Chop Blocking

Over the first two weeks of the season a number of chop blocks have been seen and called during regular play. A chop block involves two blockers, anywhere on the field, with one blocking high and one blocking at the thigh or below. It is highly dangerous and often results in very serious injuries, which is why the rules have been tightened up on it this year.

Chop blocking is illegal at all times and in all situations. Flagrant offenses will lead to ejection of one or more parties. All coaches and clubs are required to review this rule and the understanding of it with all players prior to this weekend's games.

Horse collars

A horse collar tackle requires grasping of the neck/arm pad sections and immediate downward & backward pull. A pull down by the back of the shirt is not enough, even if it is immediate.

Chop Blocks

All chop blocking is illegal as of this year so any high/low combination block will be penalised.

Blocking low towards the landmark

Backs / receivers outside the normal Tackle position may not block below the waist back towards the original position of the ball. This happened a number of times on Saturday and was not penalised only due to limited contact being made. As this is a safety issue, be aware that this will be penalised critically from next week, even if contact is minimal - we will not wait until critical injury occurs!

Block in the back

A defender trying to get to the ball carrier may block through the back of an offensive player. This was complained about vigorously during the first game, but it is certainly not a new rule!

Taunting/baiting

Taunting and baiting are completely unacceptable and will be penalised immediately when seen or heard as Unsportsmanlike Conduct. Be aware that two such penalities attracts an automatic ejection.

Holding

Putting your hands up in the air and yelling "he's holding me" will not lead to a holding call as you have given up on the play and so the hold has no effect. Lateral movement will make any holding that is occurring much more obvious and so will be much more likely to be called.

Numbering

The rules and enforcement on player numbering has not changed from last year. Some latitude was given in week 1, but this will not be acceptable from next week. All teams must begin the game with only ineligible numbered players (50-79) playing on the offensive line. If, due to injury, eligible numbered players are required to play there, they must report in to the Referee / Umpire (this does not mean a general substitution - only injury-caused changes are excepted). At no time may an ineligible numbered player play in an eligible position and go down field for a pass.

Registering for 2008/2009

Use this link http://tinyurl.com/427bqv and choose to register under SAGOA.

Wes Neal

The members of the South Australian Gridiron Association and South Australian Gridiron Officials Association deeply mourn the passing of a founding member of gridiron in South Australia. Wes was a great friend to many and he led both organisations as President during his involvement with the league.
Wes you have left many memories with people and trained many officials to become better umpires in the sport of American Football. Your guidance, wisdom and teaching people the game of gridiron has been passed onto the next generation and is now being passed onto those that follow on from us. You joined us as a regular member and left your mark as a Hall of Fame Official.

Always a life member.

On behalf of Daryl Argent for SAGOA members, Dave Sedgwick for GASA members and Grant Martin for AGOA members we say thanks.

Wes Neal

It is with deep sympathy that after a long battle with cancer Wes Neal has passed away. He will be sadly missed by the South Australian Gridiron Officials Association as he was a valuable contributor to officiating here and all over Australia. Wes was a co-founder of the league in South Australia and served as President for a number of years. He officiated in the first game ever in SA at Norwood oval and was in charge from the start.
Wes we will all miss you and your wise ways to teach us the game that you enjoyed and led from the start.

Grant Martin
SAGOA Training Officer
AGOA CEO

Wes Neal
Started officiating in 1986 – first ever game in SA
Games officiated in South Australia – 304
Founder of the South Australian league in 1985
Founder of SAGOA in 1985
Referee for the 1996 Junior National Championship game
Supervisor of Officials – Australia v New Zealand 2001
Officiated at the 2003 Senior National Championships
Officiated in numerous interstate and Down Under Bowl games
Continued involvement until retiring from “on field” duties at the end of the 2003/04 season
Served as Supervisor of Officials for SAGOA
Served for many years on both the SAGOA & GASA Executive including 10 years as President of SAGOA
Played a leading role in the creation of AGOA in 1989 and is a past-Executive member
Served as SAGOA representative to AGOA
Served as GASA representative to GA
2006 AGOA Hall of Fame Inaugural Inductee

Helmet to Helmet

Last night there was a cry for a helmet to helmet contact with a ball carrier in a tackle. While much has been said and done about this area of the game the hit of helmet to helmet did not match the philosophy of the rule. This being the use of the crown of the helmet.
In the junior game last night the contact was by the face mask to the helmet and there was no use of the helmet in being a weapon to cause injury to the ball carrier, nor injury to be caused to the person tackling. This was just part of the game.

