Following a recent review, game fees for BAFRA officials are increasing with effect from 1 April 2022.
The BAFRA Board of Directors recently carried out a review of game fees for BAFRA officials in consultation with BAFA. As a result, game fees are increasing from £45.00 to £50.00 for qualified officials, and £25.00 to £30.00 for associate officials. There is no change to the administration fee. Game fees for small-sided tournaments have also been increased in line with the above.
These changes take effect from 1 April, 2022 and a detailed breakdown of fees is available in detail in the updated Annex to BAFRA Terms and Conditions.
Why is this changing?
The current game fees for qualified and associate officials were introduced in 2015. The new fees reflect rising inflation since that point. The new fee for associate officials is also designed to help relieve some of the financial impact new recruits have around purchasing uniform and equipment.
A review of game fees was previously carried out in in January 2020 with a view to introducing changes at the start of the 2020/2021 BUCS Season. However, given the impact of Covid-19 on our sport and its participants from a playing and financial perspective, the BAFRA Board decided to delay any increase until 2022.
BAFRA administration fee – no changes
There is no change to the BAFRA administration fee of £75 per game. This fee is mainly designed to cover travel expenses and was introduced over 20 years ago to spread travel costs evenly across teams in the league. Prior to that, teams paid all the expenses for the crew working their game resulting in higher costs for teams in outlying areas or areas with a shortage of officials. Thanks to the strong level of cooperation between BAFA and BAFRA on scheduling matters, travel has continued to be minimised in certain areas removing the need for an increase at this time.
Changes to crew sizes for bowl games
As part of the same review, BAFRA have also amended bowl game crew sizes from 7 to 8 to align with new mechanics and provide better game coverage especially on top level games both at league and IFAF level.
If you have any questions relating to BAFRA fees, please contact finance@bafra.info
