BRITISH
                           AMERICAN FOOTBALL
                              ASSOCIATION
                             FOOTBALL RULES
                                  AND
                            INTERPRETATIONS
                              2017 EDITION




                              © BAFA 2017









                                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. 
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 2017.
(Exception:
Competitions that began before 1st March 2017 will continue
to use 2016 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):




Stuart Alger
Michael Bilica (USA)
Amir Brooks
John Burns
Steve Egan
Ronald Gaffin
Rob Hill
Dan Holt
Berk Karacik (Turkey)
David Knight
Lewis Lebolt (Sweden)
Paul Mercer (Australia)
Andrew Murrell
Russell Newton
Peter Parsons
Ian Sneddon
Paul Sutton
Paul Todd
Ian Wainwright
Derek Welsh




Cover image by Betty Brooks









                           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.......................................26
 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...............................................53
  Rule 3 -- Periods, Time Factors and Substitutions...................72
  Rule 4 -- Ball in Play, Dead Ball, Out of Bounds....................92
  Rule 5 -- Series of Downs, Line to Gain.............................97
  Rule 6 -- Kicks....................................................101
  Rule 7 -- Snapping and Passing the Ball............................115
  Rule 8 -- Scoring..................................................131
  Rule 9 -- Conduct of Players and Others Subject to the Rules.......140
  Rule 10 -- Penalty Enforcement.....................................161
  Rule 11 -- The Officials: Jurisdiction and Duties..................170
  Rule 12 -- Video judge.............................................171
  Rule 13 -- Standards for Game Management...........................175
Summary of penalties.................................................188
Officials' Signals...................................................199
Appendix A -- Guidelines for Game Officials to Use During a Serious On-Field Player Injury202
Appendix B -- Guidelines for Game Officials and Game Management To Use Regarding Lightning203
Appendix C -- Concussions............................................206
Appendix D -- Field Diagrams.........................................207
Appendix E -- Equipment: Additional Details..........................213
BAFRA Terms and Conditions...........................................217
Index of Rules and Interpretations....................................27






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Editor: Jim Briggs, BAFA/BAFRA Rules Committee


rules@bafra.org