Grant Martin
SAGOA Training Officer

Updates 2008

Well the 2007/08 season is well behind us. It is time to look towards the next senior season as the SAGOA website is updated with information. Please take a look back at the old and check out as the new is placed on the site over the next few months.

The SAGOA calendar has been updated for the next few months for Juniors, GASA meetings, SAGOA AGM and a tentative date for SAGOA Senior training.

Again if you want to join us please email.

Congratulations Daryl Argent

Congratulations to Daryl Argent who has been inducted to the Australian Gridiron Officials Association Hall of Fame for 2008. This now makes 3 South Australian officials out of 4 in the AGOA Hall of Fame.

Other members of the AGOA Hall of Fame include:
Wes Neal - SA
John 'Doc' Sabine - SA
Myles Newman - NSW

This shows how much that SA is respected as officials in Australia and their commitment to the sport here in SA and nationally. It also gives recognition to the years of service and quality of officiating skills developed here in SA.

This award is well deserved as Daryl celebrated his 500th game in 2008. Well done Daryl

Survey Results

Hi all
Thanks for the comments to the survey. I have spent time looking over the comments and replies and thank you all for your contribution. Please do not think that by me or SAGOA making a reply we are having a go at anyone in particular.
I posted the comments from the blog as I thought it interesting the comments that are written by people totally unsolicited as evidence for the survey that can be used in later years of any progress made in relationships between officials and other gridiron participants. Please do not see this as a reflection of anyone in the SA Gridiron community as I am unaware of who these people are. Please just see them as they are with people of opposing views trying to air their differences and formulating a common ground.

http://www.sagoa.info/resources/2007/SAGOA%202008%20Survey%20report.pdf

Please have a read and comment back to me personally if you feel strongly about something that has been omitted or is wrong.
Happy reading
Regards
Grant Martin

Survey SAGOA 2008

Please feel free to fill out the survey before the 12th of March 2008.

http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB227HY8L6G6B

Grant Martin

Thanks

Congratulations to all who participated in the 2007/08 Grand Final. Who would have thought the Eagles would have 2 scores before the half time. What a way for the Razorbacks to come back and the Eagles take it right up to them to the end of the game.

I wish to thank those people who have been proactive in learning the rules, its interpretations and making the necessary adjustments to become better players and teams. You should all be proud of your efforts.

As the game comes to a close many participants turn to what the future will hold for them in the game of gridiron. Some will retire and leave the game for a break while others will move onto other duties within the league or club. Don't forget to come join the officials to help boost the ranks. Wouldn't it be great to have 10 officials who only do 1 game a week and not have to double up any games in 1 night. 2 or 3 extra people would be great so come join SAGOA.

While SAGOA have used the blog as a tool to improve communication and rules knowledge for 2007/08 the desired outcomes have not been produced, in fact players are now arguing the blog comments on the field during a game and some people just disregard the information at their own peril saying that in particular circumstances the rules don't apply to them.

A few weeks ago I wrote about a player saying that 'it's not our job to teach the rules.' Since then I have reflected the use of the blog and weekly newsletters previously used. It appears such efforts are a waste of time across the league. Because of this incident I have also looked at my own goals and involvement in gridiron for the future. While I have not absolutely made up my mind I am considering leaving onfield duties to take up another role in officiating or leaving SAGOA altogether.

While I do make some errors in officiating because I am only human the comments from players and sideline personnel are disrespectful and many a time uneducated. The worse thing is a player or other team member in uniform 'telling' an official how to do something or a rule is something that is not even NCAA, rather it is NFL, or that a rule doesn't apply to Australia.

Just how often has an official gone up to a player and verbally told him how silly he was for dropping a pass or for missing a block that allowed his player to be tackled? The reality is that SAGOA is not the keeper of the rules and have no responsibility to take on the role of teaching the rules to clubs, unless the clubs invite the officials to attend a rules training session. But how effective would this be? Probably very ineffective as from experience nothing would actually change but rather cause more arguments.

