 yards. The width of the field exceeded 176 ft. Any attempt to adjust the field would have required complete re-painting and adjustments that could not be accommodated on the day. Scott Castle #626 | 6th December 2026 v Sussex Saxons |
Kent Falcons | Crew dropped to 4 before game started. 90 yard artificial field with multi sport markings using various colours, the American Football markings are predominately red apart from where they share a line with another sport, team areas marked with cones and rugby lines used to approximate the 9-yard marks. The field could do with completely repainting as visibility of the red on green markings is quite hard as the sun is getting lower in the BUCS season, especially with 15:00 kickoffs. Phil Clarke #262 | 29th November v Brighton Panthers |
Leicester Longhorns | Although a very well marked field, the inbounds lines were NFL width, cones were used to approximate the correct ones. Team areas marked with cones. One change of chain crew at half time. Brian Yates #29 | 22nd November 2026 v Coventry University Jets |
MMU Eagles | 100 yard field marked in dark blue, missing 3 yard mark, 9 yard marks and numbers. No team areas marked nor were cones used to approximate. Goal line/end line pylons had no weight to them so could not stand up and some were occasionally blown away from their position. University of Manchester did not use same jersey design; most players had purple background with yellow numbers but a few had yellow background with purple numbers. Despite this being brought up by the referee pre-game and team assuring us they wouldn't be used it was apparent on arriving on the field that several players had been dressed in this alternate jersey and saw the field on several occasions. Andrew Swift #403 | 8th November 2026 v Leeds Gryphons |
Oxford Brookes Panthers | Game kick off 15 minutes later than the scheduled kick off time. One member of chain crew replaced in the second half. Despite the atrocious weather well attended event and included stadium announcer. Andrew Murrell #608 | 29th November 2026 v Hertfordshire Hurricanes |
SGS Pride | Changing rooms would be comfortable for a crew of 4 at most, and were accessed by other sports officials without our knowledge - however, they do have a shower and toilet separate to teams. Robert Cornwell #105 | 8th November 2026 v Bournemouth University Bobcats |
Sheffield Hallam Warriors | 90-Yard field marked in faint orange with lines less than 4 inches wide. Team areas marked with cones although these were soon lost due to the wind as were the yard markers. Changing facilities were more than suitable for a crew of 6. Dave Black #574 | 6th December 2026 v Derby Braves |
Team Scotland U19 | Ground was very wet and muddy underfoot, the weather conditions deteriorated during the game turning the field into a muddy bog. Much praise to both teams for a competitive hard game Ian Rogers #625 | Unknown |
York Centurions | An exceptionally well marked field although mostly in dark blue. 100 IFAF yds with 10 yd endzones. No numbers or coaching boxes. End lines used rugby markings and were white. Officials changing rooms were only accessible 75-minutes before kick off once site staff arrived and as the allocated room was too small for a crew of 5, we moved to a nearby room which was larger and included one working shower. Toilets were within the same building and plenty of coat hooks were available. This room however had a broken lock which meant the crew were unable to get access at HT for drinks. The LJ hat blew off whilst walking to the field before the game due to the strong winds and unfortunately landed in a nearby stream that ran parallel with the field. Due to the lock issue with the changing rooms, the LJ was left wearing a freezing cold wet hat. Given the conditions, the field condition was remarkably good for a natural grass field. Ian Rogers #625 | 8th November 2026 v Manchester Tyrants |
York St John Jaguars | Exceptionally well marked field although mostly in dark blue. Late in the game, the setting sun made it very difficult to see the hash marks. 100 IFAF yds with 10 yd endzones. No numbers or coaching boxes. End lines used rugby markings and were white. After issues accessing our changing room in game 1 of this double header, site staff were contacted by one of the officials using a phone number found on google and we managed to gain access although the door to the changing room had to be wedged open whilst we were on field which posed a security risk. At half time one of the chain crew came to the officials to advise they were all going home so replacements were sought from the home team. Ian Rogers #625 | 22nd November 2026 v Sunderland Spartans |
PLAY OF THE WEEK: | |
New this week | Play: 4th & 10 at the A-35. At the snap, A23 is illegally in motion. A11 then punts. While the kick is airborne well beyond the line, B55 illegally blocks below the waist at the A-45. The kick is caught by B20 on the B-30 and advanced to the B-40.
|
Last week | Play: It is 4th and 10 at Midfield. Team A line up in a Scrimmage Kick Formation. The Ends are numbered 23 and 34. The Offensive Line is numbers (from left to right, 50, 62, 5, 71, 79), the Punter is wearing number 7 and the three personal procters/up-backs are number 47, 33 & 39. Number 5 is the long snapper. Shortly before the snap A47 moves to a position under centre, pauses for a second and then receives the snap. He throws a forward pass to A23 at the B-30 where A23 catches the ball and is immediately tackled. There is 10:00 remaining in the second quarter.
When A47 steps in under centre Team A are no longer in a Scrimmage Kick Formation, therefore the numbering exceptions no longer apply and they must have 5 players wearing 50 to 79 on the line if the ball is snapped while A47 is under centre (2-16-10-a, 7-1-4-a-3). |
MECHANICS: | |
New this week | Game Situation: Prior to the game, when visiting the home team Head Coach they inform the Referee and Umpire that if their team are to kick-off at the start of the game they will be attempting an onside kick. At the Coin toss the visiting team wins and elects to receive; should the crew move to onside kick positions?
|
Last week | Game Situation: Upon arrival at the venue, the officials notice that there are lines extending the full width of the field every 4 yards not 5, and there are only 3 short yard extensions lines between each of these lines. Answer: The game should not start until this is corrected. If it cannot be corrected within a reasonable time-frame, the game should be abandoned (1-2-1). |
Date | Event | Contact for details |
BAFRA Directors | |||||
President | David Parsons | General Secretary | Richard Moger | ||
Finance | Mark Schofield | Operations | Oliver Maskell | ||
Recruitment | Emma Harris | Training | James Ford-Bannister | ||
Director without Portfolio #1 | Peter Parsons | Director without Portfolio #2 | Steve Tonkinson | ||
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.info. Deadline for articles submitted by email ([email protected]) is midnight Tuesday. |
