lpinoy
08-25-2010, 09:54 PM
C/P
CBC News
Canada's largest doctors group wants government to ban mixed martial arts, a sport it calls dangerous because of the risk of potentially lifelong injuries to fighters.
After often heated debate, about 250 delegates attending the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association in Niagara Falls, Ont., voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to campaign for a ban on "mixed martial arts prizefighting matches in Canada."
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes also referred to as ultimate fighting, is a combat sport that employs elements of various fighting techniques, including boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu.
Dr. Anne Doig, outgoing CMA president, said one of physicians' primary responsibilities is to promote good health.
"We are concerned when people engage in activities the sole purpose of which is to pummel, kick, punch, scratch — whatever methods they use — until either somebody is seriously hurt or injured or somebody cries uncle and submits," Doig said at a news briefing.
"This is an activity that leads to serious issues, including damage to people's brains, and we must speak out against that.
"What policy makers decide to do with that information is up to policy makers. But Canada's physicians oppose any activity that would directly lead to the maiming and injury of Canadians."
Mixed martial arts isn't the only combat sport that the CMA wants to get the chop. For almost a decade, the organization has been trying to get boxing prohibited.
Tom Wright, who heads up the Canadian office of Ultimate Fighting Championship, the company that promotes MMA and organizes competitions, has previously stressed that the sport is governed by standards and regulations aimed at protecting participants in the seven provinces and 44 U.S. states where it is allowed.
Ontario, the most recent to embrace the popular sport, will begin sanctioning MMA fight cards next year.
Ontario Consumer Minister John Gerretsen said Wednesday he welcomes the advice of any group, particularly the CMA.
"What's got to be understood is that the safety of the participants is the top priority," Gerretsen said from Kingston, Ont. "We really and truly believe that the best way to strengthen that safety is to regulate the sport, to ensure that promoters and competitors are appropriately licensed and explicit health and safety standards are in place."
The ministry has been monitoring mixed martial arts for some time, he said, and injury rates in regulated competitions are similar to other combat sports.
MMA in Ontario will be governed by the provincial Athletic Commission, which also oversees boxing.
Read more:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/08/25/sp-cma-mma-ban.html#ixzz0xeJfLxj6
CBC News
Canada's largest doctors group wants government to ban mixed martial arts, a sport it calls dangerous because of the risk of potentially lifelong injuries to fighters.
After often heated debate, about 250 delegates attending the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association in Niagara Falls, Ont., voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to campaign for a ban on "mixed martial arts prizefighting matches in Canada."
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes also referred to as ultimate fighting, is a combat sport that employs elements of various fighting techniques, including boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu.
Dr. Anne Doig, outgoing CMA president, said one of physicians' primary responsibilities is to promote good health.
"We are concerned when people engage in activities the sole purpose of which is to pummel, kick, punch, scratch — whatever methods they use — until either somebody is seriously hurt or injured or somebody cries uncle and submits," Doig said at a news briefing.
"This is an activity that leads to serious issues, including damage to people's brains, and we must speak out against that.
"What policy makers decide to do with that information is up to policy makers. But Canada's physicians oppose any activity that would directly lead to the maiming and injury of Canadians."
Mixed martial arts isn't the only combat sport that the CMA wants to get the chop. For almost a decade, the organization has been trying to get boxing prohibited.
Tom Wright, who heads up the Canadian office of Ultimate Fighting Championship, the company that promotes MMA and organizes competitions, has previously stressed that the sport is governed by standards and regulations aimed at protecting participants in the seven provinces and 44 U.S. states where it is allowed.
Ontario, the most recent to embrace the popular sport, will begin sanctioning MMA fight cards next year.
Ontario Consumer Minister John Gerretsen said Wednesday he welcomes the advice of any group, particularly the CMA.
"What's got to be understood is that the safety of the participants is the top priority," Gerretsen said from Kingston, Ont. "We really and truly believe that the best way to strengthen that safety is to regulate the sport, to ensure that promoters and competitors are appropriately licensed and explicit health and safety standards are in place."
The ministry has been monitoring mixed martial arts for some time, he said, and injury rates in regulated competitions are similar to other combat sports.
MMA in Ontario will be governed by the provincial Athletic Commission, which also oversees boxing.
Read more:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/08/25/sp-cma-mma-ban.html#ixzz0xeJfLxj6