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http://www.britishwrestlingcouncil.org
The following plans are to be worked in conjunction with every major company in the UK. At present over 15 top promotions have been met with or contacted by phone and have agreed to begin working to these standards throughout 2010. These include FWA, IPW:UK, WAW, XWA, All Star Wrestling, 1PW, Pro Wrestling 101, RDW, 4FW, FSW, HEW, BCW, 3CW, AWW, NGW, DWA, with multiple other companies being contacted throughout January to come on board. If you are a company that wants to be involved or a professional wrestler that would like to be recognised and insured free of charge by the BWC please contact admin@britishwrestlingcouncil.org As the BWC is a not for profit organisation our aim is to help the industry grow and become professionally regulated rather than simply profiting from it’s current problems. We appreciated the help and support of all those who are working with or supporting us in our endeavours to create an industry that is once again the pride of the world in spite of some extremely troubling issues we have all had to recently face. We believe that by putting the industry first over petty squabbles and inter-promotional rivalries, what we will have in the end is something that wrestlers, promoters and fans alike can finally all be proud of.
The British Wrestling Council announce its plans for 2010
The British Wrestling Council (BWC) was officially launched in August 2009 with the aim of aiding, supporting and advising the British wrestling industry to build a safer, more professional industry that we can all be proud of.
Since August, with the much valued support of various promotions, training schools and respected individuals in the industry, we have made some massive progress including:
* Creating and implementing the worlds only nationally recognised syllabus and grading scheme for pro wrestling with over ten schools already signed up and more in the pipeline
* Sourcing value for money trainee insurance which is available to purchase from our partner organisation, Sports Cover Direct, through our website
* Creating tailored professional wrestling instructors insurance through a partner organisation for approved BWC instructors- we believe this again to be the first of its kind as previously the closest instructors could get was martial arts insurance
We thank everyone involved for their support which has allowed us to make these achievements possible in such a short space of time.
We believe that, although professional wrestling is an activity that entails inherent risk, those risks should always be minimised and controlled to protect the health, safety and well being of all wrestlers and other talent who work so hard to entertain us.
We believe no trainee should have to attend a training school without proper insurance and without an instructor who they can be confident knows how to teach them in a safe, professional manner.
We believe no fan should ever have to attend a professional wrestling event that could potentially put them in harms ways.
We have many ambitious goals for the future which we had planned to roll out over the next few years. However, in light of several recent events in the industry, we are keen to step up our timetable for the health, safety and well being of all involved and to ensure that British wrestling has a recognisable quality standard to strive for.
We are introducing the BWC Standards for Promotions and we hope the industry and fans will work with us to support these standards. We understand that this will be a considerable adjustment for some promotions and we in no way are introducing this voluntary scheme to try and ‘force anyone out’. We will always try to work with promotions and offer whatever assistance we can to ensure they too can achieve the BWC Standards.
We also want to make it clear that, although we want to implement this new scheme as soon as possible, it will not happen overnight nor without the help and support of everyone within the industry. Yet we believe that what we will have once these precautions and standards are put in place is an industry that will finally be ready for mainstream television and national press coverage and create the boom in business for all involved that would come with such media attention. However it is a sad fact that we as an industry are not ready for, or could even sustain, any of that until we upgrade what we currently have to an industry that is properly insured, governed, nurtured and regulated.
BWC Standards for Promotions
For a promotion/show to receive the approval of the British Wrestling Council (BWC) they must meet the following criteria:
- Have a BWC approved agent working on the show to oversee the planning and preparation of matches
- Provide evidence of public liability insurance
- Provide evidence of risk assessment being carried out
- Provide evidence of insurance for wrestlers on show
- Provide signed injury disclaimers for all talent on show
- Provide evidence that a first aider is on site for the duration of the show
- Use BWC Black Grade (Grade 8) qualified wrestlers only
More Information On Standards
The BWC is keen to work WITH the British wrestling industry and help promoters and shows to fulfil these criteria.
An agent can be booked via the BWC for a fixed payment of £100 per show + travel expenses. The agent will also work to ensure that the promotion/show fulfils all other BWC criteria. We understand that there may be some promotions out there who feel that this fee is a cost that their show simply cannot afford. However, we believe that this is an extremely small price to pay for the expertise of an industry veteran who will not only ensure your show runs as safely as possible but will also increase the quality of the matches by the advice and experience they bring. The BWC makes no money from the provision of agents to shows.
