Australian Bullies - Qld govt to tighten combat sports regs? Submissions wanted..

[bob]

Any Aussie members interested in contributing to this?





Monday Aug 20 16:33 AEST
The Queensland government is considering tighter regulation of boxing and combat sports.
A discussion paper has been released, to assess whether safety risks in sports such as boxing, kickboxing, judo and wrestling require stricter laws.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said the government would not ban the sports, but would consider introducing requirements for the conduct of events, a board to monitor the sport, a register of fighters, and improving medical record keeping.

Sport Minister Andrew Fraser said "forum shopping" had also emerged as an issue, because some events banned in other states could be held legally in Queensland.

He said the Australian Medical Association had also put boxing safety in the spotlight when it criticised Anthony Mundine for fighting an opponent who it claimed was poorly matched.
"We are not looking at knocking out boxing, we are just making sure it's as safe as it can be," he told reporters.

The discussion paper is available from the Department of Local Government, Planning and Sport, and public comments must be received by November 2.

[Deadmeat]

I'm in - I'll be publicizing this around the Gold Coast - we have a Huge MMA (and other combat sports) community here.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

[Tinkebell]

Aussie rules has the highest rates of concussion for any sport here as far as I'm aware, and nothing gets said about it. The injury rates amoungst ball sports is huge, especially compared to amateur combat sports.
Fact is people are scared of them I guess. It's a great platform for a grandstand too.