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Information on How to Become a Professional Boxing Referee

An applicant for a Referees' Licence must be a mature person with a knowledge of the Rules and Regulations of the British Boxing Board of Control and any person wishing to make application for a Licence in this category should do so in writing to the Secretary of the relevant Area Council of the Board in which he or she resides. A list of all Area Secretaries can be obtained from the British Boxing Board of Control Yearbook 2004 edited by Barry J. Hugman and published by Lennard Queen Anne Press a copy of which may be available in your local library, or from the Board's website. Whether or not it is possible for any application to be considered further will be strictly dependant on the initial qualification of the applicant and the requirement for new referees within that Area. In most of our eight Areas there are currently waiting lists for initial interview. An applicant who passes the initial interview before an Area Council if selected then proceeds to undergo scoring tests from sitting at ringside and various appointed tournaments with his/her scores being compared with that of the official scoring referee. Subject to satisfactory completion of scoring trials the application is then referred to a special Committee of the Board called the Referees' Committee and the applicant will be invited to undergo an in depth interview before this Committee about the practical aspects of refereeing and the Rules and Regulations of the Board in this respect as well as any general and relevant questions. Should the applicant pass that interview the application will be referred back to the Area Council who will then proceed to appoint the applicant to undergo practical tests at boxing tournaments by being appointed to referee specific contests at designated tournaments where the applicant will have all the powers of a licensed referee other than that the official appointed referee seated at ringside will have the power to stop a contest should that be considered desirable and should the contest go to its contracted duration the winner will be indicated by the official scoring referee. Should an applicant undergo these trials satisfactorily he/she will be recommended for a Class B Referee's Licence to officiate contests of up to 8 x 3 minute rounds duration and will then go on a rota to be appointed by the Area Council to tournaments in the Area. The whole process from initial interview before the Area Council to the granting of a licence would normally take around a year although of course many applicants fail at some stage of the process. The advice given is general but it will give an idea of the process.