Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 5, March 10, 2024
This Rule is promulgated pursuant to sections
12-20-105,
12-20-202(4),
12-110-107,
12-110-109, and
12-110-111, C.R.S.
A. OFFICIALS- CONTROL
1. All officials involved in an event shall
be under the direct control and supervision of the Director or the chief
inspector assigned to supervise the event. The Director has the discretion to
determine whether clothes, facial or body adornments (long mustaches, goatees,
beards sideburns) and length of hair comply with the professional dress code
for officials for that particular event.
2. The bell shall only ring after the count
is finished and the referee makes the determination the participant is able to
continue or stops the bout.
3. The
official may not consume, or be under the influence of, alcohol, marijuana, or
any controlled substance while acting as an official.
4. Failure to comply may result in
disciplinary action and prohibition from officiating future events.
5. Any written complaint made to the Director
regarding officiating conduct, or officials conduct during and outside of an
event, will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis if reported within two weeks
after an event or incident.
B. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR AN OFFICIAL
LICENSE
A license is required to serve as an official in a
professional combative sport contest. All officials shall submit an application
for a license to officiate in a manner prescribed by the Director. Incomplete
or incorrect applications will not be accepted.
Each applicant for a license shall pay the fee established by
the Division Director pursuant to section
12-20-105, C.R.S. Any person
wishing to apply for an official's license must demonstrate the following
qualifications in combative sport.
1.
Referee Qualifications:
a. Referee experience
may be demonstrated by one of the following:
(1) Four years of amateur experience as a
referee at the highest classification level, or,
(2) 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.
b. Other requirements for Referees:
(1) Prior to licensure, a referee must attest
that they have read and understand the laws and rules covering professional
combative sports in this state.
(2)
The referee must also read and understand the rules of the various sanctioning
bodies.
(3) A written test and a
physical examination may be required at the discretion of the Director to
determine fitness to perform.
2. Judge Qualifications:
a. Judge experience may be demonstrated by
one of the following:
(1) Three years of
amateur experience as a judge at the highest level of accomplishment.
(2) 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.
3. Inspector Qualifications:
There are three positions within the inspector category:
timekeepers, tally judge and knock down judge.
a. Inspector experience may be demonstrated
by one of the following:
(1) Three years of
amateur experience as an inspector, timekeeper, tally judge or knock down
judge.
(2) 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 Director.
4. Credit for Military, Education,
Training, or Experience
a. An applicant for
licensure may submit information about the applicant's education, training, or
experience acquired during military service. It is the applicant's
responsibility to provide timely and complete information for the Director's
review.
b. In order to meet the
requirements for licensure, such education, training, or experience must be
substantially equivalent to the required qualifications that are otherwise
applicable at the time the application is received by the Director.
c. The Director will determine, on a
case-by-case basis, whether the applicant's military education, training, or
experience meet the requirements for licensure.
d. If the Director determines that the
submitted military education, training, or experience only partially satisfies
licensure requirements, the Director will advise the applicant on the amount
and type of additional education, training, or experience that is required to
qualify for licensure.
e.
Documentation of military experience may include, but is not limited to,
Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214), Verification of
Military Experience and Training (DD-2586), Military transcript, Training
records, Evaluation reports, or Letters from Commanding Officers describing the
applicant's practice as an official.
C. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
1. Officials may not act in any other
capacity during an event, unless given permission by the Director.
2. Officials shall be excluded from
officiating as a referee or a judge in any bout involving participants with
whom they have worked as manager, trainer, or had a recent business
relationship.
3. Officials shall
notify the Director or chief inspector immediately of any conflict or potential
conflict in writing and as set forth in policy.
D. CHIEF INSPECTOR DEFINITION AND DUTIES
1. A chief inspector is a licensed official
who is authorized by the Director to supervise an event on behalf of the Office
of Combative Sports.
2. The
Director shall set the amount of compensation the official will receive for
each supervised event.
3. The chief
inspector must ensure that the laws and rules are properly applied and
enforced.
4. Chief inspectors must
report to the Director any violations of the law or rule that occur during an
event within twenty-four hours.
E. REFEREE ENFORCEMENT
1. The referee is charged with the
enforcement of all Office of Combative Sports Rules which apply to the
execution of performance and the conduct of participants' seconds while in the
ring.
2. Referees shall not wear
glasses of any kind while refereeing a bout.
F. REFEREE DUTIES
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The referee shall
instruct the judges to mark their scorecards accurately at all times.
5. 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.
6. The referee shall penalize participants
who delay or use avoiding tactics by deducting points or by immediate
disqualification.
