| - Marco Antico |
| Copyright© 2007 Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association (CMMAA). |
CMMAA Waiting To Find Out What's Next
by Marco Antico
The Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association (CMMAA) responded to the additional information requests of the
Ministry of Health Promotion (MHP) in a package delivered on March 7, 2008. We've finally reached the point
where we believe that everything has been done to achieve recognition as the new provincial sport
organization for amateur mixed martial arts! All the "t"s have been crossed and all of the "i"s have been
dotted. The following are some of the milestones we've accomplished in the past year:
Formed a Top Notch Technical Committee
The main contributors to the technical committee have been Kenneth Benson (NCCP Level 4 Coach), Larry
Takeuchi (Physician), Joey De Los Reyes (MMA coach and owner of Kombat Arts), Joe Ferraro (Sportsnet
broadcaster), Terry Riggs (MMA coach and owner of Warrior Martial Arts) and Marco Antico (President of
CMMAA).
Established Rules & Regulations for Amateur MMA
CMMAA's rules & regulations are very comprehensive including such things as: the bout rules and judging
criteria for amateur mma competitions; pre-bout and post-bout requirements for the event organizer; ring
specifications; appeal procedures; appropriate apparel; coach responsibilities, and much more.
Created Certification Programs for Coaching and Officiating
Coaching and Officiating programs will be rolled out immediate following receiving government recognition.
All athletes wishing to compete in amateur MMA must be cornered by an individual with a CMMAA Level II
Certification for Coaches. Judges must posses a CMMAA Level I Certification for Officials and referees must
have a CMMAA Level II Certification for Officials. Certification is made up of theory, practical and technical
components. It will require participants to not only successfully complete CMMAA delivered courses, but it will
also require them to have sufficient practical experience at coaching, judging or as a referee. In addition,
police checks, Sport First Aid and CPR training will also be mandatory . Part of our coaching program will be
delivered by course instructors from the world renowned National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) of
Canada. When an individual advertises themselves as a "MMA Certified Coach or Official" we intend for it to
really mean something!
Obtained Insurance for the Organization' s Members and the Sanctioning of MMA Events
This was probably the difficult of all of our assigned tasks. We were forewarned that this may not even be
possible! Fortunately, we found a new insurance broker agency and met one of the hardest working,
friendliest and very determined insurance brokers. She must have called a hundred insurance companies to
find what we were looking for! She far exceeded our expectations with what she found for us. Our insurance
coverage is going to be the backbone of the organization and will serve us in many important ways. At the
same time, it won't dictate our every decision. Our Club Members will save money and sleep more
comfortable at night being able to reap the benefits of our group insurance policy.
International Affiliation
CMMAA is currently exploring partnering relationship with a two international affiliates. Our goal is to be able
to share athletes and create a world amateur championship.
Other
Other significant things that CMMAA have done include: signed up over 1,000 members from Ontario;
incorporated a provincial and federal not-for-profit organization; approved internal policies and procedures;
and established a fair and impartial event sanctioning system.
Future Challenges
Despite having done all that is required to establish a provincial sport organization (at least in our opinion),
there remains no guarantee that the government will recognize CMMAA. Section 83 may once again rear its
ugly head as the government could use that as an excuse for the umpteenth time. Our approach in forming a
PSO for MMA has been to take the best from what other PSOs have done before us, such as CAMTAO and
CASK. We're not proposing anything different than what is already allowed in amateur combat sports in
Ontario. For example, CMMAA proposes there be no elbows and no knee strikes to the head since CAMTAO
does not permit this. Every PSO requires the use of headgear, so we too have had to incorporate that into our
regulations. Once we get our foot in the door and begin to demonstrate a good safety record then perhaps we
can also progress the rules and better prepare our athletes to make the jump to professional MMA. But, for
now we've decided to take the approach, "if you allow all these other PSOs to do it, then why not us?"
It seems like a reasonable approach, yet there's still the chance that the government may simply say MMA is
too far of a departure from boxing (e.g. which is the only combat sport permitted per the strictest interpretation
of section 83).
To date, we've mostly been providing the government with a mountain of information and we wonder if the next
step may be to get into the details. If so, we must ensure that our rules & regulations do not significantly
change as we don't feel as though we could bend much more than we already are.
Another challenge we will continually face will be to discourage our members from participating in
non-government sanctioned events. As a provincially funded organization, we cannot have our athletes and
coaches participating in these events. It would be a breach of our insurance and may jeopardize PSO status.
As much as we respect the coaches and athletes who simply wish to compete and test their merit, we ask
that they recognize the inherent conflict of interest that this causes. CMMAA has strong ties with some of the
biggest MMA promotions across the country and we hope our athletes will naturally progress from competing
in our amateur events to competing in the country's best and then maybe one day in the UFC. Just speak to
any world renowned trainer and they will validate the importance of amateur experience.
