Officiating 8 man football
 

Hallo gentlemen and fellow officials,
I am officiating and coaching in Italy.

Maybe you know that football in my country is played in spring with all the teams, organized in the form of clubs, and governed by Fidaf, the National Federation, the governing body of our sport in the Country.
Football with Fidaf is played in three divisions:
Div 1 and Div 2: that play 11 man by NCAA / IFAF (international federation of american football) rules and regulations;
Div 3: that play 9 man, with the above modified rules.

I am in charge of a separate amateur organisation, IAAFL (international amateur american football league, which is part of AICS, a sport promotion body in Italy and the world).
We have been authorized by Fidaf, through a special agreement, to play 8 man football in 2018, from march to june, with our small amateur teams.

I am planning to adopt the NFHS regulation with the due modifications foreseen for 8 man football.

I would highly appreciate any advice, suggestions and useful information and/or resources for the best application of regulations and officiating procedures / mechanics.

Thankyou in advance for your highly appreciated help;
I am looking forward for your posts

a g

My understanding is all of the 8 man NFHS rules are the same except for the differences listed in the NFHS Football Rules Book. What little I have officiated in 8 man was for our state deaf school, we used a 5 man crew. My experience was you could forego a back judge if you needed to.

EIGHT-PLAYER

GENERAL: Eleven-player rules are used for eight-player football with the following modifications.

RULE 1: Each team has 8 players. The field is 80 yards between goal lines and 40 yards wide with *15-yard side zones. 7-yard marks, 12 inches in length and 4 inches in width, shall be located 7 yards from each sideline. The 7-yard marks shall be marked so that at least each 10-yard line bisects the 7-yard marks. These marks shall not be required if the field is visibly numbered. If on-the-field numbers are used, the tops of those numbers shall be 7 yards from the sideline. By state association adoption, the 11-player field may be designated as official, and the dimensions of the field may be altered.

RULE 2: The free-blocking zone is a square area extending laterally 3 yards either side of the spot of the snap and 3 yards behind each line of scrimmage.

RULE 2: The Outside 9-Yard Mark and Between 9-Yard Mark Conferences shall be held outside or between the 7-yard marks, respectively.

RULE 6: a. K’s free-kick line is its 30-yard line and R’s free-kick line is the 40.

b. K is required to have at least three players on each side of hte kicker.

RULE 7: a. At least five A players shall be on their line at the snap and may have any legal jersey number.

b. After the ball is marked ready for play, each player of A who participated in the previous down, and each substitute for A must have been, momentarily, between the 7-yard marks, before the snap.

c. Each A player (regardless of jersey number) who at the snap was on an end of the *scrimmage line (total of two) and each A *player who at the snap was legally behind the scrimmage line (possible total of three) is eligible.

RULE 8: On the eight-player field, the ball is snapped after a touchback and is free kicked after a safety from the 15-yard line.

RULE 10: The basic spot for a foul as in 10-4-6 shall be the 15-yard line.

The state of Nebraska has two divisions of 8-man football (and used to have six-man, too). Maybe other states do as well, but I do not know. Perhaps someone you can contact through Nebraska School Activities Association – NSAA can provide advice on how they officiate 8-man.

For your consideration, you may want to look at the Texas 6-man football rules as well. Since Texas plays under NCAA rules, the changes you would need to make would be minimal.

http://www.uiltexas.org/files/athlet...tions_2017.pdf

Whoa, I just read those rule modifications, and while it's not a game I want to officiate, it's certainly a game I want to watch. :D

It's a fun game to work. :D

Thankyou all!
 

I appreciate all your replies and the help.
Thanks a lot.
Happy new year

angelo

Interesting seeing how they've retained some of the original 6-man rules from the 1930s, while Fed has retained others. Notably, UIL has substituted a mere "exchange" requirement for the clear pass, and made forward passes hitting the ground dead, regardless of where that occurs, while Fed has disposed of the 6-man goal dimensions & 4-point score IIRC.

8-player football here in Wisconsin is getting more popular.

They are using the narrower field, but staying on a 100-yard field so they can use existing fields / goalposts, etc.

You want a back judge on these games, trust me.

Have you checked out American Sevens (formerly Town Beef)?