I am in the process of drafting what I believe would be a very important safety rule for the IKF and would like some input. I have received positive reaction so far, but want to get more opinions.

My proposed rule would read as follows:

"All fighters (amateur and pro), at the time of their physical, shall present the ringside physician with the results of an HIV/AIDS test conducted within the last 365 days, indicating that the fighter is free of the HIV virus. Any fighter unable or unwilling to produce such results shall be disqualified by the doctor and not allowed to fight. For a test result to be valid, it must be possible to identify the fighter concerned (a letter from the relevant health department in this regard, along with the result, would satisfy this requirement when the laboratory does not identify the person by name). Any test approved by the Food and Drug Administration may be used.

CAUTION: Some state athletic commissions have stricter requirements concerning HIV testing. It is the fighter's responsibility to comply with all such requirements if/when such requirements apply."

Many health departments conduct HIV tests for free, so this would not pose an undue burden on promoters or fighters.

Simply put, would you be in favor of such a rule?

Please vote in the poll above.

I think that is a great idea,

HOWEVER, it is, in some studies 100 TIMES easier to contract Hepatitis and MORE people have Hepatitis.

So my question is why not both and why HIV instead of Hepatitis?

Just food for thought. I am not against it, but I would be more worried if my opponent has Hepatitis than HIV.
Maybe have a test for both.

Thanks
Jason

__________________
"I never said I was a Golden God...or did I?" -Russell Hammond ALMOST FAMOUS

"Off the kickboxing topic, all I can say is you need to get right with Jesus"...IRISH GUTS to RANDY POGUE

Fight Geek,

You have a good point. The reason I am restricting the scope of the proposed rule at this time is because I don't know if health dept's do hepatitis testing for free the way they do for HIV.
I dont want to create an undue financial burden on fighters and/or promoters. If I find out that alot of departments offer such testing, I will take that under consideration.

Austin,
Good point on the financial part for fighters. If one can get both done for free, I would be for both. Either way I think it is a good idea.

Jason

__________________
"I never said I was a Golden God...or did I?" -Russell Hammond ALMOST FAMOUS

"Off the kickboxing topic, all I can say is you need to get right with Jesus"...IRISH GUTS to RANDY POGUE

I think this is a great idea. It may, at first, seem like a pain in the a#$ , but once it becomes routine, a lot of people will probably be glad we have this safety rule.

WONDERFUL Proposal. It could be sent in with your registration. It could be scanned at the IKF headquarters. That would keep it on file, with your stats and personal information, without taking up space. I think it shows an awareness for the entire sport.

Austin,

I have a question. Why 365 days? Why not in the previous 6 months? if the tests are free, wouldn't it be safer to have it more recent then a full year prior? I dont know what the stats are, how long does it take to show up if a person contracts the HIV virus? What if a fighter gets it 3-4 months before, yet their last results were from a year ago? Would it even be better to have it done quarterly?

__________________
God makes things possible, not easy!
"If you think Muay Thai comes with fried rice, you're in deep sh*t!"

Moonrider--

I considered that, but it would be too difficult to keep track of all those results. In addition, strict laws concerning the confidentiality of HIV/AIDS test results could pose potential liability for IKF if the information was illegally released, even by accident. The way I have the draft rule written there are no logistic or legal issues.

Pammypanda--

I also considered 6 months. By personal choice, I get tested every 6 months. However, I thought it would be a bit cumbersome. Perhaps the final rule will be set at 6 months. Remember, where state rules apply and are stricter, the fighter must comply with those requirements.

just pushing this thread to the top...thats all.

Another push to the top for this thread. I want to keep it close to the top till the poll closes (The poll will close 90 days after the first post on this thread)