BRITISH COLUMBIA FOOTBALL
OFFICIALS’ ASSOCIATION
POLICY MANUAL
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
INDEX
Policy
Description
Page
Index
2
1.0
Use of Member Information
3
2.0
Distribution of Operational Assessment
5
3.0
Official’s Dress Code
6
4.0
Complaint Process
7
5.0
BCFOA Injury Policy
9
6.0
Official’s Experience Rating
11
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
Policy 1.0
Creation Date:
Amendment Date:
December 13, 2008
 Policy Title – Use of Member Information
 Overview
o In the course of carrying out its mandate, the British Columbia Football
Officials Association (BCFOA) requires members to provide some
personal information to the organization, sports organizations BCFOA has
a relationship with, and insurers. Examples of such information are:
name, mailing address, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and
information relating to officiating background. Other member information
will be required by the Executive Board or its agents. Examples of this
information are: game fee rates, and certification levels. While members
expect information to be made available to other members and related
organizations, there is also an expectation that sharing of such
information is limited to the purposes outlined above.
 Privacy
o
o
Every reasonable precaution must be taken to assure the privacy and
confidentiality of member information. On-line access to such information
will be limited to “members only” access. Financial information will be
retained internally in a secure manner. If members print information, such
as contact lists, they must ensure the information contained therein is not
made available to any individual or organization beyond those illustrated
above, without first discussing the release of information with the
Executive Board.
With the exception of circumstances outlined in the overview, electronic
mail distribution lists will not be shared with non-members. Neither, will
members use such information for solicitation, distribution of jokes, spam
or other purposes not part of the core business of BCFOA.
 Investigation of Complaints
o Members seeking clarification of this policy, or having a concern about a
possible violation of this policy, shall contact a member of the Executive
Board. A formal complaint must be made in writing to the President of the
BCFOA. After consideration of the complaint, the Executive Board will
take action(s) it deems appropriate. Such action(s) include dismissing the
complaint, sustaining the complaint and applying sanctions, or turning the
matter over to a disciplinary committee for investigation and
recommendations.
o Sanctions available to the Executive Board include verbal reprimand,
written reprimand, monetary penalty, suspension or termination of
BCFOA membership. Members alleged to have violated this policy shall
be informed of the complaint and afforded the opportunity to respond.
Members sanctioned for violation of this policy have the right to access
the grievance procedure as outlined in BCFOA Bylaws.
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
 This policy is intended to supplement, not replace, policy, practices or
procedures outlined in the BCFOA Constitution and Bylaws, and applicable
Federal or Provincial legislation.
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
Policy 2.0
Creation Date:
Amendment Date:
December 13, 2008
December XX, 2011
 Policy Title – Distribution of Operational Assessment
1) As outlined in Bylaw Article V, paragraph 2, an operational assessment of four
percent (4%) of all game fees paid to the Association shall be withheld to finance the
Executive and its operations from games assigned by the Association’s Allocation
Committee.
2) Unless a majority of the Executive Board request a committee to be formed to review
the distribution of the four percent, it will be divided as follows:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Twenty-five percent (25%) - President
Thirty percent (30%) - Treasurer
Fifteen percent (15%) - VP, American.
Eleven percent (11%) - VP, Canadian
Ten percent (10 %) - Secretary
Nine percent (9%) - Executive expenses
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
Policy 3.0
Creation Date:
Amendment Date:
December 13, 2008
June, 2010
 Policy Title – Official’s Dress Code
 Hat:
o Referee - white
o Crew - black with white piping
 Jersey:
o Black/white 1” stripes (long & short sleeves)
 Pants:
o White double knit knickers
o Black winter pants with white stripes
 Belt:
o Black
 Socks:
o NCAA one-piece sock with collegiate stripes is mandatory for High School
football. Canadian stirrup over white socks or NCAA sock is acceptable
for Canadian football. The whole crew must all wear the same sock.
 Shoes:
o Black (minimal white markings)
 Summer option:
o When weather permits, during the summer months prior to Labour Day,
crews may opt to wear white double knit shorts with knee high white
socks. The one-piece NCAA sock will not be worn with shorts.
 Winter option:
o After Thanksgiving, crews may opt to wear the black winter pants.