Those 'arguments' are something I no longer want to be a part of nor have to continue justifying a rule that some people have never taken the time to actually read in the context of all the rules. What the future will now hold and if and how I continue will depend on what my family expects and how participants reflect back on their conduct as well. Apologising after the fact about your own personal conduct towards myself and officials is to late.

Regards
Grant Martin

Thankyou to the Gridiron SA Community

This is a big thank you to those of you who stayed to watch the second game last night and celebrated Daryl's 500th game. Thanks to the retired officials who managed to attend the game and those that gave their support and best wishes from around Australia.
Below is the Crunchtime article celebrating this milestone in Gridiron SA.

Daryl Argent

Over 20 seasons ago no one would have thought an original official from the first season would still be on the field 500 games later. Tonight SAGOA and GASA invite you all to celebrate 500 games with Daryl Argent. He has been a part of 60% of GASA games, officiated in each junior season as well being a life member for services to GASA.

Daryl has been loyal to gridiron in South Australia and to officiating, giving up his time to serve on the GASA Board and be a part of the junior committee before work commitments took up this time in the latter years. He has always expressed that he enjoyed attending those meetings and the interactions he has had.

Tonight we welcome back the ‘older’ crew of officials that Daryl has worked with over time, some of those officials also being in the inaugural season, including Wes Neal, ‘Doc’ Sabine and Bruce Daley. It must be great for them to see the game continuing on in SA and that SAGOA is still an active member of the league.

SAGOA is only 1 of 2 states in Australia to use full time officials and rarely has had to call on GASA to help provide club officials. Hopefully this will continue with some new officials joining and they can also have a long and prosperous career as an official in Gridiron here in SA. They could well be on their way to 500 games like Darryl is tonight.

When you decide to retire from the game come and watch from the best seat in the house and become an official on the field. If you have made plans to retire then give SAGOA an email on secretary@sagoa.info

Grant Martin

SAGOA Coordinator of Officials

Again thanks to all those who have truly supported the officials over the past years.

Grant Martin

Proposed Rules Changes NCAA 2008

NCAA News Release


NCAA Football Rules Committee Proposes Rules to Enhance Student-Athlete Safety and Encourage Consistent Pace of Play


For Immediate Release

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Contact(s)

Ty Halpin
Associate Director for Playing Rules Administration
317/917-6136


INDIANAPOLIS --- The NCAA Football Rules Committee proposed changes intended to enhance and more strictly enforce rules related to student-athlete safety. The committee, which met February 11-13, addressed helmet contact, players that target a defenseless opponent, horse collar tackling, and enhanced rules dealing with dangerous chop blocks. Additionally, after a year of consideration, the committee proposed a 40/25 second play clock system to encourage a consistent pace of play. All rules proposals will be sent for membership comment and considered by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel before taking effect.

“A main charge of the rules committee is to enhance the safety of our student-athletes,” said Michael Clark, chair of the committee and head coach at Bridgewater (Virginia) College. “In recent years, the committee has attempted to address head-down contact and dangerous helmet contact in general. The committee is directing game officials to strictly penalize head-down contact as well as players that target defenseless opponents.”

The committee has proposed adjusted wording to curb the incidences of dangerous helmet-related contact. In this change, the committee is giving game officials better guidance to penalize these hits.

“The committee is giving our game officials more tools to penalize potentially dangerous contact,” said Rogers Redding, coordinator of officials at the Southeastern Conference and secretary-editor of the committee starting March 1. “Specifically, the committee is addressing players that use the crown of their helmet and players that target defenseless opponents when making contact above the shoulders.”

A proposal relating to the chop block rule clarifies this area and will assist in officials and coaches in the understanding of this foul.

“Previously, this rule had many factors that officials had to consider,” said Redding. “We have eliminated many of the conditions which made this difficult to officiate while retaining the illegality of the dangerous aspects of this foul.”

Another safety proposal deals with a dangerous tackle – commonly referred to as a “horse collar.” Any player will now be prohibited from grabbing the inside back collar of the shoulder pads or jersey, or the inside collar of the side of the shoulder pads or jersey, and immediately pulling the runner down.

