(1) The referee's primary responsibility shall be to maintain the safety and welfare of the boxers at all times.

(2) Before starting a contest, the referee shall determine the name of the chief seconds for each boxer. The chief second shall be responsible for the conduct of the boxer's other seconds during the contest.

(3) The referee shall call boxers and their chief seconds into the ring at the beginning of each contest for instructions.

(4) The referee shall not allow any person other than the boxers and the event physician to enter the ring during a round.

(5) The referee shall inspect the boxers' bodies and gloves to make sure no substances have been applied to the detriment of an opponent.

(6) Referees who are event officials shall pass a physical examination by the event physician within twenty-four hours prior to an event for the purpose of determining their physical ability to referee the contest. If such examination indicates the referee is physically unable to referee the contest, such inability shall be noted on the prefight physical form and immediately be reported to the inspector or department representative.

(7) The referee shall have the authority to stop a contest any time he/she thinks it is too one-sided, or if either boxer is in such condition that to continue might subject them to serious injury.

(8) The referee shall not make a disqualification decision based on one unintentional, low-blow foul. However, if two previous warnings for such fouls have resulted in point deductions, the third foul may be grounds for disqualification.

(9) The referee has authority to decide any matters that arise during a contest and are not covered by these rules.

(10) If a boxer receives an injury that the referee thinks shall incapacitate the boxer, the referee shall ask the event physician to examine the boxer. The event physician shall provide the referee with an opinion as to the seriousness of the injury and either the event physician or the referee shall stop the contest if the injury is serious. When a referee calls the event physician into the ring, the referee shall direct the timekeeper to cease keeping time while the event physician examines the boxer.

(11) The referee may penalize a boxer who fouls an opponent during a contest, by charging such boxer with the loss of points. The referee shall immediately notify the judges of the number of points to be deducted.

(12) The referee shall stop the contest if the boxer's chief second determines that a contest should be stopped, and immediately signals the referee by stepping onto the ring apron.

(13) When a boxer resumes boxing after having been knocked down or fallen or slipped to the floor, the referee shall wipe all foreign material from the boxer's gloves.

(14) The referee shall give a boxer injured by a low-blow foul up to five minutes to recover. Should the boxer be unable to continue at the end of the recovery period, the referee shall declare that the boxer has signaled his/her desire to stop boxing as described in WAC 36-12-130 (1)(b)(iv).

(15) Prior to an event, each referee shall disclose to the department all considerations, including reimbursement for expenses that will be received from any source for participation in the event. The disclosure shall be made on a form supplied by the department.

(16) A decision rendered at the termination of any contest may be changed by the department if the department determines that one of the following occurred:

(a) There was collusion affecting the result of any contest;

(b) The compilation of the scorecard of the judges shows an error which would mean that the decision was given to the wrong contestant; or

PDFWAC 36-12-110

Referee's responsibilities/authority.