FLAG FOOTBALL RULES CHEAT SHEET For complete rule book: Click Here ROSTERS & SUBS A full team on the field consists of 5 players with a minimum of 2 females. The minimum amount of players required in order to not default is: 4 players including at least 1 female. EQUIPMENT Equipment will be brought to the field by an SSC Games Coordinator. This will include Wilson official NFL game balls, flags, belts and field markers. Each player must bring a light and dark shirt to each game. Teams can also pick their own unique colour to wear in the games but are still required to bring a light and dark shirt. Teams will decide at the field who is wearing light and who is wearing dark. Opposing teams should have flags of contrasting colors. Flags MUST be worn at hips/sides and shirts cannot hang over the flags (i.e. tuck your shirt into your shorts/pants). LEAGUE SPECIFIC RULES GAME FORMAT Games consist of two 40 minute halves, with a 10 minute half time At the end of each half, there will be a 5 minute warning where each team will get another possession before the half ends. When the warning is called, if the team with the ball has not yet run a play from scrimmage, this possession will be their last. If they have run a play from scrimmage they will receive another possession after their opponents’ final possession. In regular season games, ties are allowed - no overtime FEMALE PLAYERS A female player must be an integral player in at least 1 play of the 4 downs. An integral part of the play or position includes: o Being the quarterback on a forward passing play. o Being the intended receiver on a passing play. The quarterback cannot bounce the ball off a female player on purpose and then recover the ball and pass to a male player. o Receiving a lateral on a play. o Being the punter on a 4th down. If a team does not use a female player in their 4 downs, the defense gets the ball from where the last play occurred and if the offence scored points, they do not count. PICK PLAYS Pick Plays’ are illegal by the offensive team. Actual physical contact or an imminent collision must be made in order for the play to be a pick. Imminent collision occurs when a defensive player has to stop running due to a member of the offense getting in their way. A good rule of thumb is that when too offensive players cross within 1 yard of each other, they are attempting a pick play if a defender is affected be their actions. Crossing Patterns are permitted if there is no threat of contact with a defender. The defender must be within 3 yards to be considered a pick play. KICKING Kick off will take place at the start of a half or after a touchdown. This takes place from the kicking team’s 10 yard line. o If the ball goes out of bounds prior to reaching the end zone of the receiving team, the receiving team will have a choice of having the kick off repeated, or taking the ball where it went out of bounds plus 5 yards. o The kick off must be touched by the receiving team first; the kicking team must give 5 yards buffer until it is touched. Punts will only take place on the 4th down and prior to punting the defending team must be informed. o Defensive teams cannot block a punt. o If a ball goes out of bounds prior to reaching the end zone of the receiving team, the receiving team will scrimmage the ball from the yard line where the ball went out of bounds. FOULS AND PENALTIES Blocking and physical contact. Pick Plays. Crossing the line of scrimmage before QB puts ball into play. Defenders cannot screen or touch a receiver while the receiver is attempting to call the ball. Guarding flag with hands or jumping to avoid having flags pulled. Screening or touching a receiver while a catch is being attempted. Holding. Premature flag pulling, or grabbing opponents’ clothes to slow them down. Offensive charging. o If teams cannot agree that a foul occurred, the down must be replayed from the original line of scrimmage. If a foul is agreed upon by both teams, the fouled against chooses the option most beneficial to them: . Replay the down from the original line of scrimmage. Play the next down from the spot where the foul occurred. Decline the penalty but talk to the other team. Pass interference – if pass interference occurs then the offense can choose to replay the down from the original line of scrimmage or the next play will start from the point of the foul. STEAMBOAT COUNTING The QB has only 10 ‘steamboats’ (10 seconds) to make a play. If the QB has not been rushed then they must make a pass within 10 ‘steamboats’. At 10 ‘steamboats’ if a pass has not been thrown by the QB, the play is dead and the next down is started (this is to keep the game moving). Any defensive player can call ‘steamboats’ (ideally it is a player on the sideline); however in order for the defensive team to take advantage of this rule they must count the ‘steamboats’ out loud for everyone to hear. The defence must count 5 ‘steamboats’ out loud for everyone to hear before they can rush across the line of scrimmage. The offence is not allowed to run the ball across the line of scrimmage until a defensive player has counted 5 ‘steamboats’ and has crossed the lino e scrimmage. If the defence rushes the quarterback after 5 ‘steamboats’ then the ‘steamboat’ count no longer applies and the play will continue until the offence is stopped. .