Two other major proposals deal with the pace of play. The rules committee passed a 40/25 second play clock system in an effort to standardize the pace of play. Unless the game is stopped for administrative reasons (e.g., change of possession, injury, etc.), the offensive team will have 40 seconds to snap the ball after it is declared dead.

Additionally, the committee made a change in the timing of the game after a play in which a runner goes out of bounds. Except in the last two minutes of each half, the game clock will start on a signal from the referee, rather than on the snap.

“This is a part of the continuing efforts to maintain a reasonable length of games and create a consistent pace of play at all levels,” said Clark.

The committee also made the following proposals:

In the rules relating to instant replay, plays where a fumble leads to an immediate recovery may be reviewed.
In replay rules, a coach that challenges a play and is successful will retain the right to challenge one more time for a maximum of two.
When a kickoff goes out of bounds, the receiving team may accept the ball at the 40-yard line instead of the 35.
The incidental five-yard face mask foul was removed. All face mask fouls (pulling, twisting or turning) will be a 15-yard penalty.
A yardage penalty for sideline control was instituted.

500 Games

While people say that officials/umpires should be seen and not heard there are some milestones that should be shouted from the rooftop for all to hear and celebrate no matter how well liked or disliked these people are.

This weekend 16th February 2008 Daryl Argent will be celebrating his 500th game. This is a huge milestone in that he has been a part of 60% of GASA games since the beginning. He is certainly rare as he has not missed a season since the beginning. He was even at the very first meeting to help organise gridiron in South Australia. There are some of us who were a part of the first season but have gone and come back after a short break or working elsewhere.

So this weekend come and celebrate Daryl's 500th game and support the game for the last minor round before the finals.

Grant Martin

Just how many times do we need to say these things?

The same points are reminded here again for the safety of participants of this game.
1. Sideline warnings - it is becoming apparent that one team is having a number of sideline warnings for coaches standing in the area between the sideline and the sideline numbers that mark the coaches/players box area. After posting on here a very serious injury that occurred to an assistant coach who has not worked his job or a game since he sustained the injury we still have coaching staff in the wrong area. This is a serious matter that must be addressed by the club.
Just to clarify that the penalty will always be on the head coach even if he is not the one standing in the wrong spot. That it will be 2 warnings, 5 yards for the third and 15 for the fourth and subsequent infraction or whatever the Referee deems necessary to get the head coach to understand that it is his responsibility to have all team personnel behind the orange numbers on the sideline. You shouldn't need clarification half way through a game.

2. Use of helmet - it DOESN"T matter if your hands touch an opponent first and then you use your helmet illegally. It is a safety issue for you and your opponent. So why do players persist in arguing about this? Whipping your head back and then forward to make contact with your helmet is a deliberate act to punish your opponent and falls under the category of a flagrant foul.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/flagrant
Flagrant fouls also draw an ejection.

Grant Martin

Some good to go with the bad!

First up, let me echo Grant's comment about the "it is not our job to teach him the rules" comment. In playing, coaching and officiating I don't think I have heard a more ridiculous statement come out of the mouth of even the most uneducated fan - let alone a senior, experienced player.

I would like to however take the chance to give some public acknowledgement to particular captains that are very straightforward to deal with (this is not an exhaustive list by any means, just the ones that stand out to me the most):

Chiefs: #30, #70
Eagles: #44
Oilers: #87
Razorbacks: #6
Spartans: #5

More than once in the last couple of weeks have each of these guys acted just like a captain should and pulled their players into line - well done, and keep it up.

I also have to make a particular comment to the couple of players that asked about the spearing post last week: no, I'm not going to complain if you want to talk about a post - but probably in the middle of a game isn't the best of times to do it!


Regards,

Simon

Haha you guys are so funny! What's the point?

Oh my god you guys can be so funny on the field that it makes no sense at all. Some of the comments I heard on the weekend would be better published in a book for entertainment for people to read.

2 comments I heard that should be commented on go as follows.
In game 1 a player commits a PF close to the end of the game. A captain replies to an official that the player is a rookie. (Is this to mean that it somehow diminishes his responsibilities?) The captain is told that it is the teams job to ensure the rookie knows what to do with a particular rule. The captain replies "But it is not our job to teach him the rules!"
So now with cooler heads prevailing just whose job is it to teach the player the rules? Surely not the officials on the field? You want us calling your tactics on the field as well?

