Points of Emphasis 2012
3 Minute Warning: will be given after 3:00 minutes remain on the clock – not at 3:05 or 3:01 etc. This is not an option but a directive as to how all BCFC games will be handled. at the 3 minute warning, the entire crew will come together to remind each other that the timing rules are changing. The only exception will be if it is a punting situation and the deep officials are already deep with the receivers. In this situation, it is the responsibility of the LoS officials to ensure the deep officials are aware that the 3-minute waning has been given.
Blocking Below the Waist: CJFL and CIS football leagues will NOT implement the rule restricting blocking below the waist as it is presented in the Canadian Rule Book for Tackle Football Rule 4, Section 5, Article 1(e). This rule applies to games at the Midget and below levels.
Passing - Judgment to be applied: The Catch/No Catch is differentiating between: 1. a catch without contact by an opponent, and 2. a catch with contact by an opponent.
Examples of the above: 1. On a bang/bang play, where a player catches the ball off the ground and immediately goes to the ground without contact, he must retain possession of the ball for a ruling of completed pass. In other words he must survive contact with the ground.
2. On a bang/bang play, where a player catches the ball and is immediately contacted by an opponent, in the air or not, and goes to the ground, he must retain possession of the ball for a ruling of completed pass. In other words, he must survive both contact by an opponent and contact with the ground.
A critical part is that there is an element of time involved in both situations.
We would expect that if the contact with the ground jarred the ball loose, then the necessary element of time was not achieved and it should be ruled as an incomplete pass. Remember that the ground can always cause an incomplete pass.
If the receiver retains possession after contact with the ground and then subsequently loses possession after surviving contact with the ground, it should be ruled as a completed pass because he is down when he contacts the ground other than hands, feet or ball.
Mercy Rule to be applied: The Mercy Rule will be applied in any regular season BCFC games when one team goes ahead by 30 or more points the clock will run during all plays except for time outs it will continue to run until the score goes under a 30 point lead, then regular timing resumes
Countdown to Kick-Off: BCFC wants to make the game as professional as possible. See Countdown to Kick-Off. Half-time – 15 minutes.
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Points of Emphasis 2012
Chains: home team is responsible for providing the stick crew. BCFC League Rep will provide the bibs. Headlinesman will be very active in communicating with the stick crew. This is to ensure that they know exactly what they are doing and not to move until they are told to do so. if both teams are on the same side, the chains will be on the opposite side for the entire game. if the teams are on opposite sides, the chains will start on the home team side and switch to the visitors side at half time. This is a directive from the league.
Dress Code: Dress code will go back to BCFC and handled by the League Rep position. Visors: o Tinted visors are not permitted in the game – no exceptions. o If you see a player with a tinted visor, stop the game and have the player removed. Make sure you inform the coach why he was removed.
Game Balls: Home team is responsible to provide footballs for every game. Ump will be responsible to return the game ball to the official’s dressing room. Side officials will bring the other balls after the game to the official dressing room. EXCEPTION: VI Raiders at Caledonia Park – give them to the home team.
Holding: We call holding only when the foul had a bearing on the play or an “advantage gained” at the point of attack. Not Holding if hands are inside; within frame of opponent Not Holding if defender is not trying to get away Encircling with hands outside the frame - is Holding Takedowns or pull downs – is Holding
Holding by “Offense” at LOS during pass rush: Rip moves by “D” linemen have been often seen incorrectly as holding by the offense. if offensive linemen continues to move his feet and retains position - NOT Holding it is NOT holding for pushing the defensive, not from back, and player goes down. retaining position means maintaining position between the rushing defender and the QB in a relatively straight line. losing position means that the defender has beat the offensive lineman and the defenders frame is beyond that relatively straight line. if the offensive lineman is beaten he cannot use an arm with a hand outside the elbow to pull, grab, restrict or impede a player that has an immediate impact on the play – that is Holding. if the hand or arm is pinned by the defender and the offensive lineman cannot get it free, he should not be penalized. Officials need to see the entire play action to rule on it - not just the end result if the defensive player is in a position where his two jersey numbers are facing the QB and he has a clear route to the QB and the only thing preventing him from getting there is the offensive lineman’s arm – that is Holding.
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Points of Emphasis 2012
Holding by “Defense” at LOS on scrimmage plays: defensive lineman or linebacker engages offensive lineman and pulls him out of the lane, allowing another defensive player to fill hole or rush the QB – that is Holding if defensive player applies the same holding principles (hands inside within frame of opponent and maintains position filling a hole) then it is NOT Holding
Holding by “Defense” at LOS, or just off LoS, on kicking plays: takedown or holding by a return team player that prevents a kicking team player from moving downfield to cover the return – is Holding a pancake situation where there is no grabbing of a player underneath is NOT Holding but the player must allow the other player to get up. Officials will always watch for retaliation fouls by the player on the bottom. if return team player maintains contact with hands within the frame - NOT Holding. if hands come outside or there is a takedown – this is Holding it is the obligation of the blocker to gain and retain position coaches wish us to call Holding wherever it occurs on the field but we will still need to apply any “advantage gained” judgment to these calls.
