MEDICAL CARDS INTRODUCED

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27752, 1 September 1955, Page 6

MEDICAL CARDS INTRODUCED

BOXING

RECORD OF INJURIES TO BE KEPT

ASSOCIATION TIGHTENS CONTROL

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON. August 31. From January 1 next, no amateur boxer in New Zealand will be able to take part in a contest without first producing a special medical record card to be made available by the New Zealand Boxing Association.

Its provision marks one of the biggest steps forward in tightening control of the amateur sport for many years. , The new system was authorised at the annual conference in Wellington last year and its administration will be further discussed at this year’s conference at Dunedin this month. .

The medical card system for amateurs was introduced in the London area last year and has proved so successful that its extension to the whole of the British Isles is expected. In its list of instructions for the guidance of medical officers attending contests the card—it is really an eight-page booklet—says that the medical officer must check the card at the time the contestant appears for examination, and he should refuse a competitor permission to enter the ring should the card not be produced.

Rest Periods Recommended In the event of a knock-out, or stoppage of a contest because of injury, they should be recorded, together with recommendations as to periods of rest from boxing—if any. In the event of a knockout from which the competitor recovers rapidly, a period of rest for two months should be recommended. Should a severe degree of concussion occur, the question of permanent suspension from boxing should be considered. In the case of cuts about the eyes or cheeks the competitor should be debarred for a month—two months if the cuts appear to be adherent.

Fracture of the nasal bone should be followed by a suspension of three months. If the jaw is fractured the suspension should be for all time. For other fractures the degree of suspension should oe assessed on its location and nature. The card must carry the signature of the boxer, it must be countersigned by the secretary of his association, it musi. contain also the signature of the parent or guardian (if the boxer is under 21), and the card must contain a declaration filled in by a medical officer to the effect that the first examination shows that the person concerned is medically fit for boxing.

Two members of the council of the New Zealand Boxing Association (Dr. D. G._ Wallace and Dr. J. Bradbury) were responsible for drawing up the card. In professional boxing in New Zealand contestants must undergo a medical examination before receiving a licence, and medical officers haVe the right to impose periods of suspension, which are rigidly adhered to by the association in issuing licences for contests.