Contrary to the claim in the various public statements, a raise of 100% in the cost of a wrestler/boxer license, and a raise of 50-67% in the cost of an event and promoter license, will have a serious negative impact on future wrestling and boxing events. There appears to be a belief on the part of the DPOR Boxing and Wrestling Board that promoters and performers in the wrestling and boxing industries have deep pockets, into which the DPOR can dip at will. This is incorrect. While a raise from $20 to $40 for an annual license may not seem steep on its face, when you're asking a licensing community composed mostly of young, in-training wrestlers -- who tend to be in college or working at minimum-wage jobs outside the regulated industry, and who tend to work for nothing or next to nothing in the regulated industry -- to come up with $40 to license themselves, there will be a dramatic decrease in the number of licensed wrestlers. The same goes for promoters, most of whom promote shows on a break-even or small-loss basis. Another $200/year will drive promoters out of business, if the current insurance crunch doesn't. This raise in rates will kick off a death spiral in the wrestling and boxing industries in Virginia, where every two years the DPOR will have to come back to its regulatees for another increase, which will drive more regulatees out of the industry, which will cause another increase in two years -- until one of three endpoints: 1. The Board will be regulating exclusively WWE events, as there will be no other boxing and wrestling events in the state. 2. The Board will be unable to continue to ask for rate increases, in which case there will be a law in place that cannot be policed. 3. The Board will have no income, as WWE has shown in the past that it can and will avoid states with draconian regulatory policies. You may want to ask regulators in New Jersey and Oregon how many WWE shows they saw before rolling back the scope of regulation in recent years. Further, it is my belief that there is no public interest value in maintaining regulation of wrestling in the Commonwealth. There may be no public interest value in regulating boxing, but I understand the requirements of the Ali Act. I also understand that is beyond the scope of this regulation. I will be bringing those concerns to my state representatives in the General Assembly shortly. Thank you. Robert Hoffmann licensed wrestling performer