IMMAF to launch MMA rule set for 12-17 year olds
Kerrith Brown: “Youth competition … is equally where a sport can deliver the widest social, community and health benefits, and therefore value.”
Unified world MMA governing body, IMMAF – WMMAA is proud to announce the completion and forthcoming publication of its Pre-Junior and Cadet MMA Rules for 12 – 17-year-olds. The announcement comes ahead of the 2019 IMMAF – WMMAA Cadet World Championships set for 3-4 August in Rome, hosted by the Italian Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts Federation (FIGMMA).
Headed by IMMAF Director of Development, Andrew Moshanov, the tailored rulesets for 12-13 (Pre-Cadet), 14-25 (Cadet), and 16-17 (Pre-Junior) age groups has been over a year in the making. The project has drawn on expert consultancy from Marc Goddard, IMMAF’s Head of Regulatory Affairs, and from across IMMAF- WMMAA’s global membership. Key contributors have been representatives from national federations under whom successful, safe, and regulated youth competition or training programmes have already been implemented, including USA, India, Mexico, Italy, and Northern Ireland.
The rules for cadets have been under discussion for more than a year,” said Moshanov. “We received notable help from FIGMMA’s Vito Paolillo (Italy) and Danny Corr of the Ulster Amateur MMA Association (Northern Ireland), as well as the IMMAF-WMMAA Medical Committee who advised on safety considerations.
The IMMAF-WMMAA Medical Committee is a panel of doctors with a specialty or experience in medical care within MMA. The committee is responsible for providing guidance on medical safety within the sport and for developing medical protocol for IMMAF-WMMAA competitions. Members are Dr. Randa Bashron (USA), Dr. David Wang (USA), and Prof. Dan Healy (Ireland).
For the youth competitions, athletes will be divided by age brackets, permitting for appropriate adaptation of the Unified Amateur MMA Rules with respect to neurological and musculo-skeletal developmental. Significantly head-shots will not be permitted in any under-18s competition, while permissions around the application of submission techniques shall increase up through the age brackets. Matches will be scored according to the 10-point system that is so fundamental to the spirit of the sport. However, modifications will apply, such as ‘proactivity’ being rewarded instead of ‘aggression’.
Mr. Moshanov continued: The involvement of children of a young age and their membership in clubs and associations is vital for the sustainability and development of any sport. On an average, nearly 80% of sports members worldwide are children under 14 years old. When one looks closely at MMA, youth development has been under-developed in favor of that of competitive athletes and this matter needs to be urgently addressed.
IMMAF President Kerrith Brown explained the necessity of an under-18 ruleset.
It is a fact that young people now have a presence in MMA gyms across the world and it is the duty of the world governing body to provide governance in order to safeguard and to offer the best education possible,” he said. “Youth competition not only forms a foundational role in the development of sports talent, but also provides a platform for nurturing skill through the application of technical learning. It is equally where a sport can deliver the widest social, community and health benefits, and therefore value.