Overview

• The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is developing mandatory safety and welfare standards—including minimum medical support, rest period limits and welfare checks—for all under-18 martial arts events
• Assistant Coroner Michael Pemberton’s Prevention of Future Deaths report highlighted the absence of medical protocols, risk assessments and rest limits at unsanctioned children’s combat matches
• Alex Eastwood’s parents met with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy on August 5 to press for enforceable measures after his death in an unsanctioned charity kickboxing bout in June 2024
• A June inquest at Bolton Coroner’s Court returned a verdict of misadventure, noting that neither participants nor parents were fully aware of the risks involved in unsanctioned youth fights
• MP Dan Carden raised the need for clear national regulations during a House of Commons debate in July, reinforcing calls for statutory oversight of under-18 combat sports