VA thanks Peter Kwint for his involvement from the very outset

After being involved with the VA (Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit, the Dutch martial arts authority) since its earliest beginnings, Peter Kwint is leaving the organisation with immediate effect. The reason is a positive one: Kwint is to become chair of the Nederlandse Vechtsportbond (the Dutch martial arts federation).

Before the VA was formally established in 2017, there was already a working group considering the future of martial arts, and how the organisation and the image of the sector could be improved. Kwint contributed to those discussions from 2014 onwards, as a recreational kickboxer, an MMA enthusiast and, at the time, a member of the Amsterdam city council.

That working group gave rise to a permanent organisation, the Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit. Kwint was asked whether he would join the board. He accepted the unpaid position and thus began working as a volunteer for sound supervision of martial arts.

In early 2023 he concluded that the board work was becoming increasingly difficult to combine with his other responsibilities: by then he was a member of the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) and a father in a young family. He decided to step down.

Given his knowledge and qualities, the VA's supervisory board (raad van toezicht) asked whether he could make time for a role that would make fewer demands on his life. That proved to be the case, and he therefore joined this board, which is tasked with keeping the VA's management board on course.

Halfway through 2023 the government fell and Kwint had to decide whether to stand again for the House of Representatives. His conclusion was no. This gave him room to do more for martial arts again. He decided to apply for a board position with the martial arts federation that was to be newly established. Following an open application procedure for this volunteer position, Kwint emerged as the most suitable candidate. This was officially announced on Friday.

Because the new role of federation chair cannot be combined with membership of the VA's supervisory board, Peter Kwint has stepped down with immediate effect.

The management board and the supervisory board of the VA warmly thank Peter Kwint for his many years of unpaid commitment to Dutch martial arts. The VA wishes him every success at the Nederlandse Vechtsportbond.