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The Maryland State Athletic Commission started the year 2021 on an encouraging note by sanctioning and regulating during the pandemic its fourth professional wrestling event held without spectators in attendance on January 19 – 20, 2021. This wrestling event, the fourth in a series of wrestling events without a crowd organized and managed by licensed promoter Ring of Honor Wrestling Entertainment, LLC (ROH), featured two days of taped wrestling matches for television purposes on each occasion at the UMBC Events Center in Catonsville, Maryland.
Once again, ROH fully complied with the commission’s medical and administrative protocols for COVID-19 testing for wrestling events without spectators. These commission protocols included COVID-19 testing for everyone entering the venue as well as strict social distancing practices being enforced by the commission both at the hotel where the wrestlers were placed in an isolation “bubble” and at the wrestling event.
The commission and promoter ROH continue to work closely together to place the safety of participating wrestlers and others working at wrestling events as their highest priority. By all accounts, ROH's fourth such wrestling event was a great success.
The Baltimore Sun published an article describing ROH wrestlers' experiences in the isolation "bubble" while noting the protocols for COVID-19 testing for wrestling events without spectators that the commission created and imposed. The commission was pleased to continue to assist a licensed promoter — and the licensed wrestlers it employs — in working during the pandemic in a safe and closely-monitored manner.
"This is my job," notes Todd Sinclair, a professional referee who has worked for ROH for the past 17 years and who has officiated in all four wrestling events held during the pandemic in Maryland. "Thanks to the many precautions taken by the commission and ROH from the very moment we arrive and until we leave for home, we get to continue to do what we love to do and to do it as safely as possible."
Based on the utilization and outcome of the commission’s referenced protocols for COVID-19 testing for wrestling events without spectators, the commission is currently developing protocols for boxing and MMA events without spectators were such an event to be proposed to be held in the state of Maryland.
The commission remains very hopeful that the year 2021 will, at some point in the not too distant future, bring a sense of normalcy back to the combative sports and professional wrestling industries in Maryland. We truly look forward to, eagerly anticipate, and will be fully prepared for, that day.
Get Help in Seeking Financial Relief from the Pandemic
Now that 2020 is firmly behind us, the staff of the Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing hopes you have a healthy and prosperous 2021. As we mark nearly a year of serious disruption to our lives due to the pandemic, we know that no one is immune to COVID-19’s lasting effects.
Besides our daily commitment to providing outstanding customer service, we aim to distribute information about any sources of help we can recommend to our licensees. The ongoing public health crisis has left many of us struggling to recover in every facet of our daily lives. Families have endured the loss of jobs and businesses or the reduction of wages and/or working hours. Savings accounts have been depleted. Many are struggling to pay for housing, debts, loans, education and medical care. Since the pandemic has impacted the financial standing of so many Maryland families, it may be useful for us to share some of the consumer services offered by our agency’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation (OCFR).
OCFR serves as Maryland’s consumer financial protection agency and financial services regulator. They are responsible for supervising certain businesses in the financial services industry to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, including mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, mortgage servicers, mortgage loan originators, check cashers, money transmitters, consumer debt collection agencies, consumer lenders, installment lenders, sales finance businesses, credit services businesses, debt management companies, debt settlement companies, credit reporting agencies, and Maryland state-chartered banks, credit unions and trust companies. OCFR also has a Student Loan Ombudsman to support Maryland student loan borrowers.
OCFR provides resources to Maryland consumers and to the financial services businesses and individuals it regulates by providing timely guidance to industry, information on consumer protections, and investigating complaints of questionable business practices involving supervised financial service businesses operating in the state.
See below for links to resources on OCFR’s website, including resources for COVID-19 financial relief programs:
COVID-19 Consumer Resources
COVID-19 Industry Resources
COVID-19 Financial Relief Guide for Marylanders (pdf)
Maryland Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights (pdf)
Maryland Student Loan Ombudsman (pdf)
What Account is Right for You? Account Ownership and Survivorship (pdf)
"Pay Day" Loans: What You Need to Know as a Maryland Consumer (pdf)
Debt Management Service Providers: What You Need to Know as a Maryland Consumer (pdf)
Check Cashing Services: What You Need to Know as a Maryland Consumer (pdf)
Reverse Mortgages: What You Need to Know as a Maryland Homeowner (pdf)
Foreclosure: What You Need to Know as a Maryland Homeowner (pdf)
Información para los propietarios de vivienda de Maryland (pdf)
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