AMERICAN MUAY THAI  JUDGE AND REFEREE ASSOCIATION

The Official American Muay Thai Judge & Referee Association

A.M.T.J.R.A.

"American Muay Thai Judge & Referee Association"

of The United States Of America:  founded 1991- 2006

BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT

   The AMTJRA was formed in 1991, under the leadership of Khun Clint Heyliger,  Kruu Suuan Kevin Jakub and Arjarn Tony Moore. It became the Official representatives of the USMTA as the 'Sister branch' which was certified to officiate at all USMTA sanctioned events by the USMTA National Committee. It became officially recognized by Khun Bunyeun Savanandhava, Vice - President of the IFMA, (International Federation of Muay Associations) and the AMTAT, (Amateur Muay Thai Association of Thailand), and by Khun Khachorn Prowsree, General Secretary of the IMTA, (International Muay Thai Association of Thailand). This move lifted the burden of the shoulders of the USMTA and allowed for qualified Judging and Refereeing for the sport of Muay Thai in the USA.

   The AMTJRA became the first established organization for Officials of Muay Thai outside of Thailand and was given credit by the BTBC (British Thai Boxing Council) of England and Europe. The BTBC quickly followed suit setting up their own version of Judge and Referee organization 'BAMTO', (British Association of Muay Thai Officials), following a similar format of the AMTJRA which was officially recognized by Thailand.

   The AMTJRA was accepted as a member of the IMTA (International Muay Thai Association) of Bangkok, Thailand in 1993 and became a member of the ABC, (Association of Boxing Commissioners) of the United States in 1994, and became a member of the AMTAT, (Amateur Muay Thai Association of Thailand), the IFMA, (International Federation of Muay Association) and the WMTC, (World Muay Thai Council) of Bangkok, Thailand in 1995. The joint union between the AMTJRA and the USMTA has become Internationally recognized as the officiating and governing body for American Muay Thai throughout the World.

Countries/Nations recognizing the Officials of the American Muay Thai Judge Referee Association:

Australia, Austria, Aruba, Abidjan, Brazil, Belgium, Belarus, Bangladesh, Canada, Czech Curacao, Dominican Republic, Denmark, Dubai, Erzakastan, France, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Moldavia, Ireland, Italy, Israel, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Morocco, Mexico, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nevis, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Republic of China, Russia, Romania, Sakha, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam.

 

Code of Conduct For the Officials of the Association

   It is the responsibility of all AMTJRA Officials to act in a manner according to the Rules and Regulation incorporated in the Bi-laws and Articles of the Association. All Officers should act in a way that will not offend their fellow Officers, the competitors and the spectators. An Officer should always have with him his AMTJRA Guideline booklet which will explain much of the code in detail, but good manners and etiquette need no guidance.

   Officers and officials are always on view to the public and the media in one capacity or another, therefore dress, and a clean appearance are a must. If an Officer is asked for his comments on a particular competitor, by the media they should be courteous and decline to comment until they have received a standard debriefing from the Senior Official at the event, and never during any part of the event.

   As an Officer of the AMTJRA, they have the right to pursue any form of mis-representation of the either the USMTA or the AMTJRA in what ever capacity it may have been portrayed in, without the Official release of either Associations. This is done by 'first' reporting the incidence to the National Head Office of the Associations. No person, business or promoters are allowed to portray the emblems of the Associations of which they are a member of, unless they have been notified via the Press Office or the National Head Office. The Association is a 'closed door organization' credited only by a valid and registered membership Identification only.

                      Safety Precautions and Regulations

   The USMTA & AMTJRA are obliged to uphold the 'Fire & Safety' laws of the City or the State. The safety of all the competitors regardless of affiliation, and audience are paramount. If any event is deemed unsafe, it may be necessary to delay the event until safety standards are abided by. Once a promoter has been notified of any serious safety violations by the USMTA or AMTJRA, the associations or it's acting Officials will not be held responsible for any injuries or accidents to audience or competitors. It will be the sole responsibility of the promoter.

WHAT IS AN  AMTJRA OFFICIAL?

The term 'Senior Official' is designated to all senior officers of the AMTJRA the officiating branch of the USMTA Inc. (United States Muay Thai Association), and to senior members of the USMTA, which includes all State Directors, and State Representatives. The term 'Official' is also given to persons registered with the offices of either the USMTA or the AMTJRA. The official will be acting only in conjunction with duties pertaining to officiating the events that are sanctioned under the USMTA's standard competition regulations.

LISTING OF OFFICIALS  IN ORDER OF SENIORITY

(A) National Director

(B) Assistant Director

(C) Regional Directors.

(D) Regional Representatives

(E) State Directors

(F) State Representatives

(G) Records and Ratings Officer

(H) Senior Official

(I) First Official

(J) Second Official

(K) Referees

(L) Judges

(M) Time Keepers

(N) Bell persons.

   It must be understood that all Officials are an important part of the AMTJRA & USMTA engine, as each part relies on the other for the 'safe' and 'successful' outcome of any event. No one is above the bi-laws and regulations of the associations. It is a violation of the rules and regulations of the USMTA to interfere with the duties of the Officials, that could constitute a serious breach of contract between the fighters, the Association the promoter, and the sanctioning of the event.

