Difficult contact with the municipality? The VA may be able to help

For organisers of martial arts events, the relationship with the municipality is important. Some towns and cities welcome galas and tournaments with open arms. Other municipalities are sceptical or uncertain. The VA (Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit, the Dutch martial arts regulator) regularly helps promoters and municipalities to reach common ground, so that a good event can be staged in a way the municipality is also comfortable with.

Most municipalities require a permit for galas and tournaments in martial arts. This is also a recommendation in our Guidance on municipal policy for regulating martial arts events (Handreiking gemeentelijk beleid regulering vechtsportevenementen). With this document we give municipalities clear standards on the basis of which they can respond positively to a permit application. Most municipalities where events are organised apply this guidance.

As a promoter, you want to make clear that you organise events in a proper and responsible manner. You hold a Promoter Licence and you know the requirements a municipality may impose on the basis of the VA guidance. Even so, contact with the municipality may prove difficult. This can have all kinds of causes. Sometimes applications are submitted (too) late or incompletely. But even when a promoter does everything by the book, obstacles can arise.

Not all municipalities are familiar with our guidance. As a result, they sometimes do not know how to deal with martial arts events and simply say no. Sometimes there was an official at the town hall who knew exactly how to assess an application, but that person has since moved to another position and the successor is not yet up to speed. Sometimes the officials know precisely what they are doing, but there is a new mayor who has had a negative experience in the past and therefore blocks the event.

If a promoter submits an application late or incompletely, there is not much the VA can do. But if the promoter has everything in order and still meets resistance from the municipality, they should certainly contact the VA. We will then look together at what can be done.

The VA has previously spoken with all municipalities in the Netherlands where martial arts events are occasionally organised. We have explained to around one hundred municipalities how they can use our guidance to set conditions for events. These conditions are explicitly not intended as hurdles to make things difficult for promoters, but to give municipalities confidence that a safe and well organised martial arts event will be staged. The VA also supports municipalities that want to embed martial arts policy properly in their local policy. The better this is arranged, the sooner a municipality will respond positively to an application.

The VA has been consulting with municipalities for years, from the largest cities to the smallest villages. Some municipalities systematically said no to permit applications, often based on negative media attention in the past. We sat down with these municipalities to explain how the martial arts sector operates today, which standards apply, and what role our audit team plays in enforcement, for example. Almost invariably the conclusion is that events can be organised in these cities again as well.

So, as a promoter, are you experiencing difficult contact with your municipality? Do you believe there is unjustified resistance among officials or in local politics? Then email the VA at info@vechtsportautoriteit.nl. We can then look together at whether we can pave the way for a good event.