Current BWC Approved Agents are:
* Robbie Brookside
* Doug Williams
* Alex Shane
* Jonny Storm
The BWC can provide disclaimers, risk assessment forms and risk assessment training for a one off fee of £195. This includes a BWC representative coming to one of your shows and going through this documentation to explain it and answer any questions, show you how to complete it and also how to undertake a risk assessment. This documentation has been drawn up with the help of the BWC’s Legal Advisor. We feel this is a small sum to pay for the ongoing help and support we think this service will provide you with and is an investment in the future of your organisation. Please also remember that the BWC is a not-for-profit organisation meaning any money we make after operational costs are met goes back into the industry to support BWC approved training schools, students and promotions.
Using the BWC’s disclaimers and risk assessment documentation and training, along with fulfilment of all other criteria, will allow us to approve your show to be covered by our public liability policy. By paying the small sum to use the BWC’s documentation you will undoubtedly save in the long run through this. The only stipulation we make if you would like this service is that you make it clear that your show is being run in association with the BWC. We will help you do this by providing our logo to be used on promotional materials, etc.
We will also be working in conjunction with The Grapple Group to ensure as many proficient wrestlers as possible will be insured and be graded up to BWC Black Grade as soon as possible to make it as easy as possible for you to fulfil the criteria we ask of you. The Grapple Group has agreed to cover the cost of selected wrestlers already working on the UK scene to take a fast-track Black Grading and will be contacting these selected wrestlers in the near future to discuss this with them. The BWC will be holding fast-track grading days for these wrestlers (who have been selected on the basis that they are already proficient and working on the scene) throughout the UK in early 2010. These selected wrestlers will be contacted directly by The Grapple Group in the near future to discuss this offer.
Any talent who are not contacted by The Grapple Group but would like to undertake the fast track grading will be able to do so for a small fee. However, as undertaking the Black Grading itself requires a certain level of proficiency, anyone wishing to undertake it without a Grapple Group invitation will be required to provide a satisfactory reference from a respected trainer or promoter at the time of booking. We advise anyone thinking of doing this to visit the BWC website (www.britishwrestlingcouncil.org) and read the requirements of the Black Grade and consider carefully if they are ready for it.
The BWC will periodically be awarding honorary black and gold wristbands as a recognised mark of being a BWC Professional. We have already begun the process of distributing these to selected, respected talent already working in the UK. Many of these highly proficient wrestlers are already contracted to the Grapple Group who provide their insurance. To enquire about booking these wrestlers - who meet the BWC Standards - please contact the Grapple Group.
In early 2010 (and periodically from this point onwards) the BWC will be holding a two day referees course aimed at referees already working on the UK scene. Not only will the course assess whether those attending are proficient to be classified as a BWC Approved Referee but will also contain first aid training meaning that all BWC approved referees will also be first aiders which should help you satisfy the BWC Standards. As referees are usually first on the scene when an accident happens in the ring we see this as an essential part of referees training.
We have already begun to promote the BWC as a seal of excellence with support from many top people in the industry. In 2010 we will be working with several national media outlets in a huge campaign to make the BWC logo the recognised seal for safety, quality and professionalism in British wrestling. Understandably after recent incidents on the UK scene many of the media outlets who previously covered just any UK wrestling company are far more cautious about promoting events without the correct safety measures put in place. By working with these outlets directly, the BWC’s standards and practices can make the media outlets feel comfortable about the companies that carry this seal.
We hope that even the most cynical of you will be able to see that the aim of all these plans is to create a safer industry without sacrificing on quality- if anything we believe that the quality of the wrestling in the UK will massively improve with these measures. We understand that there will be many questions but we ask that you please bear with us as, as we’re sure you can imagine when coordinating with so many different organisations, it will take us some time to put final announcements into place however we promise to keep you as up to date as possible with our progress.
We know that these are ambitious plans but we believe that, with the continued support of the fans and those in the industry that have already allowed us to accomplish so much in such a short space of time, they are perfectly achievable. If we are able to implement these changes, and put the professional back into professional wrestling, we will not only have an industry we can be proud of but also an industry that is the envy of the world.
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