Wyo. Code R. 046-0001-11
Mixed Martial Arts, Board of
Chapter 11: Requirements for Officials
Effective Date: 07/16/2012 to 11/13/2012
Rule Type: Expired Emergency Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 046.0001.11.07162012
Emergency Rules are no longer in effect 120 days after filing with the Secretary of State
(a) All officials involved in an event shall be licensed 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 participant 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. Any person wishing to apply for an Official's license must demonstrate the following qualifications in kickboxing or MMA. A license must be renewed annually. Each license 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) Four years of amateur experience as a referee at the highest level of accomplishment; (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; or (C) Board approval.
(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.
(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) Three years of amateur experience as a judge at the highest level of accomplishment;
(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; or
(C) Board approval.
(c) Inspector Qualifications. There are three positions within the inspector category: timekeepers, tally judge and knock down judge.
(i) Inspector experience may be demonstrated by one of the following:
(A) Three years of amateur experience as an inspector, timekeeper, tally judge or knock down judge;
(B) One year of professional experience in any of the position 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; or (C) Board approval.
Section 3. Conditions of Reinstatement of an Expired License. The purpose of this rule is to establish the qualifications and procedures for reinstatement of an expired license.
(a) Conditions of Reinstatement: License expired less than two years. (i) An applicant seeking reinstatement of an expired license for less than two years shall complete a reinstatement application and pay a reinstatement fee of $100. (b) Conditions of Reinstatement: License expired two years or more. (i) An applicant seeking reinstatement of an expired license for two years or more shall complete a reinstatement application, pay a reinstatement fee of $100 and demonstrate competency for the specific position in a manner approved by the Board. (c) An applicant for reinstatement who has actively practiced in Wyoming with an expired license is subject to denial of application, disciplinary action, and/or other penalties as authorized by the Board.
(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) The conviction of a felony under the laws of any state or of the United States. A guilty verdict, a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere (no contest) accepted by the court is considered a conviction;
(ii) A disciplinary action imposed upon the licensee 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;
(iii) Revocation or suspension by another state athlete Board, municipality, federal or state agency or any association who oversees kickboxing or MMA;
(iv) Any judgment, award or settlement of a civil action or arbitration in which there was a final judgment or settlement against the licensee.
(b) The notice to the Board shall include the following information:
(i) 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;
(ii) If the event is a felony conviction, the court, its jurisdiction, the case name, the case number, a description of the matter or a copy of the indictment or charges, and any plea or verdict entered by the court. The licensee shall also provide to the Board a copy of the imposition of sentence related to the felony conviction and the completion of all terms of the sentence within 45 days of such action;
(iii) If the event concerns a civil action or arbitration proceeding, the court or arbiter, the jurisdiction, the case name, the case number, a description of the matter or a copy of the complaint, and a copy of the verdict, the court or arbitration decision, or, if settled, the settlement agreement and court's order of dismissal;
(c) The licensee notifying the Board may submit a written statement with the notice to be included with the licensee's records.
(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 participants with whom they have worked as manager, trainer, etc.
(c) Officials shall notify the Board immediately of any such conflict.
(a) A 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 official will receive for each supervised event. At this time it is $200 per event plus reasonable reimbursement for travel and lodging.
(c) The inspector must ensure that the laws and rules are properly applied and enforced. (d) Inspectors must report to the Board any violations of the law or rules that occur during an event within 24 hours.
(a) The referee is charged with the enforcement of all Board's rules which apply to the execution of performance and the conduct of participants' 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 face and will not break, shatter, interfere with referee's duties, or in any way unreasonably increase the risk of danger to the participants.
(a) Before the start of each bout, the referee will check 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 participant, and subject 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 participants 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 10. Approval and Payment. The Board 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.
(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:
(i) The physical condition of a participant so requires; (ii) When a participant is out-classed; or (iii) A participant is not demonstrating their best efforts.
(c) In the event of serious cuts, the referee may seek a recommendation from the physician whether the bout should be stopped.
Section 12. Forfeiture and Withholding of a Participants Purse. The referee shall recommend to the Board or inspector, the forfeiture or the withholding of half of a participant's purse whenever a participant fails to perform in good faith or maximum effort when competing.
(a) The referee shall inspect the gloves of the participants in all events and make sure that no foreign substances have been applied to the gloves or bodies of the participants that might be detrimental to an opponent.
(b) Whenever the gloves of a kickboxing participant touch the canvas floor, the referee shall inspect the gloves and wipe them clean before the bout proceeds.
(a) When a participant 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 participant 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 participant 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 participant 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 participant 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.
determines that a participant is not able to continue, the referee shall wave both arms to indicate a knockout.
Section 17. Participants Down at the Same Time. If both participants 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 participants 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 participant 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 participant. (d) The offending participant shall go to a neutral corner. (e) The referee will give a warning for a low blow to the offending participant if the participant 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 participant refuses to continue after the rest period, their opponent may be named the winner.
Section 19. Low Blows - Recipient Named Winner. A participant 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 participant so that they could not continue to compete. Under this condition, the offender shall be disqualified immediately.
(a) The referee shall warn or penalize participants 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 participants.
Section 21. Judge Approval. The Board 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 participant 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 23. Number of Judges. All bouts will be evaluated and scored by three judges.
Section 24. 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 25. Removal of Judges. Judges of bouts will be under the control and jurisdiction of the Board of Mixed Martial Arts. 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 26. 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 participant 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 27. Disciplinary Action. Any licensee, including a referee or other official, who violates, or aids or assists in the violation of this chapter, may be subject to disciplinary action.