Finska öppna i MMA

AMATEUR MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FINNISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007 INVITATION COMPETITION


The event will take place over a two-day period: the first day with qualifying bouts and the second day features the semifinals and finals. The amount of competitors is restricted to 16 per weight class. This implies that the number of bouts per competitor is limited to a maximum of 2 per day. There will be no bout to determine the third place in a category. It is not possible to win the championship in the case that there is only one competitor in the category. Two categories may be unified in the case that there is only one competitor in either of the categories and the competitors in the lighter category accept the unification. The competitors are obligated to pass the doctor’s examination and weigh-in on both days. The FMMAF (Finnish Mixed Martial Arts Federation) maintains a national amateur ranking list which is based on contested C- and D-class bouts. Of the enrolled competitors, per weight category, the two highest-ranked Finnish competitors will be situated in the separate ends of the draw sheet. Likewise, foreign competitors representing the same country or the same sports club will be situated in the separate ends of the draw sheet. After these criteria have been implemented, a draw will determine the final draw sheet (bout order) in each category. One representative of each participating country or sports club may follow the drawing.

TIME AND PLACE 06. – 07.10.2007
Lahti Fair and Sports CenterSalpausselänkatu 7, Lahti, Finland

CATEGORIES
The Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Finnish Open Championships will be contested in adult male and juvenile male weight categories defined as below: Strawweight: under 52.0 kg Flyweight: 52.0 – 56.0 kg Bantamweight: 56.0 – 60.0 kg Featherweight: 60.0 – 65.0 kg Lightweight: 65.0 – 70.0 kg Welterweight: 70.0 – 77.0 kg Middleweight: 77.0 – 84.0 kg Light Heavyweight: 84.0 – 93.0 kg Heavyweight: over 93.0 kg


RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE
The adult male categories will be contested under the FMMAF C-class rules. Competitors under the age of 18 are exempted from participating in the adult categories. The juvenile male categories will be contested under the FMMAF D-class rules. A competitor who wants to participate in the juvenile category must become 16-18 years of age within the time span of 1.7.2007-30.6.2008. No female categories will be presented due to the limited number of females competing in the sport. Competitors with a professional status are exempted from the competition. A fighter is classified as a professional after he has contested his first A-class (3×5 min) bout. A maximum of two competitors representing the same sports club are allowed per category. Competitors representing the same sports club will be situated in the separate ends of the draw sheet.

INSURANCE
The event organizer has not insured the competitors against possible injury during the event. Competitors are encouraged to insure themselves against injury in a mixed martial arts competition.

RULES
Adult male categories will be contested under the C-class rules (Appendix 1) of the FMMAF. Juvenile male categories will be contested under the D-class rules (Appendix 1) of the FMMAF. All participants must read the competition rules (Appendix 1) in advance.

REGISTRATION
The last application date for the competition is the 21st of September, 2007 (21.9.2007). A maximum of 16 competitors will be allowed per category. In the event that over 16 competitors apply for a weight category the following criteria will determine those granted the right to participate. 1) Of the 16 places available in each category, 14 will be granted to foreign participants in the order determined by the date when the application has arrived. 2) All remaining places per category will be filled by Finnish competitors in the order determined by the national amateur ranking list maintained by the FMMAF.


REGISTRATION FEE
The registration fee for the event is 10 EUR per competitor. The payment should be made to the Finnish Mixed Martial Arts Federation: IBAN: FI5810193000215005 SWIFT: NDEAFIHH Receiver of the payment: Finnish Mixed Martial Arts Federation c/o Suomen Kamppailuopisto Kotitontuntie 1 02200 ESPOO The payment must be made by the 21st of September (21.9.2007). The payment should include the following information: “registration fee FO 2007”, name of the sports club, and the names of the competitors which the registration fee applies to.

PRIZES
Competitors who achieve 1st, 2nd or 3rd places will be awarded with medals. In addition, tournament champions and vice-champions will receive products sponsored by Twins training equipment, SKIP nutrition and Everlast clothing.

