Part VI. The rules of refereeing

Article 33. Refereeing at the obstacle strip

1.The work of the referees team at the obstacle strip:
1 referee near the participants
1 referee at the start and finish
2 referees (1 in each direction) at the obstacle strip (checking that it is properly completed)
2 referees (1 in each direction) at the firing range (checking that safety is observed during shooting and knife-throwing)
2.The obstacle strip is made up of 7-10 stages.  Participants start at the signal from the referee-starter, and each one goes through the strip in own lane passing all the stages and finishes at the ring.
3.If a competitor commits any serious violation of the rules, which obstructs his opponent or threatens his (the opponent’s) health, he may be disqualified from the competition.
4.At the knife-throwing section, participants must use knives, which meet the standard requirements. The organisation, which is running the competition must provide the firearms used for shooting.
5.Participants may have 3 attempts at clearing each obstacle, but if they fail all of these they have lost. Competitors who miss the target when throwing the knife or shooting are punished according to article 10 (p6) of the regulations.

Article 34. Results of the obstacle strip

1.The competitor who finishes first wins the obstacle strip.  He receives 1 point for this.
2.If a participant leaves the strip part way through, or fails to appear at the ring after the strip, then he is considered to have lost the obstacle strip, and the match finishes early, and a clear victory, in the relevant amount of time, is declared for his opponent.
3.If the gap between the first and the second participants on the obstacle strip is more than half of the time the winner needed to cover the distance, the looser is disqualified and the opponent is given the clear victory.

Article 35. Refereeing in the ring

1. The competition in the ring is refereed by a team of referees including: the chief of the ring, a referee, 3 side referees, a timekeeper, a technical secretary, the referee at the score-board and the participants’ referee.
2. The referee runs the fight in the ring.  He is responsible for the health of the fighters and for ensuring that the fight takes place according to the regulations.
Fighters’ actions are assessed by 3 referees - 3 side referees (hereafter referred to as “the 3 referees”).
The timekeeper, technical secretary, the referee at the scoreboard and the participants’ referee oversee the technical arrangement of the competition.
The chief of the ring controls the working of the referee board and resolves any disputes, which arise during the match.
3. The initial position of the referee is facing the referees’ desk.  The initial position of the side referees is behind the ropes of the ring, on both sides of the ring. The other members of the referee board sit behind the referees’ desk.
4. The beginning and the end of the match:
a)before the match all referees take their position
b)at the chief of the ring’s call fighters take the corners in the ring corresponding to the colour of their belts
c)a round starts at the referee’s command “Fight” and stops at the gong’s signal (a sound signal), accompanied by the referee’s command “Stop”
5. The match is interrupted if:
a)the fighters are “out of  the ring”
b)the situation may bring about dangerous injuries
c)fighting in this situation is ineffective
d)there is an injury or one of the fighters has a problem with his sports suit
e)one of the fighters is in knock-down or knock-out
f)one of the fighters receives a repeated reprimand
g)the chief of the ring demands the match to be interrupted
h)one of the fighters asks for the match to be interrupted
i)the referees need to consult with each other about a controversial situation
If any of these situations arises then the referee on his own, taking into account all circumstances, decides on the moment at which the fight is interrupted, and aims to do so without damage to the attacker. After the problem is resolved, the fighting must be resumed in the middle of the ring.
If there is a knock-out or a knock-down then the referee sends the attacker to the neutral corner and begins counting, and the leader of the ring calls a doctor to the ring.
After the count of 8, the referee checks whether a fighter is able to continue the match, assessing his condition by the reactions of his eyes, his ability to stand, and his reaction to glove contact from the referee. According to the result of the checks, the referee gives the fighter the command “fight” or counts to 10 and declares “knock-out”.
If necessary, the doctor can stop the fight “for the inability of a fighter to continue the fight” and immediately provide medical assistance.
6. The limit of the time to grant medical assistance to the fighter is defined in article 6 p. 2’e’.  If a fighter is not restored to fighting ability in this time then he loses the match (as a result of his inability to continue fighting) and a clear victory in the ring fight is conferred on his adversary.
7. The assessment of the fighters’ actions during the match. The 3 side referees assess each of the fighters’ actions during the match, taking into account the condition of the fighters after the attack and all their technical moves.  The referees use the established terms and gestures, and each one does this independently. Violations of the Regulations, except for going outside the limits of the ring, are also noted after the “Stop” command.
If a technical action is made before the end of the round and leads to a knock-down the referee open the score and technical action is evaluated depending on the athlete condition. 
8. If the referees differ in their opinion or there is the possibility of a mistake, which would affect the course or outcome of the match, then the chief of the ring must stop the fight and make a final decision after extra discussion the situation by the team of referees.
9. If at the end of the round no points have been scored by either fighter except warnings, then the chief of the ring, if he has the majority opinion of the 3 referees, states which fighter was most active. (Active by the judges decision is indicated by “AR”.)
This decision of the three referees is final and cannot be challenged by the main judge.
10. When punishing fighters for violations of the rules, the referee:

