BRITISH
                           AMERICAN FOOTBALL
                              ASSOCIATION
                             FOOTBALL RULES
                                  AND
                            INTERPRETATIONS
                              2018 EDITION




                              © BAFA 2018









                                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 2018.
(Exception:
Competitions that began before 1st March 2018 will continue
to use 2017 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
James Ford-Bannister
Ronald Gaffin
Roger Goodgroves
Steven Hall
Berk Karacik (Turkey)
Lewis Lebolt (Sweden)
Ollie Maskell
Paul Mercer (Australia)
Richard Moger
Andrew Murrell
Russell Newton
Peter Parsons
Anthony Rivers
Leanne Spencer
Paul Sutton
Pete Thom
Frank Thomson
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.............................98
  Rule 6 -- Kicks....................................................102
  Rule 7 -- Snapping and Passing the Ball............................116
  Rule 8 -- Scoring..................................................133
  Rule 9 -- Conduct of Players and Others Subject to the Rules.......142
  Rule 10 -- Penalty Enforcement.....................................163
  Rule 11 -- The Officials: Jurisdiction and Duties..................172
  Rule 12 -- Video judge.............................................173
  Rule 13 -- Standards for Game Management...........................177
Summary of penalties.................................................190
Officials' Signals...................................................201
Appendix A -- Guidelines for Game Officials to Use During a Serious On-Field Player Injury204
Appendix B -- Guidelines for Game Officials and Game Management To Use Regarding Lightning205
Appendix C -- Concussions............................................208
Appendix D -- Field Diagrams.........................................210
Appendix E -- Equipment: Additional Details..........................216
BAFRA Terms and Conditions...........................................221
Index of Rules and Interpretations...................................228






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Editor: Jim Briggs, BAFA/BAFRA Rules Committee


rules@bafra.org