VA auditors share their experiences

The members of the VA audit team met last weekend to share experiences and review the state of affairs in Dutch combat sports.

The more than twenty auditors present looked back on the 32 audits carried out at events and gyms in the second half of 2023. One conclusion was that cooperation with promoters and local authorities generally runs smoothly. At the start of 2023, the VA had announced that more attention would be paid to physical safety at events. Partly as a result, further steps forward were made over the past year.

The sector appears, for the most part, to be well aware of the importance of paying attention to safety. Partly thanks to the VA safety plan and the accompanying guidance document, promoters were generally well prepared for any challenges. Where the auditors identified points for improvement, these were taken up willingly.

An important addition to the VA's instruments are the so-called safety audits. These are carried out mainly at larger events by more specialised auditors. The first of these safety audits were considered a useful addition by both the VA and the promoters. They will therefore also be carried out at selected events in 2024.

In addition to events, holders of the Keurmerk Vechtsportautoriteit (the VA quality mark) are also visited by the audit team. Working in pairs, they visit the gyms to see whether practice matches all the information submitted with the quality mark application. The auditors reported that they are almost always given a very warm welcome. Proud sports entrepreneurs are happy to show what they have built and that their affairs are in order. Not infrequently, they share the audit report on social media to make clear that they received a positive assessment.

After the substantive part of the meeting, the opportunity was taken to pay tribute to VA board member Marcel Scholtes. He was the driving force behind the establishment and composition of the audit team. Due to personal circumstances, he can no longer devote as much energy to this group, which, partly thanks to him, makes an important contribution to the quality of combat sports in the Netherlands with evident enthusiasm. In gratitude for his enormous commitment, he was appointed Member of Merit (Lid van Verdienste) of the VA as the "father of the audit team".