Illegal Blocking Across the LoS on a shovel pass, if the first receiver is not open, a pass across the line of scrimmage may occur. o be aware that blocking down field - in this case it is illegal. if the ball is passed across the line of scrimmage, any block across the LoS is Illegal Interference.
Illegal Contact on Receivers: penalty applies prior to ball being thrown defender may contact receiver within one-yard of LOS defenders may use hands and arms to ward off an offensive player who is threatening his position defenders may jam a receiver in the one-yard zone, but may not clutch or grab him as he is proceeding downfield Cut Blocks by defenders on receivers at LOS is a Foul once off the LOS, the receiver has the right to run his pattern if he threatens the position of a defender he may be contacted, but if he doesn’t, the defender cannot attack a receiver running a pattern. contact by a defender while defending his established position is legal, if ball is not in air a knockdown or takedown where a defender is NOT defending his position is a foul contact, knockdowns or takedowns where a defender attacks a receiver is a foul defenders may re-route receivers but not by stepping up, or stepping out, and attacking them. That is a foul. defenders may adjust his established position by moving his feet and then may defend that position, stationary or moving, with hands and arms. This is very hard to do.
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Points of Emphasis 2012
Illegal Blocks or Blocking after a Change of Possession: The difficult area in terms of judgment will be blocks that and not clearly from the front, side or back. The area that is the toughest to judge is the one that is between the side and the back. Officials will have to judge the point of contact and may use other possible evidence below the angle of approach at the point of contact by the blocker may have a bearing the direction the blocked player falls, headfirst or sideways, may have a bearing it is still the obligation of the blocker to gain position and maintain position so as to make the block not on the back plane a steer block where the contact is not on the back plane is legal. Position of the blocker and the angle of approach at point of contact will be the key criteria. if the contact point is the back plane, it is an Illegal Block. players who have been knocked down and remain in the field of play may not be contacted as they attempt to get up. The opponent has to allow the player to get to his feet before he can contact him again. a decidedly violent hit anywhere in the back or a block across the back of the legs will be ruled Illegal Blocking from Rear – Clip AND could be judged as a RP foul (disqualification) where the player is ejected. Continued emphasis on "seeing the whole block" will be required. all blocks must be above the waist. it is only illegal to hit him in the back. a block on the side of the shoulder is legal position of the blockers head has no bearing
There are a couple of ways of "looking at" this situation. a player has four (4) sides; front, left, right & back. visualize the player as contained in a rectangle with 4 sides. it is illegal to contact him in the rear panel of that rectangle. visualize a plane established immediately behind the body of the player, not through his body, but behind it. it is illegal to contact a player in that rear plane. it is suggested that coaches don’t teach the block at the rear corners of the rectangle because that leaves the judgment as to point of contact solely up to the official. The key issue for officials is the point of contact by the blocker. Officials may take into account the angle of approach by the blocker.
No Yards: a short punt will not be blown dead. no tolerance will be given if players are in the zone who trying to get out and doesn’t. kicking team players must give 5 yards at the point the receiver first touches the ball in the air to avoid a 15 yard. if a kick hits the ground beyond the line of scrimmage, the kicking team players must give 5 yards at the point the receiver first touches the ball to avoid a 5 yard penalty. If the kicking team players crowd the receiver preventing him from playing the ball, the Official can upgrade the yardage to 15-yards. This is only done if the player is interfering with the receiver from playing the ball. a No Yards foul will not be called if receiving team does not attempt to recover the ball and the kicking team recovers it. This is rare but it may occur. a No Yards foul will be called if an offside player is in the 5 yard zone when an onside player recovers the ball. No offside player allowed in the zone.
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Points of Emphasis 2012
Objectionable Conduct: there will be Zero Tolerance for objectionable conduct in BCFC games. We are trying to improve the image. Anyone who receives two objectionable conduct penalties in a game is ejected from the game, including coaches and anyone in the bench area. remind the coach that the ejected person must leave the bench area and the field immediately. two officials will escort the ejected player off the field. This means that two of you (not involved with the ejection) will ensure the player leaves the field. If this delays the game than so be it.
Pass Interference - play in the past officials would see an offensive receiver going downfield and becoming involved in contact with a DB covering him. Then another receiver would loop "under" and catch a pass in the resultant open area. This is pass interference if the offensive player initiates the contact.
Meeting with coaches: Ref, Ump & League Rep will meet with the coaches 1 to 1.5 hours prior to KO. Home team will supply ball boys for the game. Head Coach should also provide a name of the “get back coach” for the side official. This is the coach that the side official will ask for assistance in keeping the team in the team box.
