International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) will hold its first International Amateur MMA Referees Certification course for experienced officials, in the beautiful city of Prague in the Czech Republic. The two-day course will be conducted by renowned UFC referee and IMMAF Technical Committee member, Marc Goddard , who for years has developed a series of his own seminars, educating MMA fans and insiders alike on the officiating of Mixed Martial Arts competition. Participants will gain valuable theoretical and practical training, and those who pass the course will earn an IMMAF referees license that permits them to officiate at future IMMAF sanctioned MMA events around the globe. This will be the first of a number of courses launched under the new Progression Pathways Initiative that IMMAF aims to roll out during the course of 2015 for technical officials. The international level courses sit at the top of a framework which sees IMMAF recognized national courses also form part of the educational progression for officials. Highly impressed by the work of the Czech Republic’s Mixed Martial Arts Association (MMAA), IMMAF CEO Densign White stated: “The biggest demand from members is for education. I pledged when I became CEO that IMMAF would be developing a calendar of educational events, and this now launches with the IMMAF International Referees Certification course that enables successful candidates to referee on future IMMAF international events. The host federation, Czech MMA Federation, is leading the way in MMA higher education, with university degree courses and advanced academic research projects established at the Charles University in Prague.” Marc Goddard stated: “It goes without saying that I am passionate about the training of officials. It’s the very first of course of its kind, dedicated specifically to international referees. It’s vital, we’re trying to unify this sport and such great steps have been taken in the past few years to make sure we do that.” Eligibility requirements below: Requirements to Attend IMMAF International Amateur MMA Officials Certification Courses
- National Level Federation course/ license (in any country) or IMMAF officials certificate
- 2 years officiating experience
- Recommendation letter from national federation
- National federation events
- Events sanctioned by National federations (where applicable)
- IMMAF Amateur events hosted by the officials’ home federation (with approval of their own national federation + IMMAF)
- IMMAF Amateur events hosted by the country where national license was obtained (with approval of their own national federation, the host federation + IMMAF)
- Eligible to officiate at IMMAF international Amateur MMA events all over the world, with recommendation from national federation + IMMAF approval
- If there are no national level officials courses in operation in your country, a national level certificate can be obtained through any national federation course/ licensing process that is approved by IMMAF
- Over the coming months, IMMAF will initiate a review of existing national federation courses and provide a list of registered IMMAF accredited national courses
- IMMAF will also work to bring national level officials courses to countries that do not provide these internally and do not have a nearby regional course available, in the near future
