Spring Practices

May 7th to May 30th
Usher Miller Field (KVHS)
Every Monday and Wednesday
6:30 to 7:30 PM

Flag Ages for 2018 – Born in 2011 or 2012
Please have your player bring their own water and wear weather appropriate clothing. Cleats (rubber or plastic) are recommended, but not mandatory at this level. The focus will be on:
• Teaching of Basic Football Skills
• Conditioning and Team Play
• Having Fun
We normally practice if it is raining, but not if the weather becomes severe or field conditions deteriorate. If the practice is cancelled, we will send out an email message two hours before practice time and try to get it posted on our website (www.fundyminorfootball.com ) as well.
If you have any questions please advise. Note also that we are in need of a couple more coaches so if you are interested in helping out on the field please let me know – no experience required.

Bruce Watts
Flag Division Coordinator
Fundy Minor Football
Bjwatts1@nbnet.nb.ca
674-2747 or 333-2275

Rules
Complete Fundy Minor Flag Game Rules
Last updated March 2018
Philosophy:
The purpose of our Flag football program is to introduce boys and girls aged 6-7, to the game with a minimum of body contact taking place. Players will learn the fundamentals, i.e. passing, running, blocking and tackling (flag pulling) in a fun environment.

Equipment:
Each player will be supplied with a Jersey that is to be worn as the team uniform. Uniforms must be kept tucked into the pants or shorts at all times. All players will wear cloth “flags” which are tucked into the player’s pants at the hip. Players are tackled by having one of these flags pulled off. Cleats with metal tips are not permitted. The league will use the K2 footballs. These smaller balls will provide a better grip for our young players. Game fields will be 65 yards between the goal lines with 5 yard end zones. Fields will be 25 yards wide.

Game Length:
All games will be preceded by a practice/warm-up of about 15 minutes. Games should consist of 2 × 20 minute halfs straight time with a 5 minute halftime.

Number of Players:
Each team will have 5 players on the field at any time.

Kicking Team:
There will be no kickoffs, teams will scrimmage from their own 5 yard line after a score.
Officiating:
When officials are not available, the coaches will officiate their own games. Penalty rulings during the regular season will be made by the on-field coaches, hopefully by consensus. Each coach should bring a whistle to every game. The defensive team coach will blow his whistle to signify the end of each play. The defensive coach will be responsible for placing the ball and changing the down marker. Either coach may call penalties. In the event of a dispute, the opinion of the defensive team coach will prevail. Orange pylons will be placed at the goal line corners, back end zone corners, and at mid-field. Coaches should attempt to recruit parents to rule on out of bounds on each side line. These parents can signal to whoever is officiating that a player has stepped out of bounds by raising an orange cone, or just their hand over their head and standing at the spot where the player went out of bounds.

Offensive Plays:
Teams can attempt both running and passing plays. A team will have 5 downs to score. The offence doesn’t have to throw a legal forward pass on at least one of the first four downs in each series of downs in Flag. On each of the first 4 downs a different player must carry the ball or be the target of a pass. On 5th down any player can carry the ball or be the target of a pass. Blocking is permitted but only above the waist and not in the head area. No pushing with the palms of the hands is allowed. No holding is permitted. Blockers should grasp the wrist of one hand and close the fist of the held hand. From this position blockers may push defenders away from the ball carrier. Blockers are not allowed to deliberately knock or push defenders to the ground. Because the players are not wearing any protective equipment, coaches must be on guard to keep this body contact under control. Penalties should be called quickly when unnecessary roughness occurs. From the time the referee blows time in a team will have 40 seconds to put the ball in play. This rule will not be enforced until the second half of the regular season. The center keep play is permitted in this league. It is a play where the center simply picks up the ball and runs with it. This play is useful as it is sometimes the only way to get some players involved in running the ball on offense.

Defense:
On all plays the defense cannot cross the line of scrimmage until the referee has counted three “steamboats”. The referee/coach will yell “Go” to unleash the defensive line. Defenders are not permitted to physically tackle ball carriers. They are not allowed to deliberately throw or push offensive blockers to the ground. They are permitted to use their hands to push blockers out of the way. At no time are defenders allowed to have physical contact with pass receivers. Because the players are not wearing any protective equipment, coaches must be on guard to keep body contact to a minimum. Penalties should be called quickly when unnecessary roughness occurs. Players who continually practice rough play may be ejected from the game.

