SEOUL — Soldiers wishing to compete in 2nd Infantry Division sporting events, such as wrestling and tae kwon do, must now receive clearance from a doctor no more than a week prior to the event.

The change adds an additional exam to the pre-fight screenings doctors were already performing at Morale, Welfare and Recreation sporting events, Installation Management Command-Korea spokesman Ed Johnson said Friday.

Division officials said the decision wasn’t based on the late September death of Army Pfc. Jason Price following a Camp Casey boxing match.

"We were examining this issue before the boxing event," division spokesman Maj. Vincent Mitchell wrote in an e-mail to Stripes late Friday. "These requirements are an additional set of precautions to ensure we continue to take care of our soldiers."

Price, who was in the 2nd Infantry Division’s Company C, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry, collapsed during the third round of his first and only boxing match. He was medevaced to the Brian Allgood Army Community hospital at Yongsan Garrison, where he was pronounced dead.

Mitchell said the division will not hold boxing matches until after the investigation of Price’s death is complete and the findings are analyzed.

Saturday’s Camp Casey Wrestling Invitational was to be the first event in which the new rule was in effect.

Johnson said Friday it was too early to tell whether the new requirement would affect the level of participation, but Mitchell said division officials didn’t think it would turn competitors away.

"We don’t expect that the changes would cause a reduction in participation and we are working closely with [Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation] to ensure that access to providers prior to the events is ensured," Mitchell said.