| - Marco Antico |
| Copyright© 2007 Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Association (CMMAA). |
Ontario Government Tells CMMAA to Keep Waiting
by Marco Antico
Tuesday June 10, 2008
We received the following email from our sports consultant in the Ministry of Health Promotions on
Monday, June 9, 2008.
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Good Morning Marco,
Thank you for your phone message inquiring about the status of the Provincial Sport Organization
Recognition of CMMAA.
Please be advised that CMMAA's application is still under review and you will be notified as soon
as, once the review process is complete.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Faye Blackwood, Sports Consultant
Ministry of Health Promotion, Sport and Recreation Branch
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We also contacted Barbara Lyon-Stewart on Friday, June 6, 2008 to clarify comments that she
had made to other recognized Provincial Sport Organizations (PSO) in which she stated, "amateur
MMA will not be recognized for at least five more years." Barbara said that her comments were
taken out of context in that she was referring to gaining recognition with Sport Canada, not with
Ontario. Barbara went on to say that she is the chair person in-charge of only recognized, amateur
combat sports in Ontario. Since MMA is not currently recognized, CMMAA would have to direct
their questions to their assigned sport consultant, Faye Blackwood.
We originally submitted our application to gain PSO status in October 2007. We responded to the
government's request for additional information in January 2008 and have not heard anything since
that time aside from the fact that our application is still under review.
As an aside, the Association of Boxing Commissioners (ABC) is meeting in July 2008 to discuss,
amongst many other things, unified rules for Amateur MMA throughout North America. CMMAA
is in close contact with Dale Kliparchuk, Vice Chairman of the River Cree Combative Sports
Commission who is one of the individuals chairing this discussion. Dale strongly supports our
legalization effort in Ontario and will be meeting with Ken Hayashi, Ontario's Athletic
Commissioner, during the ABC conference to discuss the topic.
by Marco Antico
Tuesday June 10, 2008
We received the following email from our sports consultant in the Ministry of Health Promotions on
Monday, June 9, 2008.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Good Morning Marco,
Thank you for your phone message inquiring about the status of the Provincial Sport Organization
Recognition of CMMAA.
Please be advised that CMMAA's application is still under review and you will be notified as soon
as, once the review process is complete.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Faye Blackwood, Sports Consultant
Ministry of Health Promotion, Sport and Recreation Branch
-----------------------------------------------------------------
We also contacted Barbara Lyon-Stewart on Friday, June 6, 2008 to clarify comments that she
had made to other recognized Provincial Sport Organizations (PSO) in which she stated, "amateur
MMA will not be recognized for at least five more years." Barbara said that her comments were
taken out of context in that she was referring to gaining recognition with Sport Canada, not with
Ontario. Barbara went on to say that she is the chair person in-charge of only recognized, amateur
combat sports in Ontario. Since MMA is not currently recognized, CMMAA would have to direct
their questions to their assigned sport consultant, Faye Blackwood.
We originally submitted our application to gain PSO status in October 2007. We responded to the
government's request for additional information in January 2008 and have not heard anything since
that time aside from the fact that our application is still under review.
As an aside, the Association of Boxing Commissioners (ABC) is meeting in July 2008 to discuss,
amongst many other things, unified rules for Amateur MMA throughout North America. CMMAA
is in close contact with Dale Kliparchuk, Vice Chairman of the River Cree Combative Sports
Commission who is one of the individuals chairing this discussion. Dale strongly supports our
legalization effort in Ontario and will be meeting with Ken Hayashi, Ontario's Athletic
Commissioner, during the ABC conference to discuss the topic.