New Rules and Rule Clarifications for AYL Fall Football 2011

The main headings represent where the rule is in the current rule book.

Football Preliminary Rules

Section 14 – SPORTSMANSHIP Currently: PENALTY: The ejection of any player or coach from a game shall result in that person not participating in their next regularly scheduled game. Proposed Change: PENALTY: The ejection of any player or coach from a game shall result in that person not participating in their next regularly scheduled game. Coaches, parents or spectators are not permitted at the park of the following game. Ejected players may be present at the following game and participate on the . Player may come onto the playing field to act as "water boy" and take part in the postgame handshakes. Why: The word "participation" came into question last season.

RULE 1 – FIELD DIMENSIONS and MARKINGS, PLAYERS and EQUIPMENT

Section 4 – Patch System Currently: INTERMEDIATE ONLY – A patch player may not play in the offensive backfield, accept a hand off or backwards lateral. Proposed Change: INTERMEDIATE ONLY – Any pass thrown to a patch player must be beyond the . Why: During the season, there were interpretation issues between the intent and letter of the rule.

RULE 5 – SCORING AND PENALTIES

Section 1 – Extra Points Currently: Division IV Only: Field Goals will be permitted at field with post. If the is kicked for a PAT, the team will be awarded one (1) point. Any run or pass into the will result in 2 points. The ball shall be placed on the 3 yard line for extra points on fields with Field Goal posts. Proposed Change: Division IV Only: When field goal post are available, highs school rules will govern the extra point scoring. Field Goals will also be permitted on these fields. Why: Last season, some officials didn't understand the rule. Changing the verbiage should cut on interpretation problems.

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New Rule

Associate B & C Only Once the offense and defense is set, movement by the defense is not allowed during the ’s cadence. If the offensive team has motion, the defense may adjust.

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Flag Football Rules

New Section – Tackling A. Tackling is not allowed. B. Clear Path Rule: If it is deemed by the official that the tackled player has a clear path to the end zone, the official may award a to the offensive team. C. If the is deemed intentional, the offensive team will not be charged a down.

Why: We had a number of coaches complain about their players being tackled last season. This was especially true during the flag tournament. ------

Associate C Proposed Rules

• Patch players are not allowed to advance the ball. • No play downs • Patch is 5 lbs less than Associate B • Kick Offs will be governed by CHASSA kick off rules • Punts: The defense will not be allowed to the punter. (Free ) Defense must have 6 on the line of scrimmage. • The same rules about covering the center as the other Associate divisions. • Games will have 20 minute quarters instead of having a defined 18 plays. o The clock would be a running clock until the last two minutes of the half. o Outside of that time, the clock would only stop during timeouts. o The thought behind this is the games would have a predictable time length. For the other Associate divisions, games can go long due to plays with penalties not counting as "official plays"

8 on 8

The committee agreed the new Associate C division should be "8 on 8" instead of "11 on 11". The conversation centered around giving all the kids more playing time. In the process, their first season, they can come more fundamentally sound.

Offense Rules • 5 on the line of scrimmage. • Unbalanced and swinging gate formations are not allowed. • The linemen on the end of the formation are eligible receivers.

Defense Rules • Must have a minimum of 3 down lineman • Same rule as Associate B & A with covering the center.

Generic Rules

• 10 play minimum for each able player • 15 player roster maximums