Pictured: John Kavanagh – IMMAA President IMMAF’s affiliate in the Republic of Ireland, the Irish Amateur Pankration Association (IAPA), last night issued the following statement regarding its restructure as MMA works towards recognition and regulation in the region: To date the Irish Amateur Pankration Association (IAPA) has acted as an associated body of the Irish Amateur Wrestling Association (IAWA) which is the National Governing Body for grappling arts in Ireland. The IAWA and its committee have provided invaluable support for the IAPA to date but now is time for us to start the recognition process with Sport Ireland for MMA under its own National Governing Body. The IAPA would like to take a moment to thank the IAWA, in particular Michael McAuley and Daniel and Keith Kennedy. Without their advice and guidance, we would not be in the position we are today. The IAWA have been a tremendous source of support, but we feel that it is now time to establish our own National Governing Body to enable the recognition and regulation of our sport in its own right. This National Governing Body will be called the Irish Mixed Martial Arts Association (IMMAA). It will be a member of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) and agrees to follow IMMAF’s rules and guidelines. The following working committee has been set up to establish the IMMAA:
- John Kavanagh – President
- Andy Ryan – Vice President
- Paul Cowzer – Chairman
- Dean Wade – Secretary
- Owen Roddy – Child Protection Officer
- Clive Staunton – Anti Doping Officer
- Barry Oglesby – Sport Ireland Liaison Officer
- Ray Butcher – Treasurer
- Liam-Og Griffin – Assistant Treasurer
- David Jones – Progression Development Officer
- Referees and judges to be appointed by the IMMAA
- Pre -event medical checks to be controlled by IMMAA
- Event medicals to be cleared by http://codeblue.ie/
- Full IMMAF rules and regulations to be followed as listed here http://www.immaf.org/about/
competition-rules/ - All athletes to be registered to the IMMAA via the MyNextMatch registration system at https://www.mynextmatch.com/