Pass Interference penalty applies after the pass is thrown, while ball is in the air. behind LOS – team “A” can interfere with team “B” but team “B” CANNOT interfere with any eligible team “A” player attempting to catch the ball. defenders do not have to play the ball - however, if they are not playing the ball they may not contact or face guard a receiver. face guarding is identified as hand or hands up in the air ABOVE shoulder level, interfering with the receiver’s view of the flight of the ball. turning the head to look back for the ball does not allow a player to simply throw up hands and arms – this is face guarding. a defensive player who perfectly times putting his hands and arms up in the air as the ball arrives and knocks the ball away is performing a good defensive play is not face guarding. two players both looking and playing the ball – have contact while attempting to catch the pass – IS NOT PI. Both offensive and defensive players have a right to attempt to catch the pass. This is true even if contact is a collision, as long as both are playing the ball and NOT preventing the opponent to play the ball. a player offensive or defensive is NOT allowed to “go through” a receiver to get to the ball. two players not playing the ball – incidental contact occurs that does not affect the pattern of an eligible player – IS NOT PI. one player playing the ball and the other not playing the ball – contact by player not playing ball – is PI a player who has gained “position” will not be considered to have impeded or restricted an opponent in a prohibited manner if all such actions are a bona fide effort to go to and play the ball. on an under thrown pass, if a player tries to come back to play the ball and is prevented from doing so by contact with a player not playing the ball, that is Not PI unless it is intentional. when an offensive player running a pattern parallel to the sideline and the defender has inside position and is running beside the receiver, there is no foul if the ball is thrown inside and the defensive player’s position prevents the receiver from getting past him to the ball. Accidental PI occurs when a player in a trail position trips the feet of a receiver going to the ball two player running side-by-side get their feet tangled up and one or both go down, this is not PI.
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Points of Emphasis 2012
Screen Pass: if a forward pass is first touched or caught on or behind the line of scrimmage, it is considered a running play and blocking is legal anywhere on the field. This includes a pass that doesn’t touch a receiver and lands on or behind the line. on an under thrown pass, if a player tries to come back to play ball and is prevented from doing so by contact initiated or created by a player not playing the ball, then it is Pass Interference interior lineman going down field BEFORE the pass is thrown is legal only when he is in contact with defensive lineman. Once he lost contact he must NOT get involved in the play at all until the ball is caught.
Physical Contact with Officials there is a collective need by all stakeholders; players, coaches and officials to minimize occurrences of physical contact with officials officials are working on their mechanics and will be adjusting to try to get out of high traffic areas players are asked to be aware of the presence of officials and make every effort to avoid contact with them pushing an official out of the way; running over him in attempting to approach a ball carrier; or running at an official and using him to "rub" off an opponent are not acceptable any deliberate attempt by a player to make contact with an official will not be tolerated and will be dealt with appropriately by the league.
Post Game: observers will review any situation to get clarification from the officials. officials are to answer questions truthfully and not make up stories etc. Remember that the Observer sends his notes to the Evaluator to review things like position on calls; quality of calls; application of rules; etc. this is a learning time – make full use of it. any general observations about the teams conduct; bench area; field condition; injury that required the player be removed by stretcher; protest; etc should be reported to the Observer and League Rep. Each official is required to hand in a readable penalty game card with the following information on it, this includes the Referee. o Officials last name and number o Quarter o Time o Foul o Team o Player number don’t take any yelling at you from the bench. BCFC is trying to eliminate this behaviour. Coaches have been told to stop players or others from yelling at the officials for any reason.
Pre Game: if the Ref & Ump are not back from the coaches meeting one hour before kickoff, the Umpire will start the pre game meeting. He will bring the Referee up to date with what has been covered in the Pre game
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Points of Emphasis 2012
Roughing the Passer: QB “protection” is a priority any contact above the shoulders is Illegal any contact leading with the helmet is Illegal there is no one or two step ruling – defenders must be in control of their body at all times and may not hit a QB after the ball is gone. defenders jumping into the air to attempt to block a pass down does not give him the right to hit the QB either late or high. defenders coming off a block and is off-balance may inadvertently hit a QB low, KEY WORDS – “Off Balance” and “Inadvertently” but not in a rough manner. if there is any sense of a deliberate attempt to hit a QB low it will be penalize the QB is protected as long as he is in a “set-up position”. As soon as he starts to run he can be legally tackled like any runner. when heading up-field, QB is to be treated as a runner forcibly hitting a passer when he is in the pocket at or below the knees when the defender has an unrestricted path or is coming off a blocker. leading with the head and using it as the initial or primary point of contact with a passer and specifically they may not duck the head and launch at a passer. This applies regardless whether the passer is in or out of the pocket.
High hits on Passers (above the shoulders) regardless of whether the passer is in or out of the pocket, will be penalized. if a defender lowers his head and contacts the passer with his helmet as the initial or primary point of contact, he will be penalized; regardless of where on the passer's body that contact is made. if a defender keeps his head up and contacts the passer with his facemask, he will not be penalized, unless the initial or primary contact is above the passer's shoulders.
Low hits on Passers (at or below the knees when he is in the pocket) will be penalized. When a QB rolls out or scrambles out of the pocket, he may be tackled, but not attacked or punished in any unnecessary manner.
Helmet coming off during a play: Rule 1, Section 11, Article 2(d) If a player’s helmet involuntarily comes off during the play, except as a result of a foul, he shall be required to leave the game for 3 plays BCFC has agreed to enforce this rule with the follow provisions: If this is the 1st occurrence then the player must leave the game for 1 play. For subsequent occurrences, the player must leave the game for 3 plays. If the helmet comes off as a result of a foul, the player is allowed to stay on the field for the next play.
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