The second comment comes from a scrambling QB who gets hit from pillar to post. He continues to run play after play. Well done to him for taking it up to the other teams. What surprises me is that from the sideline a coaching staff member calls out to protect the QB. Well once he begins to run he is no longer a QB but now a ball carrier RB. The QB no longer has any protection dealing with a passer. If the QB clearly slides at the end of a play to show he is giving up then he will have protection provided to him as a defenseless player. But while he stands up and takes the hits right down to the ground to end the play by rule he is a ball carrier. The thing is the people on the sideline were told the correct advice about this and then argued about it and totally disregarded the official's advice. So why try and teach you this?

So what is the point in teaching people the rules of the game if we continue to have our comments disregarded and rules interpretations from the blog not passed on to participants of the game? I would say none. So why waste the time of typing this up to improve the standard of play on the field and continue a game in a speedy manner so that we do not have to stop and answer queries on rulings? I would say a waste of time for both anyhow.

I sent out notes to coaching staff in 2004/05 season and put in articles to the Crunchtime. Nothing changed. I stopped sending out notes for the next few years but returned to write ups for 2007/08. SAGOA has used modern technology this season to inform all tech savvy participants of GASA about rulings and interpretations. What has changed? Nothing.

I thank the captains who have worked out they need to control some of their players when making comments and I thank the captains who have worked out how to approach an official in a smart and respectful manner. These teams will have a much lower penalty yardage for sportsmanship and their games have been the best to officiate and concentrate on knowing the captains are in there stopping and preventing players continually verbally challenging the official's call.

If this trend continues I can see a few more ejections for flagrant fouls and players even accumulating 2 or more USC penalties before the season breaks into the finals series. As to the player of one team threatening to punch other opposition players after a game he is lucky not to have been ejected on the spot and only asked to sit out a few plays. Such behaviour should never occur on the field and captains must stamp out such behaviour when they hear it on the field.

I wonder if this message reaches the personnel that need to know and read and understand? Probably not. But hey you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. I make no apologies in saying this the way it needs to be and calling a spade a spade.

Grant Martin
SAGOA Training Officer

The use of the helmet & spearing

Probably the most argued about rulings this year have been the illegal use of the helmet / spearing calls. I draw your attention to the relevant sections of the 2007 NCAA rulebook that discuss this:

• Points of Emphasis (Page 8, regarding the Football Code)

It is noted that the Code emphasizes the following unethical practices: “Using the helmet as a weapon. The helmet is for protection of the player...” and “players and coaches should emphasize the elimination of spearing.”

• Points of Emphasis (Page 10)

Intentional helmet-to-helmet contact is never legal, nor is any other blow directed toward an opponent’s head. Flagrant offenders shall be disqualified.
Additionally, the committee altered Rules 9-1-2-l and n slightly to encourage officials to penalize head-down contact and leading with the crown of the helmet when tackling.

• Football Code (Page 13, regarding Coaching Ethics)

The following are unethical practices:
...
b. Using the football helmet as a weapon. The helmet is for the protection of the player.

• Rule 2-24-1: Spearing (Page FR-52)
  

Spearing is the use of the helmet (including the face mask) in an attempt to punish an opponent.

• Rule 9-1-2-l, m & n (Page FR-118)

l. No player shall use his helmet (including the face mask) to butt or ram an opponent in an attempt to punish him (A.R. 9-1-2-XVI).

m. There shall be no spearing (A.R. 9-1-2-XVII).

n. No player shall strike a runner with the crown or the top of his helmet in an attempt to punish him.

One of the major drives in the past few years at both high-school and NCAA level, has been to remove the use of the helmet as a weapon and this desire is very clearly stated in the Points of Emphasis above. The actions of particular concern are those in which the crown of the helmet is involved as an impact point (i.e. collisions where a player drops his head). These place the highest strain on the spine and have a greatly increased risk of serious injury for both players involved.

Let me state quite clearly that I have never come across a coach of any renown who teaches players to use their helmet in such a manner. I have never read an article or book, watched a video, nor seen any other instructional material of any sort that advocates "head down" tackling, blocking or ball carrying.

