Wyo. Code R. 046-0001-11
Mixed Martial Arts, Board of
Chapter 11: Requirements for Officials
Effective Date: 06/15/2018 to 02/13/2019
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 046.0001.11.06152018
Requirements for Officials
(a) All officials listed in Section 2 of this Chapter shall apply for a certificate as provided in these rules and shall be under the direct control and supervision of the Board or the inspector assigned to supervise the event.
(b) No official shall in any manner display partiality for one contestant over the other.
(c) The official may not consume alcohol while acting as an official.
(d) Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action and prohibition from officiating future events.
Section 2. Minimum Qualification for an Official License/Certificate. Any person wishing to apply for an official's certificate must demonstrate the following qualifications in kickboxing or MMA and pay an annual fee of $100.00 or be insured as an official and submit supporting documentation of such to the Board. As part of the application, the applicant shall also report any of the events listed in Section 4(a) of this Chapter. A certificate may be denied to an applicant for any of the events listed in Section 4(a) of this Chapter. A certificate must be renewed annually. Each certificate is valid for one calendar year from the date of issuance.
(a) Referee Qualifications:
(i) Referee experience may be demonstrated by one of the following:
(A) Evidence of completion of Board approved training, which must be completed every twenty four months; or
(B) One year of professional experience as a referee from a State Athletic Commission, or a Tribal Commission that is a member of the Association of Boxing Commissions.
(ii) Other requirements for Referees:
(A) Prior to licensure, a referee must attest that they have read and understand the laws and rules covering professional kickboxing, and MMA in this state;
(B) The referee must have also read and understand the rules of the various sanctioning bodies; and (C) A written test and a physical examination may be required at the discretion of the Board to determine fitness to perform.
(b) Judge Qualifications.
(i) Judge experience may be demonstrated by one of the following:
(A) Evidence of completion of Board approved training, which must be completed every twenty four months; or
(B) One year of professional experience as a judge from a State Athletic Commission or a Tribal Commission that is a member of the Association of Boxing Commissions.
(c) Inspector Qualifications.
(i) Inspector experience may be demonstrated by one of the following:
(A) Evidence of completion of Board approved training, which must be completed every twenty four months; or
(B) One year of professional experience in any of the positions listed above from a State Athletic Commission or a Tribal Athletic Commission that is a member of the Association of Boxing Commissions, or upon approval of the Board.
(d) In the case of an emergency, the chairman of the Board may select a referee, judge, or inspector who does not meet the qualifications set forth in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this Section if, at the discretion of the chairman of the Board, such person can demonstrate adequate skills and industry experience commensurate with the officiating position to which they are selected.
(a) Address and Name Changes
(i) Officials shall inform the Board of any change in name, address, telephone, email, or financial institution that may affect timely payments within 30 days of the change. The Board will not change information without explicit notification in a manner prescribed by the Board.
(ii) One of the following forms of documentation is needed to change a name or correct a social security number:
(A) Marriage license;
(B) Divorce decree;
(C) Court order; or
(D) A driver’s license or social security card with a second form of identification may be acceptable at the discretion of the Board.
(a) Officials shall notify the Board within 45 days of any of the following events:
(i) A disciplinary action imposed by another jurisdiction that licenses officials, including, but not limited to, a citation, sanction, probation, civil penalty, or a denial, suspension, revocation, or modification of a license whether it is imposed by consent decree, order, or other decision, for any cause other than failure to pay a license fee by the due date; or
(ii) Revocation or suspension by another state athlete Board, municipality, federal or state agency or any association who oversees kickboxing or MMA.
(b) The notice to the Board shall state if the event is an action by a governmental agency (as described above), the name of the agency, its jurisdiction, the case name, and the docket, proceeding or case number by which the event is designated, and a copy of the consent decree, order or decision.
(c) The licensee notifying the Board may submit a written statement with the notice to be included with the licensee’s records.
(d) Any licensee may be subject to disciplinary action for any license discipline in another jurisdiction or by other authority that adversely relates to the integrity of mixed martial arts activity or competition.
(a) Officials may not act in any other capacity during an event, unless given permission by the Board.
(b) Officials shall be excluded from officiating in any bout involving contestants with whom they have worked as manager, trainer, etc.
(c) Officials shall notify the Board immediately of any such conflict.
(a) An inspector is a licensed official who is authorized by the Board to supervise an event on behalf of the Board. (b) The Board shall set the amount of compensation the inspector shall receive for each supervised event. The compensation shall be no less than $500.00 per event. The promoter is responsible to pay the inspector's compensation. (c) The inspector must ensure that the Act and these rules are properly applied and enforced. (d) Within 24 hours of an event, inspectors must report to the Board any violations of the Act or these rules that occur during the event.
(a) The referee shall enforce all Board's rules which apply to the execution, performance and conduct of contestants' seconds while in the ring. (b) Referees, if they so choose, and if they can demonstrate to the Board that they need prescription eyewear, shall only wear eyewear appropriate for a sporting event. Appropriate in this situation means eyewear that will not easily dislodge from his face and will not break, shatter, interfere with referee's duties, or in any way unreasonably increase the risk of danger to the contestants.
(a) Before the start of each bout, the referee will check with each judge and the timekeeper to determine if they are prepared to start the bout. (b) The referee is responsible for determining who will act as the chief second in each corner and shall hold them responsible for all conduct in the corners. (c) The referee in their discretion shall warn the seconds of rule violations, and if they do not comply, the referee shall warn them that further violations will result in point deductions, disqualification of their contestant, and subject them to disciplinary action. (d) The referee shall instruct the judges to mark their scorecards accurately at all times. (e) The referee shall ensure that a bout moves to its proper conclusion. It should not be stopped or delayed, except in cases of damaging fouls or health and safety concerns. (f) The referee shall penalize contestants who delay or use avoiding tactics by deducting points or by immediate disqualification.
