BRITISH
                           AMERICAN FOOTBALL
                              ASSOCIATION
                             FOOTBALL RULES
                                  AND
                            INTERPRETATIONS
                              2015 EDITION




                              © BAFA 2015









                                Foreword




The rules are revised each year by IFAF to improve the sport's level
of safety and quality of play, and to clarify the meaning and intent of
rules where needed.
The principles that govern all rule changes are that they must:





IFAF statutes require all member federations to play by IFAF rules,
except in the following regards:

    


    

  1. 
national federations may adapt Rule 1 to meet local needs
and circumstances, provided no adaption reduces the safety of the
players or other participants; BAFA takes advantage of that to allow
(for example) 90-yard fields and reduced end zones that are our solution
to using rugby pitches and the like


  2. 
competitions may adjust the rules according to (a) the age group of the
participants and (b) the gender of the participants


  3. 
competition authorities have the right to amend certain specific rules
(listed on page 35)


  4. 
(new for 2015) national federations may restrict the above
so that the same regulations apply to all competitions under their
jurisdiction




These rules apply to all
contests involving BAFA-affiliated teams
and take effect from 1st March 2015
(Exception:
Competitions that began before 1st March 2015 will continue
to use 2014 rules until the end of their competition).




For brevity, male pronouns are used extensively in this book, but the
rules are equally applicable to female and male participants.




BAFA has established a mechanism for discussing and deciding future
changes to this book.
Each organisation affiliated to BAFA has a voice on the Rules
Committee.
You may make suggestions for changes to your organisation's
representative(s).
Suggestions may be made at any time, but to eligible for consideration
for the following year they must be received by 1st October.




Jim Briggs, BAFRA (Editor)
on behalf of the
BAFA Rules Committee




Those who find it necessary to write to the editor for interpretations
of rules or play situations will receive prompt replies if they number
their questions
and email them to
rules@britishamericanfootball.org.




The editor would like to thank the following people who assisted in the
production of this edition of the rulebook (GB except where stated):




Jeff Batzler (Sweden)
Andy Binns
Amir Brooks
John Burns
Barbara Favre-Derez
Roger Goodgroves
John Griffin
David Knight
Lewis Lebolt (Sweden)
James Meredith
Russell Newton
Peter Parsons
Ian Sneddon
Frank Thomson
Paul Todd









                           Table of Contents




Rules changes..........................................................4
Points of emphasis.....................................................7
The Football Code.....................................................10
BAFA Regulations......................................................13
 1 Basic principles...................................................13
 2 Registration.......................................................17
 3 Code of conduct....................................................19
 4 Regulations on organisations.......................................25
 5 Game regulations...................................................28
 6 Competition complaints and appeals.................................30
 7 Procedures for regulatory cases....................................30
 8 Procedures for appeals.............................................33
Rules and Interpretations.............................................35
  Rule 1 -- The Game, Field, Players and Equipment....................37
  Rule 2 -- Definitions...............................................52
  Rule 3 -- Periods, Time Factors and Substitutions...................70
  Rule 4 -- Ball in Play, Dead Ball, Out of Bounds....................89
  Rule 5 -- Series of Downs, Line to Gain.............................93
  Rule 6 -- Kicks.....................................................97
  Rule 7 -- Snapping and Passing the Ball............................111
  Rule 8 -- Scoring..................................................126
  Rule 9 -- Conduct of Players and Others Subject to the Rules.......135
  Rule 10 -- Penalty Enforcement.....................................155
  Rule 11 -- The Officials: Jurisdiction and Duties..................164
  Rule 12 -- Instant replay..........................................165
  Rule 13 -- Standards for Game Management...........................174
Summary of penalties.................................................186
Officials' Signals...................................................197
Appendix A -- Guidelines for Game Officials to Use During a Serious On-Field Player Injury200
Appendix B -- Guidelines for Game Officials and Game Management To Use Regarding Lightning201
Appendix C -- Concussions............................................204
Appendix D -- Field Diagrams.........................................206
Appendix E -- Equipment: Additional Details..........................212
BAFRA Terms and Conditions...........................................214
Index of Rules and Interpretations....................................27






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Editor: Jim Briggs, BAFA/BAFRA Rules Committee


rules@britishamericanfootball.org