From banned oddity to recognised sport, that is the goal

Peter Kwint is stepping down as a board member of the VA, but he is not leaving. ‘We have made an enormous leap in recent years, above all thanks to the sector itself. But we are not finished yet.’

In 2014 Peter Kwint, then still a city councillor in Amsterdam, was asked whether he would like to help think about the future of Dutch combat sport. Things were going badly, after all, and it was known that this mattered to him as an enthusiast. It became a brainstorming session in an Amsterdam gym with trainers, veterans, active fighters and pure enthusiasts. The session turned out to be one of the many steps towards the founding of the Netherlands Combat Sports Authority in 2017.

After six years he is now taking his leave of the board of that organisation. The voluntary role proved increasingly hard to combine with his seat in the House of Representatives and with fatherhood. But he is not turning his back on the VA. A slightly less time-consuming position came free that he can carry out alongside his other duties: membership of the VA Supervisory Board. Why does he not draw a line under his time at the VA?

‘We have achieved a fair amount, but we are nowhere near done,’ is how he takes stock. ‘When we started, more and more mayors were banning events and journalists were mainly interested when something went wrong again. We are not there yet, but nobody knows the sport purely for the negative things any more. There is simply a fine future ahead for the sport in the Netherlands. But the sport will have to win that future itself. It is up to the VA to help the sector do so. I find that project too good to walk away from.’

The VA board determines the policy of the organisation. The Supervisory Board has to check whether the board is sticking to its core task: achieving and safeguarding a regulated, healthy, safe and well-organised combat sports sector. Is that task not duller?

‘A bit duller does not bother me at all. What is more, this is precisely a big challenge for us. When you are at work in the sport you sometimes come across things you think could be done better. And then you want to take those on as well. Safeguarding that core task, improving that sport, is a fine job. Besides, it is all in how you fill it in. The nicest work at the VA is actually done by the audit team. They visit events and gyms most often, and that is the best part. But nothing stops me from showing my face there too, except perhaps a lack of time.’

The most acute problems, the ones that made it necessary to found the VA, have been or are being solved. Tie a bow around it and we can wind up the VA?

‘Becoming superfluous is of course the finest goal there is. And as I just said, real steps have been taken. Events in the Netherlands rarely if ever get out of hand any more. Doping use is being tackled and there is more attention for athletes’ health in general, especially where children are concerned. Both government bodies and the media take a much more positive view of combat sport, which has considerably improved its social standing. More people than ever were taking part in combat sport, until coronavirus spoiled things and the whole of the Netherlands started moving less. Yes, the biggest problems have been or are being tackled. But let us be honest, we are not there yet. I do not think I am saying anything very controversial when I say that stricter doping controls will really shake something up. And in other areas too I believe that, thanks to the cooperation with the sector, we have genuinely made progress. Bigger steps than I had expected when we started. The foundation has been laid. But it has not been there long. That progress is fragile. And you have to safeguard it, and sometimes fight for it.’

To stay with that metaphor: if a foundation has been laid, what should be built on it?

‘You could of course put up an apartment block on it in which everyone retreats into their own little box to do their own thing. Nine organisations, but still not comparable to the associations of other sports. They are good at supervising bouts with their teams of officials, but what we would also like to see is national elite sport policy, youth policy, financial support for talent, recognised Dutch Championships, affiliation with NOC*NSF, a contribution from lottery funds for the development of the sport, and the same rules of play for everyone. It seems logical to me to build a house in which everyone works together under one roof, with a fine floor for kickboxing, one for Thai boxing and one for mixed martial arts. With one serious association instead of nine organisations, but with room for everyone who is now part of those nine organisations and wants to commit to our sports. So that all the knowledge and experience built up over recent decades is preserved and can be passed on to the next generations. Let us be honest. In recent years the VA has regularly taken on tasks that the individual associations simply could not carry out. Tasks that do belong to being a fully fledged sports association. For example the central bout registration in the Fightpassport system, doping control, representing the sector during the coronavirus crisis, disciplinary law, keeping sex offenders out of the sport, a licensing system for promoters and matchmakers, developing quality requirements for gyms. All things you can really only do well if there is one organisation. And that do not actually belong with a regulator like the VA, but with an association. And the existing organisations do not have to dissolve either, they can simply continue to exist, but within that association. The current teams of officials from the existing organisations can then also keep working in the same set-up if they want to. The ringside doctors, the matchmakers, the trainers of officials: there can be a place for everyone in such a new house. But then together under one roof, working together, in the interest of the sport, and affiliated with NOC*NSF, so that everyone in the sport is entitled to, and gets, all the facilities and opportunities that are offered to organised sport, just as in other sports. That is how I would most like to see the organisation. And I believe there is a great deal of support for that among gym owners and athletes. And imagine what it would mean for the fans, if you simply had a recognisable fight for the title.’

And the promoters? If one association comes along, will the organisers of events become superfluous?

‘Absolutely not, they must be able to carry on doing their thing. From local youth tournaments to WFL, LFL, Enfusion and Glory: by all means let everyone do what they are strong at. But alongside that, the association could perfectly well organise provincial championships and one national championship. If there is one association, a title like ‘Dutch Champion’ really means something. The titles that are sometimes handed out as ‘world titles’ are often called ‘chocolate belts’ within the scene itself. The media can do nothing with those either, and there is no explaining to the rest of the Netherlands that you have a hundred kickboxing champions up to 70 kilograms. But a real national championship is something Studio Sport and Ziggo Sport are interested in. And then you attract sponsors and become an increasingly accepted sport. Then you can keep growing.’

At the beginning of August, news broke that kickboxing is on the shortlist to be added to the programme of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. What do you think when you read that?

‘That really would be something. From outcast of the sporting world to Olympic recognition. A dream scenario, worthy of Hollywood. Whether kickboxing will definitively be added to the programme will probably be decided next year, I read. Let us make sure that here in the Netherlands we at least have our affairs properly in order, so that it cannot be down to us. Affiliation with NOC*NSF with one strong association would really help with that, I think. Not only for the sport in the Netherlands, but also for its international standing. Because make no mistake, the world still looks to the Netherlands when it comes to kickboxing. It would be wonderful if our best athletes could shine there. That would be the crowning glory of the work of all those people who have devoted themselves to combat sport for decades.’

Photo: Peter Kwint (left) with Remy Bonjasky and NOC*NSF chair Anneke van Zanen at the Netherlands Combat Sports Authority Congress 2021
Photographer: Giovanni Tjin