VA at Utrecht Safety Region: how we arrive at good events

At the invitation of the Utrecht Safety Region (Veiligheidsregio Utrecht), the Vechtsportautoriteit (Dutch Martial Arts Authority) gave a presentation to the 26 municipalities that cooperate within it. “The better municipalities get to know martial arts, the better it is for organising successful events,” explains VA director Farid Gamei.

Safety regions (veiligheidsregio’s) are partnerships of municipalities and public services concerned with safety. They join forces for matters such as the fire service, medical assistance and maintaining public order. Cooperation and knowledge sharing also often take place around the organisation of events.

Municipalities and promoters of martial arts events have a shared interest. Both want galas and tournaments to run properly and safely. The Vechtsportautoriteit assists with this. The VA wrote a guidance document on the regulation of martial arts events for municipalities, and offers promoters a safety plan template. The guidance advises which requirements a municipality could set for a promoter. For a promoter it provides clarity about what municipalities expect. With these instruments we also seek to prevent municipalities from imposing unnecessary requirements.

Martial arts events take place regularly in the Utrecht Safety Region. Last October, for example, there were five events in four different municipalities. Some municipalities have a great deal of experience with promoters. They apply the VA guidance and can issue permits with confidence. For other municipalities it is new. To prevent them from responding with unnecessary reticence to an application for an event, the VA regularly gives presentations to municipalities, for instance during meetings of the safety regions.

VA director Farid Gamei presented the work of the VA at the meeting of the Utrecht Safety Region. Dozens of civil servants involved in safety policy gathered at the fire station in Soest. “It is important to explain how municipalities and promoters can arrive at good martial arts events together,” says Gamei. “I explained which requirements can contribute to safety, how our risk analyses work and how the VA supervises events.”

“Municipal officials who already deal with martial arts events can also share their experiences with colleagues at such a meeting. Together we can remove uncertainty among officials who have to assess an application for an event. In this way we try to prevent unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles from being raised for promoters, and municipalities from having to do unnecessary work.”

Besides the organisation of events, Gamei also spoke about how municipalities can use the Keurmerk Vechtsportautoriteit (the VA quality mark for martial arts gyms) in their relations with martial arts gyms. The fight against unregulated events, such as so-called hoodfights, was also discussed.