News
Annual report 2025: supervision at the core
The Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit (Dutch Martial Arts Authority, VA) has published its annual report for 2025. Following the transfer of federation tasks to the NVB, the VA was able to focus more strongly again on its core assignment: supervision.
Organisation
For the VA, 2025 unfortunately began on a sad note. In early February our board member Marcel Scholtes passed away after a long illness. Involved from the very start, he left his mark on the organisation with his expertise and his character. He was regarded as the father of the audit team, which he had assembled and guided. He will be missed for a long time to come. Jan Rijpstra, chair of the supervisory board, announced his departure after retiring as mayor and deciding to emigrate. He was of course thanked for his services, and during the course of 2025 a successor was found who took office on 1 January 2026: Derk Alssema, mayor of Gilze en Rijen. The Vechtsportautoriteit found a new group of people, with decades of combined experience, willing to advise the board. The Advisory Committee for the Vechtsportautoriteit replaces the thematic committees that have been transferred to the NVB. The new advisers are trainers, promoters and officials, but also a specialist in municipal policy and a lawyer.
Implementation
The intention for 2025 was to go back to the core: supervision. The federation tasks that the VA had performed out of necessity in earlier years have been taken over by the Nederlandse Vechtsportbond (Dutch Martial Arts Federation, NVB). Last year this was joined by the transfer of the quality mark for gyms. This allowed the VA to focus even more strongly on supervision through the audit team. This group of volunteers, who combine professional expertise with a love of martial arts, again visited dozens of events and martial arts gyms. Together with promoters and gym owners, points for improvement were still regularly identified, but we conclude that across the sector virtually everyone applies the established standards. As a result, serious irregularities have become very rare, and Dutch martial arts can be proud of that.
NVB
As the initiator, together with NOC*NSF, of the establishment of the Nederlandse Vechtsportbond (NVB), the VA was involved in the start-up phase. 2025 was also a transition year in which responsibilities were redistributed. That not everything ran smoothly also became clear early in the year at a meeting of concerned gym owners. In May 2026 NOC*NSF will decide whether the Nederlandse Vechtsportbond (NVB) can become a full member of the national sports umbrella organisation. The Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit (VA) will be asked to provide advice on this. Upon request, the VA shared an interim assessment in October. The VA still believes in the structure of a single overarching federation for our martial arts and continues to consult constructively with the NVB, NOC*NSF and all stakeholders in the sector in order to make this organisation a success.
Social partners
The VA strengthened its ties with partners outside martial arts. In addition to daily contact with municipalities, there is for example also regular good contact with the safety regions (veiligheidsregio's). These partnerships of municipalities have already invited the VA a number of times to give presentations on the sector, the VA's working methods and the ways in which municipalities can contribute to the safety of martial arts practice. This strengthens the knowledge position of civil servants and the VA's network. We also supported scientific research into issues affecting martial arts, partly because this yields knowledge from which the sector can benefit. There were also productive meetings with our Flemish partners, which will certainly be followed up in 2026.