Yet almost without fail on a weekly basis I hear complaints such as:

• "But my hands touched him first!"
• "But I wrapped him up!"
• "But he got lower than I expected!"
• "But I'm carrying the ball!"
  

None of these are relevant in the slightest. If you are observed making contact with another player with the helmet crown as a direct point of contact (you have "dropped your head"), you will be penalised for a personal foul. As with any such fouls, if it is deemed to be flagrant, you will be ejected.

The use of any other part of the helmet (generally the facemask) in a head-butting or ram movement is specifically outlawed as given above. This however occurs much less often in the local league at least, and is rarely argued about.

As always, I welcome any comments people may have.

Regards,

Simon

Helmet to Helmet

A while back I mentioned I had a PowerPoint presentation for avoiding the use of the helmet during a tackle. I have been on the search for a while now to find a video to help clubs learn and teach how to use the correct tackling technique. Please view the following You Tube videos as a resource.

Video 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkBAiK7WEFA

Video 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l87K6PoLD60

Please view and discuss but I would say that SAGOA has been pretty vigilant in this area but still some tidy up to do in continued enforcement for safety of people.

Grant Martin

Disputed Calls

During the course of this season a number of times officials have made decisions only to have players, assistant coaches and coaches call out or come up to an official to tell him something different or to justify their actions or to tell us our job.

Back in September 2007 Simon wrote about 'The Role of the Captain.' While this cut down on the number of people coming up to officials questioning something it has not cut back on the 'disputed call' factor.

Page 14 of the 2007 NCAA Rule Book states:
'Talking to Officials - When an official imposes a penalty or makes a decision, he simply is doing his duty as he sees it. He is on the field to uphold the integrity of the game of football, and his decisions are final and conclusive and should be accepted by players and coaches.'

I have bold the part 'as he sees it' as this appears to be the most contentious issue among many players and some coaching staff. It is the way an official judges the action he sees before him. While a player may appear over a goal line once a pile of players get off him it is when the whistle blew for forward progress that places the ball short of the goal line. Any amount of finger pointing and telling the official look where the ball is will make no change to a decision. Only another official will be able to sway some opinion of 'are you sure?'

I applaud the club who has worked out ways to approach officials in a non-confrontational manner, I applaud the captains who approach us with 'may I ask a question?' It is seeking clarification for something rather than telling us we missed something or called something wrong. Participants of the game must think clearly of who their audience is before approaching and speaking to someone and how this may then be interpreted by the person or people listening. Calling out something that can be heard by everyone makes the audience everyone and if the comment challenges a call then it will be penalised accordingly.

In reality watching D1 NCAA Football games may put the wrong slant on what truly is sportsmanship in the NCAA Rule Book. For example while those more 'professional leagues' allow personnel into the 2 yard zone closer to the sideline the end result can be chaos. Everyone standing on the sideline knows that the area should be clear for officials, yet these people shown clearly flout that rule and then complain when something happens. Sportsmanship and respect are interwoven throughout the rules in how to play the game legally. Participants in the game make a choice of how to approach a person or problem no matter how heated the contest has become.

I and other officials have been surrounded by players on some occassions challenging close calls. This is not good for the safety of the official nor for the image of the game nor following and understanding 'The Football Code' at the front of the NCAA Football Rule Book.

Remember we all have our roles to play in the game 'Players play the game, coaches coach the players, officials officiate and spectators cheer for their team.' It is hard enough doing one of these well let alone having people trying to do 2 or more of them at the same time.

Grant Martin

Sorry Not Here

Well I have been away for a week so no updates from SAGOA but during this month our web site and blog spot have hit all new time highs, so thanks for the support.
On the SAGOA web site we actually ran out of bandwidth for the month in 10 days so had to upgrade to a new package.
Although only a small number of people answer the polls there is a feeling that education of the rules in our league is something that must be continually done. Should this be left to the clubs themselves or should the league involve SAGOA in some way?
This would be worthy of a question and answer time at a GASA meeting so it would be interesting to see which club brings this discussion up as a worthy suggestion.
Anyhow all the best for this coming weekend of games.

Grant Martin