Tuesday 4 June 2013

SAFE MMA IRELAND CALLS THE IRISH MMA COMMUNITY TO ACTION

Jun 3rd the recently formed SAFE MMA- Ireland has issued the statement below urging the Irish MMA community to action.
SAFE MMA- Ireland is a subgroup of SAFE MMA, also formed on a voluntary basis by members of the Irish MMA community (listed below.)
The group has negotiated with SAFE MMA so that fighters, gyms and promotions from the Republic of Ireland can now also register to the central database housed at 76 Harley Street, London (UK) and apply by the same guidelines.

Registering Irish promotions and gyms will have a voice in the development of SAFE MMA alongside their British counterparts. The SAFE MMA -Ireland task force has volunteered to provide information and outreach services specific to Ireland and will work to develop a medical network in the country. A few minor equivalency modifications will be made to SAFE MMA UK guidelines. For example, blood results printed on HSE (Irish NHS) paper will have NHS equivalency.

In addition to the services provided across SAFE MMA, Professor Dan Healy has successfully negotiated a price of 150 euro for MRI scans for MMA fighters in Ireland. Meanwhile, the equivalent UK price of £500 is considered too much of a financial burden for fighters at this time, and so in the interests of uniformity MRIs will not currently be required by SAFE MMA-Ireland. However, SAFE MMA-Ireland can gain fighters access to very affordable MRIs.
SAFE MMA Ireland plans to launch fully in September 2013.

SAFE MMA-IRELAND’S STATEMENT TO THE IRISH MMA COMMUNITY

“To the Irish MMA Community,
Irish MMA has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. We have some of the world's top fighters in our midst, North and South of our Island. The general public are learning about us and more parents seem willing to let children give MMA a try. 
       
Promotions are the life blood of Irish MMA. They provide a platform for competition and they are the public face of the sport. Promotions also carry legal responsibilities for fighter safety. There is a view that, in some cases, fighter safety has not kept pace with the levels of professionalism attained in other areas of MMA such as fighter training, coaching techniques, diet and media buzz.
By many objective measures, Ireland is massively behind countries of the developed-world where the sport of MMA is not banned.

As many of you know, the SAFE MMA initiative has been widely adopted and hugely successful in the UK since launching in February. Promotions approved by SAFE MMA get this approval because they have demonstrated verifiable levels of quality and safety. SAFE MMA works with these promotions and their fighters to achieve this. This includes blood testing for infectious diseases (e.g. HIV, hepatitis), an annual full medical examination, pre- and post-fight medical assessments, appropriately qualified cageside medics and paramedics, and easy access confidential advice from SAFE MMA professionals.
It is with great pleasure we can announce that Irish fighters and promotions now have the option of signing up to SAFE MMA-Ireland. We believe that this is WIN-WIN. Win for fighters as they are assured of high standard safety during fights and win for promotions as they get the help they need to maintain safety from SAFE MMA's organisation. 
           
We are very happy to have professional promotions such as BattleZone and CageWarriors are already on board. We encourage other promotions to join and we encourage clubs and fighters to choose SAFEMMA approved events.
SAFE MMA-Ireland is a not for profit project. The cost of membership covers the cost of the organisation...nothing else. None of the professionals/ volunteers are paid fees or expenses and no one makes money from this.
Yours in combat sports,

The SAFEMMA-Ireland task force.
Aisling Daly (Fighter Liaison), Rodney Moore (MMA coach), Tim Murphy (MMA coach), Dave Jones (Senior referee), Joe Clifford (Cutsman), Graham Kenny (Solicitor), Dan Healy (Neurologist)


The SAFE MMA-Ireland Task Force
Ms. Aisling Daly, International Professional MMA fighter (World ranked 7th), Dublin @aisydaly,
Prof. Dan Healy, Consultant Neurologist, Dublin
Mr. Roddy Moore, Head Coach, Next Generation MMA club, Ballymena, Northern Ireland @imma_gym,
Mr. Tim Murphy, Head Coach, BJJ Revolution, Galway @pointblankgym
Mr. Graham Kenny, Lyons Kenny solicitors, Dublin
Mr. Joe Clifford, International Cutman Association, Dublin @irishcutman
Mr. David Jones, Senior Irish MMA Referee, Dublin


For all enquiries to SAFE MMA-Ireland contact aisdalysafemma@gmail.com or 00353877408995
For up to date news on Safe MMA Ireland go to http://safemmauk.wordpress.com/safe-mma-ireland/
For more information about Safe MMA go to http://safemmauk.wordpress.com/or follow @SafeMMAUK on Twitter

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