a.Is entitled to reprimand the fighters without the agreement of the side referees
b.When announcing a reprimand, must say what action the fighter is being punished for
c.Is entitled to reprimand a second, and even to dismiss him, if his behaviour is hindering the normal running of the fight.  In this case the referee may eject the second and give his fighter a warning.
11. The fight should be stopped if:
a. The time of the fight has expired
b. One of the fighters gets a clear victory as a result of one of the following reasons:
The fighter attacked with a painful or suffocating stroke surrenders
There is a knock-out or “technical knock-out”
A painful or suffocating stroke is taken into consideration by the referee even if there was no surrender in matches between adult fighters ranking below 1 and between juniors (according to art 25 p.4’e’)
One of the fighters cannot continue the match
One of the fighters is withdrawn from the match or competition.
12. The timekeeper starts and stops the timekeeper in accordance with the commands and gestures of the referee, timing the match, breaks between rounds, the time used by the fighters to receive medical assistance and to resolve problems in their clothes, and the time taken by painful and suffocating strokes.
13. The match ends early if one of the fighters achieves a “clear victory”.

Article 36.  The results of the round, the fight and the match

1. The match in the ring can be ended by a clear victory, a victory in accordance with the number of points received or a defeat of both fighters.
2. A clear victory is conferred to the fighter in the following cases:
a)he performs technical actions which are considered a clear victory(art.19 item2)
b)a “technical knock-out”, when a fighter finds himself in a knock-down twice during the round or 3 times during the match
c)one of the fighters is unable to continue the match
d)one of the fighters is withdrawn from the fight (or the competition) or is disqualified for breaking the rules or for being technically unprepared
e)one of the fighters fails to appear at the ring upon the call
3. When a victory is conferred for the greatest number of points, it is calculated by looking at which fighter has won the greatest number of rounds.
In this case the victory in the round is conferred to the fighter who:
has the greatest number of points for technical moves
in case of equal number of points the victory in the round is given to the fighter who made the first evaluated technical action
was declared by the referees to be the most active fighter in the round (AR)
Fighters receive 1 point for each round that they win.  The points gained by each fighter for winning rounds made up the total for the ring fight.
4. The fight ends in a draw if the fighters have won an equal number of rounds.
5. The fight ends in the defeat of both fighters if they have both been withdrawn at the same time for breaking rules or sustain injuries not allowing continue the fight. 
6. A victory in a match can be clear or on the basis of points. 
A clear victory is given to the fighter who:
Wins a clear victory in the obstacle strip
Wins a clear victory in the match in the ring
The winner receives 5 points and the loser 0.
7. A victory on the basis of points is given to the fighter who in both events (the obstacle strip and the ring fight) gained the greatest number of points. 

Article 37. Appeals

1. A written appeal can be offered in connection with a severe violation of the Regulations or in an unusual situation.
2. The procedure of making the appeal is as follows:
a)An appeal is made by a representative (a coach or captain) of the team to the chief referee of the competition (in the case of the absence of supervisor).             
b)An appeal about the results of the obstacle strip, fight or match is made no later than in 10 minutes after they have been announced, so the representative must immediately warn the person in charge of the event that he intends to present a written appeal.
c)An appeal about an unusual situation (a violation of the Regulations, the order of weighing or of the draw, composing pairs of the participants, misinformation by officials and so on) is made not later than 10 minutes after the situation becomes known. So that the chief referee (supervisor) has time to take an immediate decision with minimum damage to the course of the competition.
d)The appeal must describe the reason why it is being made and refer to the article of the Regulations, which has been violated.
e)A sum of money established by the Federation for the particular rank of the competition must be included with the appeal.
world championship: US $300
continental championship: US $200
nationwide championship: US $100
international competition (tournament): US $50
regional competition: US$10
3. Considering an appeal:
a)An appeal is considered by the main referee (supervisor) with the involvement of the referees and people who have made the appeal about a violation of the rules.  People of both sides of the argument thus take part in the discussion, but do not have the authority to make a decision.
b)A decision about the appeal is given on the day on which the appeal is made:
In the obstacle strip and the ring fight, it happens before the next stage or round
In team matches, it happens before the next individual match of the team in question
In other circumstances, the decision is taken in the periods of time allowed for correcting mistakes, so as to affect the running and results of the competition as little as possible.
c)If the chief referee (supervisor) deems it necessary, a video of the situation under consideration may be shown to the referees.
d)The chief referee (supervisor) makes a final decision, issues it in a written form and informs the affected parties of it.
e)If the appeal is accepted, the sum of money is returned to the appealing party.
f)In the case of the negative decision on the protest, the monetary deposit remains on the account of the Federation.

Part VII ⇒