7. At the
conclusion of all bouts and upon the announcement of the winner, the referee
shall raise the winner's hand.
G. APPROVAL AND PAYMENT
The Director shall select the referee for each bout and the
decision shall be final. The amount of money paid to the referee shall be fixed
by the Director. Depending on the bout, a referee may be paid by the promoter
or sanctioning organization.
H. SOLE ARBITER
1. The referee is the sole arbiter of a bout
and is the only individual authorized to stop a bout.
2. Referees shall stop a bout when they deem
the following:
a. The physical condition of a
participant so requires,
b. When a
participant is out-classed;
c. A
participant is not demonstrating their best efforts.
3. In the event of serious cuts, the referee
may seek a recommendation from the physician whether the bout should be
stopped.
I. FORFEITURE
AND WITHHOLDING OF A PARTICIPANT'S PURSE
The referee shall recommend to the Director or chief
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.
J. GLOVE
INSPECTION
1. 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.
2. Whenever the gloves of a boxing or
kickboxing participant touches the canvas floor, the referee shall inspect the
gloves and wipe them clean before the bout proceeds.
K. LOSS OF BODILY FUNCTION
If a participant, during a round, visibly loses control of a
bodily function (vomit, urine, bowels), the bout shall be stopped by the
referee, and the participant shall lose the contest by TKO. In the event a loss
of control of a bodily function occurs in the rest period between rounds, the
ringside physician shall be called in to evaluate if the combatant can
continue. If the participant is not cleared by the ringside physician to
continue, that participant shall lose by TKO. In these situations, the result
shall be recorded as TKO due to Medical Stoppage.
L. KNOCKDOWN COUNTS
1. When a participant is knocked down as a
result of a punch in a boxing bout 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.
2.
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.
3. 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.
4. The eight count is
mandatory for a knockdown in a boxing and Muay Thai bout and a participant may
not resume fighting until the referee has finished counting to eight.
5. During any count, the opponent shall go to
the farthest neutral corner and remain in that neutral corner until signaled by
the referee.
M. FALLEN
PARTICIPANT WHO RISES AND FALLS AGAIN WITHOUT BEING HIT AGAIN
1. When a fallen participant rises and falls
again, without being hit again, in a boxing, kickboxing, or Muay Thai bout the
referee shall continue the original count, rather than starting a new
count.
2. The bell shall only ring
after the count is finished and the referee makes the determination the
participant is able to continue or stops the bout.
N. COUNT OF TEN- INDICATION OF KNOCKOUT
If the referee calls the count of ten during a knockdown in a
boxing, kickboxing, or Muay Thai bout or the referee determines that a
participant is not able to continue, the referee shall wave both arms to
indicate a knockout.
O.
PARTICIPANTS DOWN AT THE SAME TIME
If both participants are considered down at the same time in
a boxing or 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.
P. ASSESSING FOULS
1. The referee must weigh the cause as well
as the act in assessing fouls.
2.
When a foul is unintentionally inflicted, but intentionally received, it is
applied to the deliberate recipient.
3. 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.
4. The offending
participant shall go to a neutral corner.
5. 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.
6. 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.
Q. 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.
R. DELIBERATE ACTIONS TO GAIN ADVANTAGE-
PENALTIES
1. 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.
2. The referee shall not permit unfair
tactics that may cause injuries to participants.
3. In a boxing bout, the only fair blow is a
blow delivered with the padded knuckle part of the glove on the front or sides
of the head and body above the hip line.
S. JUDGE APPROVAL
The Director shall select the judges for each bout and the
decision shall be final. The amount of money paid the judges for services
rendered shall be fixed by the Director. Depending on the bout, a judge may be
paid by the promoter or sanctioning organization.
T. JUDGE DUTIES
1. Judges are responsible to familiarize
themselves with and review the method to be used when scoring bouts which may
vary by sport.
2. The bouts shall
be scored to determine the winner with 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.
3. Scorecards are
provided by the Director and only those shall be used.
4. Each judge shall accurately complete their
scorecard and in accordance with the provisions of the rules governing the
sport they are judging.
5. At the
end of each round the scorecard shall be totaled and signed by each judge.
U. NUMBER OF JUDGES
All bouts will be evaluated and scored by a minimum of three
judges.
V. JUDGE POSITION
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.
W.
REMOVAL OF JUDGES
Judges of bouts will be under the control and jurisdiction of
the office of Combative Sports. The Director or chief inspector reserves the
right to remove a judge, if, the judge is inefficient or is otherwise unable to
act as a judge.
X.
INSPECTOR PERFORMING 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.