 Note: Officials shall always bring long and short sleeved/knickers and black
pants sets of gear. The whole crew must be dressed the same. The decision to
go long or short sleeved white knickers or black pants is made by the Referee
after consultation with the crew.
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
Policy 4.0
Creation Date:
December 1, 2010
 Policy Title – Complaint Process
 Overview
 Description - This policy is to establish a uniform system for handling complaints
within the British Columbia Football Officials Association (BCFOA).
 Purpose/Rationale – The purpose is to ensure a fair and consistent approach to
handling complaints concerning the conduct of members within the Association.
BCFOA will establish a complaints process that will ensure that local regional
groups can work out their differences prior to forwarding a complaint to the
Conduct Review Committee. Sometimes, complaints are of a minor nature or
involve a dispute that can be resolved in a less informal approach than a full
committee investigation. This Policy is to try to address these sort of issues.
 Applicability – This policy applies to all active and inactive members the
BCFOA.
 Policy – BCFOA will establish a complaints process that will direct all letters of
complaint through the Member Services Director of a specific region first to
investigate and if of a minor nature, resolve to the satisfaction of the members
involved..
 Procedure(s)
o When the BCFOA receives a letter of complaint concerning the conduct of
one of its members, the Secretary-Treasurer will make a copy of the letter
and forward it to the Member Services Director of a specific region.
o The Secretary-Treasurer will place the letter in a ‘bring forward’ file waiting for
a response from the Member Services Director of a specific region
o The Member Services Director will review the complaint and if it involves
conduct allegedly concerning physical assault, verbal abuse of players or
coaches or moral issues then he shall inform the Secretary-Treasurer who
will forward the complaint to the Conduct Review Committee. If the complaint
does not concern any of the above he shall contact the official(s) involved in
an effort to resolve the issue(s) directly.
o The Member Services Director will, through means that he/she determines,
will try to come to resolution between the parties that may be as simple as an
apology, or an agreement not to work together for a specific period of time.
o The Member Services Director will have 14 calendar days to reach a
settlement involving the complaint and forward his report to the SecretaryTreasurer to close the correspondence file.
o Should the Member Services Director not reach a satisfactory resolution, then
he will inform the Secretary-Treasurer, who will forward the complaint onto
the Conduct Review Committee.
 The Conduct Review Committee will conduct their process in accordance with
the Constitution of the Association
 Policy History – The underlying reason for this policy is to ensure that minor
disagreement between members do not create larger issue within the organization.
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
Sometimes people will initiate action that they later regret or did not know involved a
formal process.
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
Policy 5.0
Creation Date:
September 1, 2010
 Policy Title – BCFOA High School Football Concussion Policy 2010
 Background
Here is the basic summary regarding concussion management and how we need
our officials to proceed. Remember that players, coaches, medical personnel,
and officials must all work together for the well-being of the player.
1. The NHSF policy will serve our IN-GAME needs.
Currently the policy reads:
“…any player who shows signs, symptoms or behaviours associated with a
concussion must be removed from the game and shall not return to play until
cleared by an appropriate health-care professional”
This policy will be modified for BCSSFA purposes so that the last line reads
appropriate health-care personnel.
 Procedure
i.
Prior to the game when the officials speak to the head coaches, the
referee will ask the following question, "Do you have qualified
medical personnel on your sidelines as per BCSSFA regulations?"
If the answer is yes, ask for that person to be identified to you. You then
move on to the rest of the information you need and proceed. Referees
will not be asked to check credentials. *** If the answer is "no" then the
game will be forfeited and the officials must leave the field at the
scheduled start time.
ii.
The referee will report the forfeiture information to Vice President of High
School by email vp-high-school@bcfoa.ca.
iii.
Officials will still be able to have players with suspected concussion signs
and symptoms, evaluated as per NFHS rules.
iv.
If you have observed contact to the head (i.e. helmet to helmet, helmet
to knee, helmet to ground) and the player is down mention this to the
attending team personnel.
v.
If at any time in the game you notice a player showing signs and/or
symptoms of a possible concussion, stop the game and report this to the
Referee. The Referee and Umpire will speak with the head coach and
inform them of your suspicions, and ask for the player to be evaluated by
qualified medical personnel.
vi.
If the coach refuses, remove the player from the game until he has been
evaluated.
vii.