SCHEDULE
Saturday 6.10.2007 08.00 – 09.00 Weigh-in & doctor’s examination 09.00 – 09.30 Drawing 10.00 – 1. round qualifying bouts 13.30 – 2. round qualifying bouts Sunday 7.10.2007 08.00 – 9.00 Weigh-in & Doctor’s Examination 10.00 – Semifinals 15.00 – Finals & Award Ceremony

DOPING AND OTHER BANNED SUBSTANCES
It is forbidden to participate in the Finnish Open Championship under the influence of doping, narcotics, alcohol or other banned substances. The FMMAF has the right to order sanctions against a competitor or an official who participates in the competition under the influence of doping, narcotics, alcohol or other banned substances. The Finnish Mixed Martial Arts Federation and it’s affiliated clubs are obligated to follow the latest rules and regulations set by the Finnish Anti-Doping Agency and hereby also to the rules and regulations determined by the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA. In the Finnish Open Championships, competitors may be tested against banned substances.


COMPETITION EQUIPMENT
The competitors equipment must fulfill the standards set by the competition rules (Appendix 1) of the FMMAF. The event organizer will provide the competitors with appropriate gloves and shin protection approved by the FMMAF. The competitors can use their own shin protection, if they are similar to the ones provided by the organizer and approved by the jury of the competition. Competitors cannot use their own gloves, even if they are identical to the ones provided by organizer.

REGISTRATION
The deadline for registration is the 21st of September (21.9.2007). Applications stating the competitor’s name, club, birthdate and category should be sent by email to the address tuomas.murdoch@vapaaottelu.fi. The number of coaches per club is restricted in the following manner: �� 1-4 competitors → maximum of 2 coaches per club �� 5 competitors or more → maximum of 4 coaches per club

ACCOMODATION
All teams are responsible themselves for arranging their accommodation during the championships. It is strongly recommended to book the accommodation well in advance, as soon as you know about your participation. For accommodation, we recommend the following hotels within walking distance of the venue. When reserving accommodation, please refer to “FITNESS EXPO 2007”.

HOTEL CUMULUS LAHTI
Vapaudenkatu 24, Lahti
Phone: +358 3 813711, Fax +358 3 7818922
E-mail: lahti.cumulus@restel.fi
Web: http://www.cumulus.fi/view.cfm?page=hotel.14

NEXT HOTEL SALPAUS Vesijärvenkatu 1, Lahti Phone: +358 3 339 3911, Fax +358 3 339 39 399 E-mail: salpaus@nexthotels.fi Web: http://www.nexthotels.fi/en/hotels/salpaus/

SOKOS HOTEL LAHDEN SEURAHUONE Aleksanterinkatu 14, Lahti Phone: +358 20 1234 655, Fax +358 3 7523 164 E-mail: sales.lahti@sokoshotels.fi Web: www.sokoshotels.fi


HOTEL MUSTA KISSA
Rautatienkatu 21, Lahti Phone: +358 3 544 9000 E-mail: info@mustakissa.com Web: http://www.mustakissa.com/english_index.php

ALEX PARK HOTEL
Aleksanterinkatu 6, Lahti Phone: +358 3 52 511, Fax +358 3 5251 200 E-mail:booking@alexpark.fi Web: http://www.alexpark.fi/eng/index.htm KAUPPAHOTELLI GRAND Vapaudenkatu 23, 15140 LAHTI Phone: +358 3 544 00, Fax +358 3 5440 702 E-mail: myynti@grandhotellahti.com Web: www.grandhotellahti.com HOTEL LAHTI Hämeenkatu 4, 15110 Lahti Phone: +358 3 817 21, Fax +358 3 817 2708 E-mail: info@hotellahti.fi Web: http://www.hotellahti.fi/index.php?lang=eng

TRANSPORTATION
All teams are responsible themselves for arranging their transportation to Helsinki. It is strongly recommended to book the transportation to Finland well in advance, as soon as you know about your participation. Please inform us about your travel schedule to Helsinki, so we can organize the transportation of your team from Helsinki to your hotel in Lahti. Silja Line http://www.silja.com/ Viking Line Finland: www.vikingline.fi Sweden: www.vikingline.se Germany: www.vikingline.de Denmark: www.vikingline.dk Tallink www.tallink.com/


USEFUL LINKS
Fitness Expo 2007http://www.fitnessexpo.fi/inenglish_07.jsp Lahti City http://www.lahti.fi/www/cms.nsf/pages/indexeng Finnish Mixed Martial Arts Federation http://www.vapaaottelu.fi FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Tuomas Murdoch, FMMAF vice chairman +358 40 846 7185 tuomas.murdoch@vapaaottelu.fiwww.vapaaottelu.fi