SECTION 61.47. Responsibilities of Contestants

(a) Medical Examinations. Each contestant applying for a license, or license renewal, shall submit on a department-approved form signed by an examining physician and an examining ophthalmologist or optometrist:

(1) Proof of having passed a comprehensive medical examination within the previous six months; and

(2) Proof of having passed an ophthalmologic medical examination within the previous six months.

(3) The comprehensive medical examination must also include proof that within the last six months, the applicant has been tested for and is free of the Hepatitis C virus and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and that the applicant is not acutely or chronically infected with the Hepatitis B virus by testing the Hepatitis B surface antigen for a non-reactive result, or by other medically acceptable testing procedure that establishes the absence of Hepatitis B infectivity.

(4) Examining physicians, optometrists, and ophthalmologists must be licensed by a state, district or territory of the United States of America.

(b) A contestant applicant must submit to the department all information required by the department's application.

(c) A contestant may not perform under any name that does not appear in departmental records.

(d) Contestants shall report to the weigh in at the scheduled time.

(e) Contestants shall in good faith perform to the best of their abilities.

(f) A contestant who commits a foul under this chapter is subject to administrative sanctions and or penalties in addition to losing points during a contest.

(g) Arguing with an official or refusing to obey the orders of an official is prohibited.

(h) Contestants shall compete in proper ring attire. The trunks' waistband shall not extend above the waistline and the hem may not extend more than two inches below the knee. Ring attire may not have sequins, buttons, tassels or any other decorative items that may become detached during a bout. A fitted mouthpiece shall be worn while competing. Shoes shall be of soft material and shall not be fitted with spikes, cleats, or hard heels. Contestants may not participate in any bout while wearing jewelry, including but not limited to, watches, rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, any type of stud used to penetrate body piercings.

(i) All contestants shall be in the dressing room at least 45 minutes before the event is scheduled to begin. The contestants shall be ready to enter the ring immediately after the preceding bout is finished.

(j) After receiving final instructions from the referee, contestants may touch gloves or shake hands and then shall retire to their corners.

(k) After the referee or judge's decision has been announced, both contestants and their seconds shall leave the ring when requested to do so by the referee.

(l) Every contestant shall undergo a pre-fight physical examination. If a contestant's physical exam shows him unfit for competition, the contestant shall not participate in the contest. The manager, chief second, or contestant shall make an immediate report of the facts to the promoter and the department.

(m) If a contestant becomes ill or injured and cannot take part in a bout for which he is under contract, he, his chief second, or his manager shall immediately report the facts to the promoter and the department. The contestant must submit to the department medical proof of the injury or illness.

(n) A positive Hepatitis C, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test, or a positive Hepatitis B surface antigen test or other indication of Hepatitis B infectivity will result in disqualification.

(o) The administration or use of any drugs, alcohol, stimulants, or injections in any part of the body, either before or during a bout to or by a contestant is prohibited unless a drug is prescribed, administered or authorized by a licensed physician and the executive director authorizes the contestant to use the drug. A contestant taking prescribed or over the counter medication must inform the executive director of such usage at least 24 hours prior to the bout.

(p) A person who applies for or holds a license as a contestant shall provide a urine specimen or blood sample for drug testing either before or after the bout, if directed by the executive director or his designee. The applicant or licensee is responsible for paying the costs of the drug screen. A positive test, refusal to provide a sample, failure to comply with the testing process, or attempting to substitute, dilute, mask or adulterate a sample during collection shall be considered a violation of subsection (o) and will result in an automatic 90 day medical suspension and may also result in administrative penalties and sanctions.

(q) A positive test (which has been confirmed by a laboratory authorized by the executive director or his designee) for any of the following substances shall be conclusive evidence of a violation of subsection (o) and will result in an automatic 90 day medical suspension and may also result in administrative sanctions or monetary penalties or both:

(1) Stimulants;

(2) Narcotics;

(3) Phencyclidines;

(4) Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines;

(5) Cannabinoids (marijuana);

(6) Anabolic agents (exogenous and endogenous);

(7) Peptide hormones;

(8) Masking agents;

(9) Diuretics;

(10) Glucocorticosteroids;

(11) Beta-2 agonists (including both optical isomers where relevant) are prohibited except salbutamol (maximum 1600 micrograms over 24 hours), formoterol (maximum 36 micrograms over 24 hours) and salmeterol when taken by inhalation in accordance with the manufacturers' recommended therapeutic regimen;

(12) Hormones and Metabolic Modulators;

(13) Alcohol; or

(14) Any pharmacological substance not addressed in subsection (q) that is not currently approved by any governmental regulatory health authority for human therapeutic use such as drugs under pre-clinical or clinical development or discontinued; or designer drugs; or substances approved only for veterinary use.

(r) Failure to disclose the use of a substance described in subsection (q) constitutes a violation of subsection (o).

(s) As a condition of licensure, contestants waive right of confidentiality of medical records relating to treatment or diagnosis of any condition that relates to the contestant's ability to participate in a bout. All medical records submitted to the department, without the contestant's consent to release, are confidential and shall be used only by the executive director or his representative for the purpose of ascertaining the contestant's ability to be licensed, or participate in a bout.

(t) After the bout, contestants shall undergo a post-contest examination by a ringside physician.

(u) Based upon the post-contest examination, contestants shall automatically receive rest periods, medical suspensions, or medical disqualifications for the following:

(1) Medical condition--medical suspension will be based upon the physician's recommendation;

(2) Technical knockout--30 day minimum medical suspension;

(3) Knockout:

(A) First knockout--60 day minimum medical suspension;

(B) Two knockouts within twelve months--120 days minimum medical suspension;

(C) Three knockouts within twelve months or three consecutive knockouts--medical disqualification from further competition; and

(4) Mandatory rest--all contestants shall receive a mandatory rest period calculated as three days of rest for each round fought with no less than a seven day mandatory minimum rest period.

(v) A contestant who tests positive for a drug listed under subsection (q) shall automatically receive a 90 day medical suspension.

(w) Medical disqualification of a contestant is for his own safety and may be made at the recommendation of the examining physician or the department. A contestant who disagrees with a medical disqualification, medical suspension or rest period set at the discretion of a ringside physician, or a disqualification or suspension set by the department, may request a hearing to show proof of fitness. The hearing shall be provided at the earliest opportunity after the department receives a written request from the contestant or his manager.

(x) The following are gender specific provisions:

(1) Male contestants must wear a protection cup, which shall be firmly adjusted before entering the ring.

(2) Female contestants:

(A) Must wear garments that cover their breasts;

(B) Shall submit to a pregnancy test at weigh-in;

(C) Will be disqualified by a positive pregnancy test; and

(D) May wear breast protection plates.

(y) Contestants must attend the referee's rules meeting conducted prior to the first bout of an event.

(z) A contestant is responsible for the conduct of his or her seconds. Violation of these rules by a second may subject the contestant to disqualification, forfeiture, administrative penalty, and/or sanction.

Source Note: The provisions of this §61.47 adopted to be effective December 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 10445; amended to be effective February 1, 2005, 30 TexReg 378; amended to be effective February 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 481; amended to be effective December 1, 2007, 32 TexReg 8470; amended to be effective October 15, 2010, 35 TexReg 9081; amended to be effective March 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 1141; amended to be effective June 17, 2013, 38 TexReg 3781; amended to be effective March 1, 2022, 47 TexReg 910