'Ultimately, the athlete's interests must come first'

VA director Farid Gamei was a guest on the podcast Fight Inside this week. Kickboxing veteran Hassan ait Bassou and his regular guest Glen Huisman, chair and head official of the WMTA, discussed the work of the Vechtsportautoriteit (Dutch Martial Arts Authority) with him.

One federation
The development of a single martial arts organisation was of course prominently on the agenda. Gamei and Huisman outlined the proposal that was recently put forward by the project leader (kwartiermaker). There will be an umbrella organisation, which for convenience we will call the martial arts federation, containing three sections: kickboxing, Thai boxing and mixed martial arts. Cooperation is central to this and the current federations will be merged into it. Gamei stressed that promoters will still be able to work with the same officials, but all under the same conditions, with the same rules and the same weight classes, all in the interests of the sport and the athlete.

Weight cutting
Ait Bassou, a former fighter and now a trainer and official, also has experience in the boxing world. There he sees that accidents are often linked to an extreme weight cut. Glen Huisman, who every weekend shares responsibility for events running smoothly, also sees that athletes are often unaware of the risks of weight cutting. They are then too weak to step onto the scales unaided, yet expect to be in top condition again a day later. Meanwhile the brain is also dehydrated and only recovers after some five days.

The VA recognises that problem as well, Gamei explained, and in response developed the campaign Healthy on weight (Gezond op gewicht). Brochures and flyers are distributed in cooperation with the federations. The main aim is to make athletes aware of the risks of losing too much weight too quickly, and to point them towards sensible methods of losing weight.

Hydration test
Gamei also said that the VA has carried out trials with hydration tests. Some other countries and promotions already work with these. The VA has investigated this in the Netherlands too, including a pilot at events where athletes could take hydration tests on a voluntary basis. In doing so, however, the VA also has to consider how practicable this is. Fighters at the Asian promotion One Championship undergo hydration tests. But they stay in a fighters' hotel for days on end. Testing is easy in such a controlled setting. Dutch practice is different. About 98% of fighters here are amateurs. They arrive at an event a few hours beforehand. In the days leading up to it they simply have to work, sometimes on the other side of the country. That means they are not available for testing. But the VA continues to look into which measures can contribute to fighters' safety.

The episode can be watched back here.