Derk Alssema new chair of the VA supervisory board

Derk Alssema (39), mayor of the municipality of Gilze en Rijen, joined the supervisory board (raad van toezicht) of the Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit (the Dutch Martial Arts Authority) on 1 January 2026. He succeeds Jan Rijpstra, who is stepping down after two and a half years. Alssema becomes chair of the three-member board.

Alssema, who grew up in the province of Zeeland, has a passion for kickboxing. “I first walked into a gym about nine years ago. I had admired the sport for some time, but was initially held back by the old image of martial arts. When a friend persuaded me to come along anyway, I was sold straight away. I have trained three times a week ever since, and I rarely let anything get in the way of that.”

“People sometimes ask whether that is not a lot, training intensively three times a week alongside a demanding job. But I actually need it. If I do not exercise intensively, I am not physically and mentally fit enough to keep up the work. Martial arts also help you in other areas of life. You learn to take a hit, to maintain discipline, to show respect. All in all, it gives you far more than it costs.”

“This appointment at the Vechtsportautoriteit brings together two of my interests: governance and martial arts. I was the municipal executive member for sport (wethouder Sport) in Goes, and I have now been mayor of Gilze en Rijen for a number of years. That means I can also bring in the perspective of municipalities at the VA. Municipalities are important partners for gym owners, for promoters and of course for the VA itself. After all, much of the work on the safety of martial arts events and gyms runs through the municipality.”

“It is good to see what the VA has built up with those municipalities and above all with the martial arts sector itself in recent years. I hope to make a useful contribution to that from now on.”

The supervisory board of the VA consists of three members. Alongside Alssema these are Marc Merx (municipal executive member in Dordrecht) and Rob van Bokhoven (director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Justice and Security, ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid). The task of the supervisory board is to monitor the management of the Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit and to keep it focused on its core assignment. Membership is an unpaid position.