(g) At the conclusion of all bouts and upon the announcement of the winner, the referee shall raise the winner's hand.
Section 9. Approval and Payment. The Board or its designee shall approve the referee for each bout and the decision shall be final. The amount of money paid to the referee shall be negotiated between the promoter and the referee; however, it shall not be less than $150 per event, plus mileage. Referees are to be paid by the promoter. The Board shall never be required to pay for referees but may do so at its discretion.
Section 10. Sole Arbiter.
(a) The referee is the sole arbiter of a bout and is the only individual authorized to stop a bout.
(b) Referees shall stop a bout when they deem the following:
(c) In the event of any injury, the referee may seek a recommendation from the physician whether the bout should be stopped.
Section 11. Forfeiture and Withholding of a Contestants Purse. The referee shall recommend to the Board or inspector, the forfeiture or the withholding of half of a contestant's purse whenever a contestant fails to perform in good faith or maximum effort when competing.
Section 12. Glove Inspection.
(a) The referee shall inspect the gloves of the contestants in all events and make sure that no foreign substances have been applied to the gloves or bodies of the contestants that might be detrimental to an opponent.
(b) Whenever the gloves of a kickboxing contestant touch the canvas floor, the referee shall inspect the gloves and wipe them clean before the bout proceeds.
Section 13. Knockdown Counts.
(a) When a contestant is knocked down as a result of a punch or a legal kick or punch in a kickboxing bout, the referee shall order the opponent to a neutral corner and may pick up the count from the timekeeper.
(b) The referee shall audibly announce the passing of the count. The contestant may take the eight count either on the floor or standing. The referee's count is the official count.
(c) Should the opponent fail to stay in the neutral corner, the referee shall cease the count until the contestant returns to the corner, then the referee shall continue with the count from the point at which the count was interrupted.
(d) The eight count is mandatory for a knockdown in a kickboxing bout and a contestant may not resume fighting until the referee has finished counting to eight.
(e) During any count, the opponent shall go to the farthest neutral corner and remain in that neutral corner until signaled by the referee.
(a) When a fallen contestant rises and falls again, without being hit again, in a kickboxing bout the referee shall continue the original count, rather than starting a new count.
(b) If the bell rings ending the round during the count, the count shall continue.
Section 15. Count of Ten - Indication of Knockout. If the referee calls the count of ten during a knockdown in a kickboxing bout or the referee determines that a contestant is not able to continue, the referee shall wave both arms to indicate a knockout.
Section 16. Contestants Down at the Same Time. If both contestants are considered down at the same time in a kickboxing bout, the count shall continue as long as one of them is still down. If both contestants remain down until the count of ten, the bout shall be stopped and the result shall be a technical draw.
(a) The referee must weigh the cause as well as the act in assessing fouls.
(b) When a foul is unintentionally inflicted, but intentionally received, it is applied to the deliberate recipient.
(c) If a contestant receives a low blow as determined by the referee, the referee may use their discretion to permit a rest period for the recipient. Such period shall not exceed five minutes. During the rest period, seconds may not assist or coach either contestant.
(d) The offending contestant shall go to a neutral corner.
(e) The referee will give a warning for a low blow to the offending contestant if the contestant who received the low blow indicates they are ready to continue the bout.
(f) The referee will give the command to continue after the end of the rest period. If the offended contestant refuses to continue after the rest period, their opponent may be named the winner.
Section 18. Low Blows - Recipient Named Winner. A contestant cannot be named the winner of a bout as a result of receiving a low blow unless the referee determines the blow was delivered deliberately and was of such force to seriously incapacitate the offended contestant so that they could not continue to compete. Under this condition, the offender shall be disqualified immediately.
(a) The referee shall warn or penalize contestants who use the ropes or deliberately dislodge their mouthpiece or use other unfair tactics to gain an advantage.
(b) The referee shall not permit unfair tactics that may cause injuries to contestants.
Section 20. Judge Approval. The Board or its designee shall approve the judges for each bout and the decision shall be final. The amount of money paid to each judge shall be negotiated between the promoter and the judge; however, the amount shall not be less than $100 per event, plus mileage. The judges are to be paid by the promoter. The Board shall never be required to pay for judges but may do so at its discretion.
(a) Judges are responsible to familiarize themselves with and review the method to be used when scoring bouts which may vary by sport.
(b) The bouts shall be scored to determine the winner through the use of the ten-point must system. In this system, the winner of each round receives ten points and the opponent a proportionately lower number. If the round is even, each contestant receives ten points.
(c) Scorecards are provided by the Board and only those shall be used.
(d) Each judge shall accurately complete their scorecard and in accordance with the provisions of the rules governing the sport they are judging.
(e) At the end of each round the scorecard shall be totaled and signed by each judge.
Section 22. Number of Judges. All bouts will be evaluated and scored by three judges.
Section 23. Position of Judges. The judges shall sit alone at ring or cage side and will reach their own decision without conferring in any manner with any other official or person.
Section 24. Removal of Judges. Judges of bouts will be under the control and jurisdiction of the Board or inspector. The Board or inspector reserves the right to remove a judge, if, the judge is inefficient or is otherwise unable to act as a judge.
Section 25. Timekeeper Duties. The timekeeper is responsible for keeping accurate time of all bouts. The timekeeper shall keep an exact record of the time taken out at the request of the referee for the examination of a contestant by the physician, replacing a glove, or adjusting equipment during a round, and report the exact time of the bout being stopped. The timekeeper shall use an audible device to indicate the conclusion of every round.
Section 26. Disciplinary Action. Any official who violates, or aids or assists in the violation of the these rules (Chapters 1 through 15) may be subject to disciplinary action.