Latest version of technical and competition rules

The AIBA Executive Committee adopted changes to the AIBA Technical and Competition Rules at its meeting last month in Xiamen, China. The changes were made to increase the safety and protection of boxers and to pave the way for the introduction of a new Coaches Management System and are effective as of January 30, 2010.
These rule changes are intended to be the last significant alterations for some time.
Below is a summary of the most important modifications to the AIBA Technical and Competition Rules:
RULE 1
The rules now fix the age range for Elite boxers at 19-34 and that for Youth boxers at 17-18. Youth boxers are now permitted to participate in Elite competitions as per the Rules applicable to Elite Boxers.
Weight categories have been harmonised at 10 divisions for Elite and Youth competitions for both men and women. These categories will apply from 1 September 2010:
Elite Men & Youth
46-49kg, 52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 64kg, 69kg, 75kg, 81kg, 91kg and +91kg
Elite Women & Youth
45-48kg, 51kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 64kg, 69kg, 75kg, 81kg and +81kg
As previously announced, three weight divisions have been fixed for Women's Boxing at the 2012 Olympic Games:
48-51kg, 57-60kg, 69-75kg
RULE 2
In a significant move to increase the protection of boxers in general, the protective measures of Rule 2 have been extended to cover any concussion in addition to a knock-out not just during a bout or training but also anywhere else.
"Once an AIBA Boxer turns to professional boxing, this Boxer shall not be allowed to compete in any AIBA competitions at all levels."
The rule allowing boxers who had turned professional since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to return to AIBA and participate in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) has been abolished, since this case did not present itself in practice during the WSB boxer recruitment process.
All WSB boxers shall be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games and Olympic Qualifying events and designated important national Games at all levels.
RULE 5
The major change to this rule is a new provision that the weigh-in must be conducted by officials of the same gender. This is to accommodate the development of women's boxing, particularly in view of its acceptance in the Olympic Games from London 2012. The new rule will apply from the 2010 Women's World Championships in Barbados.
RULE 7
The Official Draw for the Olympic Games, World Championships and AIBA approved events shall take place one day before the competition. The seeding procedure must respect the seeding procedure of the draw ceremony and be in accordance with the World Ranking guidelines.
RULE 8
The following competition formats were approved:
3 rounds of 3 minutes for all AIBA Men's Elite and Youth events
4 rounds of 2 minutes for all AIBA Women's Elite and Youth events
3 rounds of 2 minutes in all AIBA Junior Boys and Girls events
The break between rounds shall be one minute in each case.
COMPETITION OFFICIALS
In the rule governing competition officials, a new provision was adopted that means the Technical Delegate for Continental Championships may not be a national of the country where the event is taking place.
Furthermore, a new position of Deputy Technical Delegate was created for all AIBA events where the number of entered Boxers exceeds 500. The Deputy Technical Delegate will report to the Technical Delegate and can therefore be a national of the country hosting the event. This is to allow officials with experience of local issues in a particular country to act as Deputy Technical Delegate in order to assist the Technical Delegate.
The rules now limit the number of ITOs who share the same nationality to two in the same event. National Federations may not send any ITOs to events which the National Federation is hosting.
All current coaches in National Federations must obtain an AIBA official certification to be allowed to second Boxers in the different AIBA Approved Events. Only 1-star coaches and above are allowed to be a second at 1-star events, 2-star coaches and above are allowed to be a second at 2-star events and only 3-star coaches are allowed to be a second at 3-star events.
Until the new Coaches Management System is in place, a grace period will run until the end of December 2012 to allow a lower star level coach to perform as second in any higher level event where a National Federation does not have sufficient certified coaches at the required level.