Who is on an officiating crew, and what does each position do?

Field officials are the Referee (R), Umpire (U), Back Umpire (BU), Back Judge (BJ), Down Judge (DJ), Line Judge (LJ) and Side Judge (SJ). Crews run from 3 to 7 field officials (the rule book note says 1 to 7 as specified by the governing authority), and the rule book has a table showing which positions are used at each crew size. The number per game follows the recommendations of the local, provincial or national officials' associations, and mechanics are in the CFOA/Football Canada Officials' Training Manual.

Key duties:

• Umpire: primary jurisdiction over players of both teams on the line of scrimmage, positioned behind Team B's defensive line. Supervises linebackers' use of hands on eligible receivers, checks that ineligible receivers do not go downfield before a forward pass, and covers short passes and short kicks over the centre.
• Back Umpire (and Back Judge, with identical duties): positioned behind the deepest Team B player; covers long passes in the centre and kicks downfield, and rules field goal attempts from outside the 10-yard line successful or not.
• Down Judge: supervises the line of scrimmage and neutral zone on the side of the chain and downbox, keeps the count of downs, supervises the yardstick and downbox officials, and relays the 3-minute and 1-minute warnings. The Line Judge has the same duties as the Down Judge for supervision, passes, kicks and warnings.
• Side Judge: works on or near the sideline about 18 to 20 yards in advance of the line of scrimmage, on the same side as the Down Judge.

Sideline officials are the downbox official, two or three yardstick officials, the timekeeper and the scorer.

Source: Canadian Amateur Rule Book for Tackle Football 2026-2027, Rule 2.