BAFCA (The British American Football Coaches’ Association) are proud to announce the launch of the new Coaches’ Code of Practice and Equipment Guidance.
These updated documents set out clear, succinct standards and best practice to support safe, effective, and professional coaching across British American football. They reflect the evolving nature of the sport and BAFCA’s ongoing commitment to player welfare, coach development, and were compiled from feedback from all aspects of the game.
These updated documents set out clear, succinct standards and best practice to support safe, effective, and professional coaching across British American football. They reflect the evolving nature of the sport and BAFCA’s ongoing commitment to player welfare, coach development, and were compiled from feedback from all aspects of the game.
“We all want our sport to improve, this only happens by having standards and safe equipment is such a key element to our Contact Football game growing,” said Lydon Ward-Best, BAFA’s Interim Coaching Lead.
“We have a situation this year where a lot of helmets will have reached the end of their 10 year shelf life, so we wanted to provide clear guidance on which models to identify and take out of use. The safety of our athletes needs to be at the forefront of what we do as coaches.
“We understand that some programmes might not have a dedicated equipment officer, so we wanted to provide clarity and resource to coaches and staff members to facilitate safe practices. We are still seeing situations where a mixture of kitted and non-kitted individuals are participating in the same drills or athletes being given equipment over 20 years old to wear. This needs to stop before someone gets badly hurt.
“Please remember that the Head Coach is responsible for all the equipment your team is wearing, not just club owned kit. Let’s keep our athletes safe and improve the game in 2026.”