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Annual report 2020: a year like no other
“2020 was going to be a year for taking new steps in a flourishing sector,” is how VA chairman Herbert Dekkers opens the annual report on 2020. “And then COVID-19 appeared in our lives.” The whole world was affected, and so was the world of combat sports.
The 2020 annual report describes the impact the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing measures had, and still have, on our sector and our organisation. There were moments when the gyms showed themselves at their best. Unfortunately, the painful moments prevailed, when circumstances asked a great deal, sometimes too much, of people.
Gyms were closed, events halted, top talents put on hold, and hundreds of thousands of recreational athletes had to make do with video lessons or a punching bag on a square. The VA had to postpone the launch of the Keurmerk Vechtsportautoriteit and a major congress on the future of combat sports. But the VA also took on new tasks: representing the sector's interests to politicians, and lobbying to get the gyms open again so that the Netherlands could get moving.
It was above all a difficult year, and 2021 will be tough as well. But there is light on the horizon. And in combat sports, people know better than anyone: what matters is not how often you go down, but how often you get back up.