NWANA Nordic Walking Groups

Individual Faith Community License

The Individual Faith Community License is designed for people who want to support and develop Nordic Walking within religious, spiritual, interfaith, and other faith-based communities.

The license may be obtained by members of religious communities, faith leaders, employees, volunteers, program participants, and other people interested in developing Nordic Walking in a faith-based environment.

The annual fee for this individual license is $20. RunSignup automatically prorates the fee based on the time remaining in the current license year.

You do not have to be an official member of a religious organization to obtain the Individual Faith Community License. However, obtaining the license does not, by itself, authorize you to use the name, logo, facilities, internal communication channels, or other resources of a specific religious organization.

Two Available Paths

The Individual Faith Community License provides two possible paths.

Group Associated with a Specific Religious Organization

If a group is being formed for a specific church, parish, synagogue, mosque, temple, spiritual center, or other religious organization, permission from that organization is required before its name is used or an associated website is created.

NWANA may request verification of the participant’s relationship with the religious organization and any authorization necessary to use its name, logo, or other identifying materials.

Independent or Interfaith Group

If a person does not represent a specific religious organization, they may participate in forming an independent or interfaith Faith Community NW Group.

Such a group is created without using the name, logo, or official status of a specific religious organization. It may later collaborate with different congregations and faith-based organizations with their permission.

What Happens After You Obtain the License

After registration, you become a holder of the Individual Faith Community License. NWANA records your location and selected path: association with a specific religious organization or participation in an independent or interfaith initiative.

If an appropriate Faith Community NW Group already exists, you will be able to join it, subject to that group’s participation rules and requirements.

If no such group exists, your registration becomes the first confirmed expression of interest in creating one. Once the first licensed participant appears, NWANA begins preparing a dedicated website for the future Faith Community NW Group.

For a group associated with a specific religious organization, a website using that organization’s name is created after the necessary confirmation or authorization is obtained.

For an independent or interfaith group, a website may be created under a neutral name that does not imply an official relationship with a specific religious organization.

NWANA does not create empty websites in advance for every religious organization or possible faith-based community. A new website is created when at least one person demonstrates a genuine interest in developing Nordic Walking within the corresponding community or initiative.

Obtaining the license does not require you to create a group, become its leader, organize walks, or conduct events. However, the license does not rule out those possibilities. If you would like to take a more active role, you may help form the group, propose and organize walks or events, and be considered for the role of Group Leader.

Permission from a specific religious organization is required before using its facilities or resources. Certain programs, official events, and qualified functions may also require separate registration, training, or authorization from NWANA.

Individual license holders may register for and participate in NWANA in-person and virtual competitions in accordance with the rules of each event. They receive a 5% discount on NWANA competition registration fees.

If a separate athlete license is required for a particular competition, this requirement will be stated in the event rules. The athlete license can be obtained through https://license.nwaofna.org/.

Participant Opportunities

Through the NWANA NW Groups system, you will be able to:

join a Faith Community NW Group;
receive news and information about the group’s development;
participate in available walks, meetings, events, and initiatives;
connect with people interested in Nordic Walking and the development of faith-based communities;
invite new participants;
suggest ideas for walks, community events, and activity programs;
assist the group as a volunteer or organizer;
support the development of Nordic Walking in a religious, spiritual, or interfaith environment;
help develop partnership and sponsorship initiatives;
complete separate training for qualified roles in the future, if desired.

Participation in certain events, programs, or training may require separate registration and payment.

Holders of an active Individual Faith Community License receive a 5% discount on registration fees for NWANA competitions.

How a Faith Community NW Group Is Formed

The website becomes the online foundation for the gradual formation of the group. It can be used to publish information, accept new participants, share news, create authorized events, recruit volunteers, and develop Nordic Walking within the corresponding community.

The first licensed participant does not automatically become the Group Leader, website administrator, faith leader, or official representative of a religious organization. Leadership and other roles may be established later as more people join and the group becomes ready for more active operations.

There are no NWANA operating requirements during the initial formation stage. The group is not required to have:

a minimum number of participants;
an appointed Group Leader;
regularly scheduled walks;
an event calendar;
organized training sessions or competitions;
immediate RECOGNIZED status.

A Faith Community NW Group may remain in the formation stage for as long as necessary. The purpose of this initial stage is to give interested people an opportunity to register, find one another, and gradually begin developing Nordic Walking within their community.

A specific religious organization may establish its own additional rules for participation, facility use, events, communications, and representation of the organization.

Connection to NWANA Competitions

Members of fitness and wellness groups can participate in Nordic Walking for health and physical activity and, if they choose, take part in NWANA competitions and other programs.

Competitions give participants an opportunity to evaluate their progress, select suitable distances, improve their technique, and become part of the broader Nordic Walking system.

Holders of an active Individual License receive a 5% discount on NWANA competition registration fees.

Organizing Your Own Competitions

As the group develops, it will be able not only to participate in NWANA competitions but also to organize its own in-person and virtual Nordic Walking competitions. Organizing competitions is optional. If the group operates through a specific organization, such events must be conducted with that organization’s approval. Separate approval from NWANA will be required for an event to receive official NWANA competition status. The applicable rules and opportunities will be published at a later stage.

RECOGNIZED Status

Obtaining RECOGNIZED status is a possible future step, but it is not required for a Faith Community NW Group to exist.

When the group has grown and is ready for more independent operations, NWANA will provide current information about the next steps and requirements for obtaining RECOGNIZED status.

These future requirements do not apply to individual participants or to groups during the initial formation stage.

RECOGNIZED status applies to the Faith Community NW Group, not to an individual holder of the Individual Faith Community License.

Financial Structure

During the formation stage, payments processed through the Faith Community NW Group website—including applicable license fees, donations, sponsorship funds, registration fees, and event revenue—are processed through NWANA.

After applicable operating expenses are covered, these funds are used to support the development of the corresponding Faith Community NW Group and its future programs.

If the group later obtains RECOGNIZED status and is ready to operate independently, it may receive administrative rights to its website and connect its own payment account, subject to NWANA policies, authorization from the corresponding religious organization, and the capabilities of the payment platform.

The $200 annual NWANA group membership fee applies to each local Faith Community NW Group only after it obtains RECOGNIZED status.

A program covering multiple parishes, congregations, chapters, regions, or an entire religious organization may require a separate agreement with NWANA.

The $200 fee is not the cost of the initial no-cost group formation stage and is not the cost of the Individual Faith Community License.

Important Distinction

The Individual Faith Community License does not make a person a faith leader, official representative, or authorized agent of a specific religious organization.

Registration does not automatically provide access to the organization’s facilities, members, internal events, communication channels, or other resources. Such access is determined by the organization in accordance with its own policies.

The license also does not automatically make a person an instructor, judge, or official Group Leader. Official instruction, qualified functions, or regulated activities may require separate training, an appropriate license, authorization from the religious organization, or authorization from NWANA.