BCSSFA has already begun the process of informing programs that all of
them will need to have qualified medical personnel on the sidelines for all
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
games at all levels. If an official sends a player off because of suspected
concussion symptoms, this person will be able to send the player back in
without a doctor’s note. If a player again exhibits signs and symptoms of
concussion notify the head coach and ask for the player to be reevaluated.
2. The Football BC policy will be applied for players who do not return to play in the
same game.
At this point, the officials will not have further involvement except to include any
possibly concussed players name and number in their game report
 Signs and Symptoms of Concussion
Concussion symptoms can occur immediately following a head injury or can
develop hours or even days later. Signs (Bystander can observe) that may
indicate concussion in a player who has suffered head trauma include the
following:
- Awkward (uncoordinated) movements – Balance Problems
- Behaviour or personality changes (e.g., irritability)
- Dazed or stunned appearance
- Inability to respond (unresponsiveness) or answer simple questions (e.g.,
Do you know where you are?)
- Loss of consciousness
- Paleness (pallor)
- Post-traumatic amnesia (short-term memory loss; inability to remember
events prior to or immediately following the injury)
- Slurred speech
- Vomiting
Symptoms (Player has to tell you) of concussion following head trauma include
the following:
- Blurred vision
- Difficulty concentrating
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Feeling faint, sluggish, lethargic, or confused
- Headache
- Nausea
- Ringing in the ears
Notes:
1. Teams cannot share health care personnel. It is laid out in their policy that each
team is to have their own health care personnel.
2. If you don't have appropriate health care personnel the game is forfeited. All
coaches have been notified of this repeatedly since April. Athletic therapists are
available in every one of the cities that have high school programs. If a team
cannot get someone to come with them, all they need to do is call ahead to the
AT program and pay a nominal fee and they will have someone in place.
3. There is no disagreement, the ref sends a player off, the health care person
checks them and can send them back on after a play. If the coach is expelled
from the game, he must leave the bench area, but he can still act as the health
care provider (off the bench) and an assistant can take over the game.
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
Policy 6.0
Creation Date:
September 25, 2010
 Policy Title – Official’s Experience Rating.
 Overview
 Description - This policy is to establish a system for the BCFOA to use in
implementing a graduated official’s pay system based on years of experience
and service.
 Purpose/Rationale – The purpose is to ensure a fair and unbiased approach to
dealing of official’s income and remuneration from the league.
 Applicability – This policy applies to all members and leagues serviced by the
BCFOA.
 Policy – BCFOA will establish an experience rating scale based solely on the
member’s years of service, subject to the member completing the required number of
games and clinics and does not exhibit on-field performance that would be
unsatisfactory during a formal game performance review.
 Procedure(s)
 Experience Rating will be based on the following:
o Level 1 – New and One year of service ($10 less contracted fee)
o Level 2 – Two years of service ($6.00 of contracted fee)
o Level 3 – Three years of service ($4.00 less of contracted fee)
o Level 4 – Four years of service ($2.00 less of contracted fee)
o Level 5 – Officials with five and more years of service (100% of contracted
fee)
 A Year of Service is defined by a completed playing season where the official
has officiated a minimum of 15 games and attended one educational clinic.
 The Treasurer will maintain accurate records for each official as to the number of
games the official worked and his current level. Upon the issuing of the final
payroll for the year, the Treasurer will revision member’s experience rating for the
upcoming season with the following exception:
o
A service year level increase can be held back only if an official receives in
writing from the appropriate VP a letter stating that the official’s level of
performance was less than satisfactory (based on formal evaluations) and
that his experience level will be held at his current level pending a new formal
evaluation in the coming season.
o
The official will have the right to appeal this decision within 30 day to the full
executive to discuss. This appeal must be in writing addressed to the
Secretary-Treasurer stating the official’s reasons that this should be
reversed. The Executive will make review the decision and the appeal at the
next meeting and make a ruling.
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British Columbia Football Officials’ Association
o
The Executive will respond in writing to the member outline their decision with
14 days of the meeting.
 Form(s) – On the official’s annual pay stub, the Treasurer will indicate the
Experience Rating of the official at which they were paid.
 Policy History – A undefined and undocumented process was previously in place.
This policy is to replace that process in fairness to the Members of the Association.
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