** 07/09/08 - Officiating Seminar Update **
Big John traveled to Montreal, Quebec, Canada last week to speak at
the A.B.C. (Association of Boxing Commissions) annual convention.
The ABC is an association for a athletic commissions in the United
States and Canada. For the past five months John has been working
with Dale Kliparchuk, Chair of the mma division along with Tim Lueckenoff,
President of the ABC on updating the professional unified rules for
mma. In addition to the professional set of rules, a set of amateur
ruleswas established. Both sets of rules were discussed, voted on
and unanimously approved by all of the athletic commission members
present at the convention.
In
addition to the rules, John spent two days teaching the athletic commissioners
an updated, abbreviated version of his judging and referee courses.
The abc has adopted John’s seminars as the only certified seminars
approved by the abc. Once the courses are officially launched, anyone
who takes them and passes will be placed on an official list that
all athletic commissions will refer to for certified officials in
their area.
REFEREE
COURSE:
Because
of the logistics, currently, the three-day referee course will only
be taught at John’s facility in Valencia, CA. The course has
a maximum number of 20 slots available. Attendees are taken on a first
registered/paid first served basis. The cost of the three-day course
is still to be determined.
We are
looking to hold our first abc certified referee course sometime in
the fall. We are working closely with the abc to finalize all of the
details and will post updates on this site as they become available.
JUDGING
COURSE:
We are
expecting to take the two day judging course nationwide in the fall
and plan to hold four seminars a year, one in each quadrant of the
U.S. the cost of the two-day course is still to be determined.
We are
working closely with the abc to finalize all of the details and will
post updates on this site as they become available.
MISC:
No official
will be “grandfathered in.” You must take the courses
and pass to be placed on the abc’s approved list.
If you
pass, there is no guarantee that your local athletic commission will
utilize you. Although each athletic commission is advised to use only
abc certified officials, the abc cannot force any athletic commission
to adhere to these rules.
Once registration/payment
has been received, an informational cd will be mailed out to all participants.
The cd will contain an introduction to the course along with basic
study guide materials.
**
04/22/08 - Officiating Seminar Update **
Big John just got back from Montreal, Quebec, Canada where he met
with the one of the heads of the ABC (Association of Boxing Commissions).
The ABC is the governing body that all of the State Athletic Commissions
belong to. During this meeting, they discussed his officiating seminar
along with several other topics including John working on a standardized
set of rules for both pro and amateur MMA shows.
This years ABC convention is being held July 1st-6th in Montreal.
John will be hosting an abbreviated version of his seminar for all
of the state athletic commissioners who attend the event. During this
week long convention, John's course will become the only certified
MMA officiating course through the ABC. In addition, it is the ABC's
position that all state commissions have their officials certified
through this course. A data base that all state commissions can access
will be created that will have the names of everyone who has been
certified through John's course.
This is a huge step towards getting qualified officials in our sport.
While we were hoping to host a seminar in the Spring, because of this
new development, we are looking at having our next course this summer.
Please check our site from time to time to get the latest developments
and if you have not signed up for our e-mail list yet, please send
an e-mail to: info@bjmuta.com
Thank
you,
Elaine McCarthy
* Update
- April 8th, 2008 *
Hello to everyone patiently waiting for our next referee seminar.
Some very exciting things are getting ready to take place and within
the next month or so, we should be ready to announce our next seminar.
Here's whats been going on:
John met with the two of the heads of the ABC (Association of Boxing
Commissions) in March (they came out to our gym) to show them an outline
of his course and get their feedback. They were both extremely satisfied
with the product being put out and have given John's course an enthusiastic
thumbs up. Very soon John's seminar will be the only course for MMA
officials that will be sanctioned through the ABC. In addition, the
ABC is working to require all of the athletic commissions worldwide
to have their officials certified through this course. Once we can
finalize everything and get the final stamp of approval, the wait
will be well worth it because only those certified through John will
be recognized by the ABC, which is the regulating body for all of
the athletic commissions world wide.
We are hoping to have everything finalized in the next month or so
and then we will be able to officially set a date. Thank you to all
of you for being so patient with us and I promise to continue keeping
all of you updated as things progress.
Sincerely,
Elaine McCarthy
We know how difficult it is to get in with the local athletic commissions.
Because of the large interest in officiating, Big John has decided
to start putting on seminars to help teach people what it takes to
officiate in MMA.
In December 2007 Big John held a basic referee certification seminar.
Big John's next basic certification seminar will be sometime in April
or May of 2008. An advanced certification course will follow the week
after the basic certification for those people interested in continuing
their education. The exact will not be set until John meets with the
ABC (Association of Boxing Commissions) about a standardized course
that all of the commissions around the world will adhere to for their
officials. The ABC is coming to meet with John on March 3rd about
his course and heading up their certification program. They will be
attending the next scheduled seminar in April/May and that is why
we need to meet and confirm a date with them before a date is set.
The referee courses take place at Big John McCarthy’s Ultimate
Training Academy in Valencia, California. The last referee class held
had people from all over the world attend including Australia, Canada,
Florida and Montana. The basic certification is a three-day course
and is very hands on with only 20 spots available. The cost of the
seminar is $500.00 for the three days (this does not include your
travel arrangements). The testing is very hard and has a passing rate
of approximately 25% of the class. The basic certification is both
classroom and practical training which covers all of the Unified Rules
in addition to all of the positions that you have to know to become
certified. The testing is all written.
If you pass the Basic certification, you can move on to the Advanced
Certification which is an additional three-day course (that will follow
the basic certification) at a cost of $500.00. This course is only
for those who pass the basic certification. For referees, this course
spends all three days teaching in the octagon and ring. You will learn
how to move, position yourself and assess the fighters condition,
fouls being committed and everything else that goes along with being
a MMA referee. For those only interested in judging, you will be observing
the action taking place in the ring and judge based on what you have
learned. This course is all practical application and the final testing
is done by John who will grade your performance as you referee/judge
a mock MMA fight.
Because of John's strict guidelines to pass his certifications in
addition to his affiliation with the ABC and teaching to all of the
top athletic commissions around the world, most of the State Athletic
Commissions recognize these courses. Once the ABC finalizes the details,
this course will more than likely be the standard for MMA officials.
John provides each commission a list of those who passed the advanced
certification in their state. While we can make no guarantees that
you will be licensed in your state after the advanced certification,
it is something that will definitely separate you from the pack and
show that you know what you are looking at and doing.
Everyone who has taken the course has walked away with a much broader
knowledge of what it takes to become a MMA ref. In fact, of those
who did not pass the first time around, many are more than anxious
to come back and take the course again as they can't believe how much
they learned and need to continue to learn.
