Participants of the recent GAMMA European Championships in Tbilisi have returned home with fond memories of their time in the Georgian Capital. A series of highly competitive bouts provided plenty of enjoyment for those watching the second edition of these Championships.

With every event there are improvements being made to the competition and the athlete experience, and one of these is the hydrated weight testing.

The introduction of hydrated weight testing was designed to protect athletes and to promote safe competition by discouraging the dangerous practice of purposely shredding dramatic amounts of body weight to influence the weigh-in.

The first hydrated weight testing was conducted during the 2021 GAMMA European Championships in Kyiv and then again during the GAMMA World Championship in Amsterdam earlier this year. It is now a standard part of GAMMA events, and athletes are more aware of the processes and procedures required. Improvements are already being seen, and in Tbilisi there was 91% success rate of all athletes tested.  

GAMMA is proud of the work being done in this area to keep our sport safe, and is convinced that this is the correct route for the development of our sport and the longer-term vision for all those associated with our organisation. There is a dedicated resource available online on the GAMMA website and specific assistance offered at all GAMMA events.

Hydrated weight testing will take place at the upcoming Asian-Pacific Championships next week.