TITLE 41
Sports, Racing, and Athletics
CHAPTER 41-5
Boxing and Wrestling
SECTION 41-5-11
§ 41-5-11 Physician and first aid
instructor or licensed practical nurse in attendance Examination of
participants before match.
(a) At any boxing or sparring match or exhibition there shall be in attendance,
at ringside, a duly licensed physician, whose duty it shall be to observe the
physical condition of the boxers and to advise the referee or judges with
regard thereto, and a duly licensed first aid instructor, or licensed practical
nurse, whose duty it shall be to assist the physician and to render such aid to
boxers as circumstances may require. Any competent physician who has had not
less than three (3) years' experience as a medical practitioner may be
licensed. Any person holding a valid certification as a first aid instructor
issued by any state chapter of the American Red Cross association and who is
competent as such may be licensed.
(b) The fee for the physician in attendance and the first aid
instructor in attendance, shall be fixed by the division of racing and
athletics, and shall be paid by the licensee conducting the match or
exhibition. The fees shall be tendered to the division at the time the license
for the match or exhibition is issued under § 41-5-1, to be held by the
division in escrow until the services are rendered.
(c) No boxer shall be permitted to box unless, not more than
three (3) hours before, a physician, licensed under this chapter, shall
certify, in writing, that the boxer is physically fit to engage in the proposed
contest. The certification shall be based in part on an examination of the
boxer by a duly licensed physician in the office of the division on the morning
of the match or exhibition or at least six (6) hours before the boxer is
scheduled to enter the ring, whichever is earlier. The physician's fee, as
fixed by the division, shall be paid by the licensee conducting the match or
exhibition prior to the issuance of the certification by the physician. In the
event that a boxer cannot be certified as physically fit to engage in the
proposed contest, then such fact shall be made known to the public prior to the
acceptance of an admission fee or the tender of an admission ticket for the
match or exhibition. Any person who pays an admission fee prior to the
disclosure that the boxer is not certified as physically fit shall, at his or
her election, be entitled to an immediate refund of the admission fee. The
examinations required by this section shall include an examination of the
boxer's vision and eye condition.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1926, ch. 772, § 8; G.L. 1938, ch. 16, § 9; impl. am. P.L.
1946, ch. 1746, § 3; G.L. 1956, § 41-5-11; P.L. 1984, ch. 399, §
1; P.L. 1987, ch. 94, § 1; P.L. 2006, ch. 216, § 37.)
