San Diego County Football Officials Association - Weekly Bulletin Flag Football 9/25/24
New Instructional Video from Our State Rules Interpreter – This is another outstanding YouTube video. It’s full of interpretations and video examples. It’s titled: CFOA Mid-Season Flag Football Meeting September 15, 2024 Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E7h6QM_wKw
Coin Toss – Winner chooses to receive the ball or defer that choice to the second half. The opponent get to choose the direction they wish to go. At halftime, the opponent of the team that will be in possession of the ball to start the half, will have their chance to choose a direction they wish to go.
Jerseys – Please make sure we’re doing constant flag checks including making sure all players have their jerseys fully tucked into the pants.
Jewelry – No jewelry is allowed. From the State Interpreter, don’t allow players to tape or add band aides to cover the jewelry. No jewelry. Religious and Medical Alerts Medals are not considered jewelry.
Prescription Sunglasses – Prescription sunglasses are not considered sunglasses. Regular sunglasses are not allowed.
Penalties and the Clock – The game clock will run continually during the first 22-minutes of each half and will stop only for an injured player or a charged team timeout. In addition, the referee may stop the clock to administer a foul, or for other officials’ conferences. If the official is administering a foul that will not be complex or need a conference with other officials, the clock shall continue to run during the penalty administration.
Motion – The offense is allowed one player to go in motion before the snap and must be moving parallel to or away from the line of scrimmage at the snap. The player in motion must be 2-yards off the line of scrimmage to begin their motion. It is legal for a player on the line of scrimmage to shift 2-yards into the backfield and be stationary for 1-second before legally going in motion, as long as there are not more than a total of 3-players in the backfield.
Snapping the Ball – The ball must be snapped to any person whose feet are at least 2-yards behind the line of scrimmage. Rule Book p.15
Spinning – Again, must be at least two complete turns (720 degrees) as the runner is running in a straight line. All simple spins, even a complete 360-degree spin, is a legal action.
Can a Player Dive to Catch a Pass? – Yes, a receiver may dive to attempt or make a catch of a pass or a loose ball. Players may not dive in an effort to pull a flag, and a runner may not dive to attempt to get the ball across the goal line.
Blocking – Teammates running with their teammate who is running with the ball, may in fact, be penalized for blocking if their paths obstruct their opponent’s path to the runner, even if it is accidental.
Forward and Backward Laterals – This can be one of the hardest actions to accurately officiate in all of football, especially if it is done downfield. Officials must use each other to bracket these laterals to get multiple opinions of the direction of the pass.
Holding – If a defender attempts to pull the runner’s flags and grabs the uniform and halts the progress of the runner, that should be penalized as holding. If the runner halts on their own, thinking their flag has been pulled, then no foul should be called.
Roughing the Passer – Any contact with the passer, or her arm, will be penalized as roughing the passer. A rusher has two legal options, 1 – Jump and try to block the pass without any contact to the passer; or 2- Reach down to one side of the passer and attempt to pull her flag before she passes the ball.
