4on4 Flag Football

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4-on-4 Flag Football

• Rules

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Game of Champions
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Team Requirements

• Teams normally consist of 4 players
• Teams may play with as few as 3 players
• Co-Rec teams may be composed of the following
  combinations
• 2m/2w
• 2m/1w
• 1m/2w

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Equipment

• Players must wear shoes
• Metal cleats are prohibited
• Pants/Shorts with belt loops or pockets are
  prohibited
• NO taped pockets
• NO Zipper Pockets
• NO boxers on the outside of shorts
• Refer irate players to a supervisor
• Cut-off T-shirts must not have excessively large
  openings
• All jewelry is prohibited

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Equipment
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Length of Game and Timing

• Coin Toss
• Games consist of two 20-minute halves with a
  3-minute halftime
• Running clock
• Only stopped by team or officials time-out
• EXCEPTIONS
• Last minute of 1st half
• Last two minutes of 2nd half
• Inform teams
• Each team has two time-out per half
• 25-second play clock
• Begins after Official has signaled ready for play
• Mercy Rule
• 19 points (25 in Co-Rec) during the final two
  minutes

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Clock Stops for...

• 1 or 2-minute warning
• Incomplete Pass
• Out-of-Bounds
• Time-Outs
• Touchbacks
• Change of Possession
• First Downs
• Penalties
• Touchdowns
• Point-after is an un-timed down
• Clock restarts on the snap
• Exceptions first downs and penalties

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Inadvertent Whistles

• Whoops!
• Ball is dead at the spot when the whistle was
  blown
• Team may accept the spot or replay the down

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The Field

• Zone line-to-gain at midfield
• Offense has 4 downs to advance
• Placement of ball
• 5 yard line at beginning of each half or after a
  touchdown
• 10 yard line after a touchback or a safety
• Punting
• Offense may choose to place ball on opponents 10
  yard line on fourth down

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Starting a Play

• Offense must have 1 player on the line of
  scrimmage
• Line of scrimmage set by referee with two cones
• Snapping the ball
• Must be one continuous motion
• Player receiving snap must be at least 2 yards
  from the line of scrimmage
• Motion
• All offensive players must come to a complete
  stop for at least one full second
• One player maybe in motion
• May be moving towards the opponents goal line at
  the time of the snap
• If two or more players go in motion before the
  snap then all players must come set for one full
  second again
• No chicanery It must be clear who the 4
  offensive players are on each play

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The Game

• Passing/Catching
• Each member of the team is eligible to receive a
  pass
• Unless a player voluntarily goes out of bounds on
  a play
• One foot inbounds (college rules)
• Offensive may pass the ball behind the line of
  scrimmage as often as they like
• Forward or backward
• No running the ball
• Defensive Rush
• Must line up behind second cone
• Must count 1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000 out loud
• 1 blitz per series
• No blitzing on point-after attempts
• Laterals and Fumbles
• Ball is dead when it touches the ground

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Scoring

• Touchdowns 6 points
• 9 points if female scores in Co-Rec
• Point-after try
• From 3-yard line 1 point
• From 10-yard line 2 points
• From 20-yard line 3 points
• If the defense intercepts the ball and returns it
  for a score 3 points (regardless of attempt by
  offense)
• Decision cannot be changed unless a time-out is
  called
• Safeties 2 points

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Overtime!

• Regular Season only one overtime period
• Playoffs overtime repeated until a winner is
  declared
• Coin toss
• Winner chooses offense or defense
• Each team given 4 downs from the 10-yard line to
  score
• Each team has one time-out per overtime period

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Screen Blocking

• Form for a screen block
• Hands and arms at side or behind back
• Use of hands, arms, elbows, legs or body to
  initiate contact is illegal
• General Guidelines
• Defensive players are responsible for avoiding
  contact behind the line of scrimmage
• Offensive players are responsible for avoiding
  contact beyond the line of scrimmage

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Flag Belt Removal

• Runner is down when the flag belt is unclipped
• Ball spotted at point where ball is when
  de-flagging occurs
• NOT where the belt falls to the ground
• If a flag belt inadvertently falls off
• One-hand tag between shoulders and knees
• A defensive player may not hold, push or knock
  the ball carrier down
• BUT inadvertent contact occurs use judgment
• Flag-Guarding!
• The ball carrier may spin, jump or dive
• The ball carrier may not use his/her hands, arms
  or the ball to protect his/her flags

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Live Ball vs. Dead Ball

• Dead Ball prior to the snap
• Blow whistle, throw flag, stop play
• False start
• Illegal snap
• Encroachment
• Delay of game
• Unsportsmanlike conduct
• Live Ball simultaneous with snap or during the
  play
• Throw Flag but DO NOT blow whistle
• All other Penalties

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Roughing the Passer

• Defensive Rusher must avoid contact
• Any contact with arm is illegal

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Flag Guarding

• Any part of the body protecting the flags
  (usually arms)
• Tell players to run with ball outstretched

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Illegal Contact

• Rushing/Blocking
• Offensive
• Using arms, legs, or chest to push defender
• Defensive
• Running through a blocker who has established
  position
• Swim moves
• Downfield
• Offensive
• Running through a defender who has established
  position
• Defensive
• Tackling a runner

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Holding

• Grabbing the runners shirt, shorts, or body to
  slow them down
• ONLY call a foul if the flag is pulled as a
  result of the holding

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3-yard Penalties

• Dead Ball
• Illegal Equipment
• Delay of Game
• Illegal Snap
• False Start or Encroachment
• Live Ball
• Illegal Shift
• i.e. 2 players in motion at snap
• Illegal Forward Pass (loss of down)
• Intentional Grounding (loss of down)
• Helping the Runner
• Illegal Blitz
• Running across the line of scrimmage (loss of
  down)

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5-yard Penalties

• Unsportsmanlike Conduct
• Flag Guarding
• Illegal Contact
• Pass Interference (loss of down or automatic 1st
  down)
• Roughing the Passer (automatic 1st down)
• Stripping
• Illegal Participation
• Illegal Flag Belt Removal
• Illegally Secured Flag Belt (loss of down)

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Enforcing Penalties

• Loose Ball Plays (i.e. passing plays)
• Enforce penalty from previous spot
• EXCEPTION
• Foul by the offense behind the spot
• Enforce penalty from spot of foul
• Stiff the Offense
• Running Plays
• Enforce penalty from end of run
• EXCEPTION
• Foul by the offense behind the spot
• Enforce penalty from spot of foul
• Stiff the Offense

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Plays with Multiple Fouls

• 2 or more fouls by same team
• Enforce one penalty offended team chooses
• Fouls by both teams
• Penalties cancel and down is replayed
• Unsportsmanlike conduct
• Enforced as dead ball
• Add to end of play even if another live ball foul
  occurred

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Fouls and the Zone Line-to-Gain

• Live Ball Fouls
• Mark off penalty yardage before establishing zone
  line-to-gain
• Dead Ball Fouls
• Zone line-to-gain established before marking off
  penalty yardage

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Rules Clarifications

• No pushing/chucking the receivers
• No stripping the ball
• No spiking
• Offense is responsible for retrieving the ball

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Have Fun!