Conclusion
Stay tuned to CanadianMMA.com as we're expecting to hear from the MHP very soon as to what's next in store
for MMA in Ontario.
by Marco Antico
The Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association (CMMAA) responded to the additional information requests of the
Ministry of Health Promotion (MHP) in a package delivered on March 7, 2008. We've finally reached the point
where we believe that everything has been done to achieve recognition as the new provincial sport
organization for amateur mixed martial arts! All the "t"s have been crossed and all of the "i"s have been
dotted. The following are some of the milestones we've accomplished in the past year:
Formed a Top Notch Technical Committee
The main contributors to the technical committee have been Kenneth Benson (NCCP Level 4 Coach), Larry
Takeuchi (Physician), Joey De Los Reyes (MMA coach and owner of Kombat Arts), Joe Ferraro (Sportsnet
broadcaster), Terry Riggs (MMA coach and owner of Warrior Martial Arts) and Marco Antico (President of
CMMAA).
Established Rules & Regulations for Amateur MMA
CMMAA's rules & regulations are very comprehensive including such things as: the bout rules and judging
criteria for amateur mma competitions; pre-bout and post-bout requirements for the event organizer; ring
specifications; appeal procedures; appropriate apparel; coach responsibilities, and much more.
Created Certification Programs for Coaching and Officiating
Coaching and Officiating programs will be rolled out immediate following receiving government recognition.
All athletes wishing to compete in amateur MMA must be cornered by an individual with a CMMAA Level II
Certification for Coaches. Judges must posses a CMMAA Level I Certification for Officials and referees must
have a CMMAA Level II Certification for Officials. Certification is made up of theory, practical and technical
components. It will require participants to not only successfully complete CMMAA delivered courses, but it will
also require them to have sufficient practical experience at coaching, judging or as a referee. In addition,
police checks, Sport First Aid and CPR training will also be mandatory . Part of our coaching program will be
delivered by course instructors from the world renowned National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) of
Canada. When an individual advertises themselves as a "MMA Certified Coach or Official" we intend for it to
really mean something!
Obtained Insurance for the Organization' s Members and the Sanctioning of MMA Events
This was probably the difficult of all of our assigned tasks. We were forewarned that this may not even be
possible! Fortunately, we found a new insurance broker agency and met one of the hardest working,
friendliest and very determined insurance brokers. She must have called a hundred insurance companies to
find what we were looking for! She far exceeded our expectations with what she found for us. Our insurance
coverage is going to be the backbone of the organization and will serve us in many important ways. At the
same time, it won't dictate our every decision. Our Club Members will save money and sleep more
comfortable at night being able to reap the benefits of our group insurance policy.
International Affiliation
CMMAA is currently exploring partnering relationship with a two international affiliates. Our goal is to be able
to share athletes and create a world amateur championship.
Other
Other significant things that CMMAA have done include: signed up over 1,000 members from Ontario;
incorporated a provincial and federal not-for-profit organization; approved internal policies and procedures;
and established a fair and impartial event sanctioning system.
Future Challenges
Despite having done all that is required to establish a provincial sport organization (at least in our opinion),
there remains no guarantee that the government will recognize CMMAA. Section 83 may once again rear its
ugly head as the government could use that as an excuse for the umpteenth time. Our approach in forming a
PSO for MMA has been to take the best from what other PSOs have done before us, such as CAMTAO and
CASK. We're not proposing anything different than what is already allowed in amateur combat sports in
Ontario. For example, CMMAA proposes there be no elbows and no knee strikes to the head since CAMTAO
does not permit this. Every PSO requires the use of headgear, so we too have had to incorporate that into our
regulations. Once we get our foot in the door and begin to demonstrate a good safety record then perhaps we
can also progress the rules and better prepare our athletes to make the jump to professional MMA. But, for
now we've decided to take the approach, "if you allow all these other PSOs to do it, then why not us?"
It seems like a reasonable approach, yet there's still the chance that the government may simply say MMA is
too far of a departure from boxing (e.g. which is the only combat sport permitted per the strictest interpretation
of section 83).
To date, we've mostly been providing the government with a mountain of information and we wonder if the next
step may be to get into the details. If so, we must ensure that our rules & regulations do not significantly
change as we don't feel as though we could bend much more than we already are.
Another challenge we will continually face will be to discourage our members from participating in
non-government sanctioned events. As a provincially funded organization, we cannot have our athletes and
coaches participating in these events. It would be a breach of our insurance and may jeopardize PSO status.
As much as we respect the coaches and athletes who simply wish to compete and test their merit, we ask
that they recognize the inherent conflict of interest that this causes. CMMAA has strong ties with some of the
biggest MMA promotions across the country and we hope our athletes will naturally progress from competing
in our amateur events to competing in the country's best and then maybe one day in the UFC. Just speak to
any world renowned trainer and they will validate the importance of amateur experience.
Conclusion
Stay tuned to CanadianMMA.com as we're expecting to hear from the MHP very soon as to what's next in store
for MMA in Ontario.