As an example of how and why each official at an USMTA & AMTJRA event work in union:

   (1) No round in a bout can start without the Referee. (2) No round in a bout can start or end without the Timekeeper. (3) No round in a bout can be seen to begin or end without the Bellman. (4) No Judge can score the round without the Time keeper, the Bellman or Referee. (5) No fight can begin without the correct two fighters in the ring.

   In conjunction with all of the above:

   (6) No event can begin without a promoter. (7) No fighter can be officially recognized as having competed in an event without the Official Record Keeper having the fighters information from the event. (8) No fighter can be officially registered on the National Muay Thai fighters Database, unless the Official Record Keeper for the event delivers the final and completed fight papers to the U. S. National Record and Ratings Officer.

   This simple format is what makes an event a safe and problem free, from promoter to fighter. The end results are that the promoter has a successful event, the fighters get the recognition they deserve and the U. S. A. gets the official 'champions' it needs.

   Each fighter has attained a verified record of his fights, each promoter has official verification of his event, and all AMTJRA officials have clarification of the bouts they have completed, and the audience have seen and been a part of an official U. S. sanctioned Muay Thai event

   An appearance of an AMTJRA / USMTA Official signifies that the event will be properly recorded and documented from the very start. An Official at any USMTA sanctioned event, be it from the Service Division, the U. S. National Elimination series, the U. S. National Amateur and Professional Championship Series or the United States International Championship Series, will show that the final scores of all the fighters, regardless of their affiliations, are properly documented. This small, but very important area is often, if not always neglected by the fighters, instructors and promoters.

   The duties of the First and Second Officials include, the collection and documentation of the judges score cards and the officials paperwork. (Again, another area that is often neglected by promoters.) Listed below are a short briefing of the duties pertaining to First and Second Officials;

   (1.) There should always be two officials at any USMTA / AMTJRA event. Each official will assist the other with the duties, as one cannot do all the work by him or her self. (2.) Only the officials are allowed to enter the area surrounding the ring that is designated for the Senior Official, Judges and Referee, the Bellman, the Time keeper, the Announcer and Ring Doctor. (2a) The first function is to make sure that there is no interference from the audience, the promoter, the fighters or their seconds. The judges or referee should not be distracted from performing their duties as required by them.

   Their second function is to aid the Senior Official, Judges, Referee, Time keeper, and Bellman, if they ask for assistance. No other persons are allowed to assist the Judges or Referee or other officials seated around the ring, once the bout begins. This will include the promoter.

   (3.) Their third function is to aid the Senior Official at the event in the performance of his duties, whenever necessary. This will include the collection of all the judges score cards after each fight is completed. He will log all results of each judges score, the fighters name, and corner. (As fights will often change even on the night of the event, usually due to unforeseen circumstances, i.e. traffic delays, bad weather, or illness.) They will also keep the exact time, from start to finish, of each event that the promoter has arranged. The Official and the Time keeper will often work together, but the Time keeper's main duty is to keep time of each round within the bout.

   (4.) The Official will keep a head count of the audience, be it by ticket or an approximate visual count. This information is of no personal value to the Association, but may assist the promoter. This will allow him to see if it will be necessary to arrange for a bigger venue for his next event.

REQUIRED DRESS CODE FOR ALL OFFICIALS:

The official dress for Officials, Judges and Referees are;

   Judges: White Golf style shirt or white dress shirt, Official Golf shirt with the AMTJRA logo are purchased through the Association. Black or Navy Blue trousers, and Navy Blue Jacket. (Jacket not required in summer, but Official Golf shirt with Association logo is essential. )

   Referees: The Official Association Navy Blue short sleeve Golf shirt with the AMTJRA logo. Black or Navy Blue Trousers, Black soft soled shoes. (No belts, watches, rings or neck chains are to be worn in the ring; no white shirts, ties, bow ties, are permitted in USMTA sanctioned Muay Thai bouts).

   Officials: Time keepers, Bell person, and Scorekeeper: are required to wear the Official Golf style shirt or Navy Blue jacket with the Association logo. No jeans, denim or other brightly colored clothing of any sort to be worn while on active duty. All Officers and Officials must present a smart and recognizable appearance as representatives of the Association by both the spectators and the competitors etc. At many events representatives of the State Sports, Boxing, or Athletic Commissions may appear. it is for the benefit of the sport, the Associations and your own integrity as an Official to abide by the official dress code of the Associations at all times during any USMTA sanctioned bout, under the Bi-laws of either Association.

THE EQUIPMENT OF THE OFFICIAL

   The officials everyday equipment should consist of a variety of things, whenever he or she is to appear at an event. These will include normal day to day items as ball point pens, pencils with eraser, and liquid paper (correction fluid). Note pads, a set of the judge score cards, two (2) training stop watches, and the official log book. If possible, an official, should bring with him a personal tape recorder to make notes or memos, plus extra batteries and cassette tapes.

    Standard issued two way radios with earphone are also part of the officials equipment. An official should always inform the promoter that they will have the two way communication radios and that they will be used on a particular frequency, so as not to interfere with any of the promoters staff, who may also be using such communications. (This is because both officials may not always be seated together, and they must be in contact with each other at all times.)