Punts:
There is no punting in Flag, teams run an ordinary scrimmage play on 5th down.

Turnover on Downs:
When a team is unable to score in 5 downs and a turnover on downs occurs, the other team takes over from the spot the ball was declared dead.

Converts, Field Goals:
A running convert shall start from the 5 yard line and if successful will be worth 1 point. A passing convert shall start from the 5 yard line and if successful will be worth 2 points. A pass doesn’t have to be caught in the end zone, but it has to be a bona fide pass, not a glorified handoff or shovel pass, if it’s a lateral pass along the line of scrimmage it should travel more than 5 yards in the air. There are no kicking converts or field goals in Flag.

Tackling:
Ball carriers are tackled by having one flag pulled off either hip, or if any part of their body other than their hands or feet touch the ground. If a ball carrier’s flag falls off, the play will be whistled dead and the ball will be spotted where the flag fell off. Players are eligible to catch a pass or receive the ball by hand off, toss or pitch if their flag has fallen off but unable to advance. The play will be called dead where the player (with no flag) caught the ball. Ball carriers are not permitted to shield or guard their flags with their hands or to bat away defenders hands from their flags. If they do they will be ruled to have been tackled at the point where the infraction occurred, they are also not allowed to stiff-arm a defender. Tacklers cannot grab the ball carrier’s shirt to slow him down before pulling off his flags. They are not permitted to grab his belt or arms. If a ball carrier is deliberately tripped or knocked down in the course of being tackled a 10 yard unnecessary roughness penalty will automatically be applied. Tacklers are permitted to angle or guide a ball carrier out of bounds with body position, but are not permitted to push a ball carrier out of bounds with their hands in an outward shoving motion. Tacklers are not permitted to make physical contact with ball carriers other than attempting to pull off flags. Players who physically tackle ball carriers rather than making a reasonable attempt to pull the flag may be subject to ejection from the game.

Fumbles:
There are no fumbles in the Flag division, it is just a dead ball and possession retained by the offensive team at the spot of the fumble. A bobbled snap or hand off can be picked up by the offence and play can continue so long as the fumble occurs behind the line of scrimmage and there are still steamboats remaining. Incomplete lateral pass is the same as incomplete forward pass only because we allow no fumbles. Defensive players are not permitted to strip the ball from ball carriers.

Equal Play Rule::
Each player will play one half of the game on offence and one half on defence. The switch will take place at half time. Where a team has less than 12 players one or more players will have to remain on the field when possession of the ball changes. This should be done through a rotation that maintains equal play for all. No players are permitted to play the entire game.

Penalties:
Unnecessary Roughness- Anything that results in a player being deliberately knocked to the ground. 10 yards. Use normal paces of the coach of the benefiting team. If the penalty results from a deliberate physical tackle that prevented a certain touchdown from being scored the referee may award the score to the offensive team.

Rough Play- Where a player has more than one deliberate Unnecessary Roughness penalty in a game a 25 yard penalty will be applied and the offending player ejected from the game.
Illegal Procedure- Offense must have a center and two ends on the line of scrimmage. Players cannot move before ball is snapped. 5 yards. Repeat down. Defense may decline penalty.
Offside- Defense cannot cross line of scrimmage before ball is snapped, or before the steamboats have expired. 5 yards. Repeat down. Offense may decline penalty.
Holding- Blockers cannot hold defenders or push them with an open hand. Ball carrier is deemed tackled where the infraction occurred. 10 yards back from point of infraction or line of scrimmage if infraction occurred behind line of scrimmage. Repeat down if infraction is behind line of scrimmage. Defense may decline penalty.
Clipping- Blockers cannot block defenders from behind. Ball carrier is deemed tackled where infraction occurred. 10 yards back from point of infraction or line of scrimmage if infraction occurred behind line of scrimmage. Repeat down if infraction is behind line of scrimmage. Defense may decline penalty.
Pass Interference- Neither pass receivers nor defenders can push one another on pass routes. Pass will be deemed complete where infraction occurred if defender interfered. Pass will be deemed incomplete if receiver interfered. 10 yards added on to completion if defensive interference. 10 yards back from line of scrimmage if offensive player interfered. Repeat down on offensive interference. Defence may decline penalty.
Unsportsmanlike Conduct – Taunting opposing players or using foul language. 10 yard penalty.
Overall Rules: Where an aspect of the game has not been addressed in the preceding text the Canadian Rulebook for Flag Football shall apply.