NWANA Nordic Walking Groups

Individual Fitness & Wellness License

The Individual Fitness & Wellness License is intended for people interested in creating Nordic Walking opportunities within a specific fitness club, studio, gym, wellness center, or other business operating in the fitness, health, and active-lifestyle sector.

This license can serve as the starting point for establishing the business’s own Nordic Walking Group, with the opportunity for future development and official recognition by NWANA.

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

This is not an outside group seeking access to someone else’s fitness facility. The group belongs to the fitness or wellness business itself. It operates under the business’s name and serves its clients, employees, and community while developing within the professional NWANA system.

Who Can Obtain This License

The license may be obtained by an owner, manager, employee, trainer, instructor, client, or another person directly connected with a specific fitness or wellness business and interested in developing Nordic Walking within that organization.

An individual obtaining the license does not automatically create a group on behalf of the business. The organization’s name, logo, facilities, and other resources may be used only with its permission.

If the person initiating the group is not the business owner or an authorized representative, NWANA must receive approval from the organization before creating and publishing a group under its name.

What Happens After You Obtain the License

After registration, NWANA records the first interested person connected with the specific fitness or wellness business and its location.

NWANA does not create thousands of empty pages in advance for every existing fitness club or wellness center. A page for a specific business will begin to be created only after at least one genuinely interested participant has registered and the business has confirmed its approval.

After that:

a dedicated page may be created for the business’s Nordic Walking Group;
other clients, employees, trainers, and participants will be able to find and join the group;
the business can gradually determine how it wants to develop Nordic Walking;
the group can gain access to NWANA educational, organizational, and competition opportunities;
the group may eventually pursue official recognition by NWANA.

The Individual License belongs to the person. The group is associated with the specific fitness or wellness business. Recognized status is granted separately to the group.

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/.

No Mandatory Requirements at the Initial Stage

During the initial stage of group development, NWANA does not require a minimum number of participants, a regular activity schedule, a minimum number of training sessions, an appointed leader, or any other level of activity.

Obtaining the license does not require you to create a group, become its leader, conduct training sessions, organize walks, or take responsibility for events. At the same time, it does not prevent you from doing so. With the business’s permission, a license holder may choose to initiate the group, help develop it, or participate in its future activities.

The purpose of the initial stage is to identify genuine interest and give people and organizations an opportunity to begin connecting.

The NWANA Professional System

NWANA views Nordic Walking not simply as walking with poles, but as a sport and fitness discipline that requires proper technique, an understanding of movement, and professional instruction.

NWANA’s methods and educational programs are based on the practical experience of international-level athletes, including World Championship winners and medalists and competitors in other major events.

Competitive experience provides an understanding of Nordic Walking’s technical details that can be difficult to identify during ordinary recreational walking. As speed increases, movement technique, breathing, coordination, load distribution, and pole action change. Technical errors that may remain hidden at lower speeds become more apparent. Performance is also affected by weather, walking surfaces, hills, descents, and other conditions.

This practical experience forms the foundation of NWANA education, technical standards, and methodology.

NWANA gives fitness and wellness businesses an opportunity to develop their own groups with access to:

education through the NWANA Nordic Walking Academy;
NWANA technical and instructional standards;
instructor education and assessment;
NWANA programs and competitions;
a unified system for the development and recognition of Nordic Walking Groups.

The Individual Fitness & Wellness License is not an instructor license or certification. Requirements for individuals who will officially teach Nordic Walking or deliver programs using NWANA methods are administered separately through the NWANA educational system.

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.

Future RECOGNIZED Status

RECOGNIZED status applies to a group, not to an individual license holder.

During the initial stage, a group may form and develop without this status and without an annual fee. When the business and its Nordic Walking Group are ready to operate according to NWANA standards, the group may apply for official recognition.

Requirements for recognized groups, the education of responsible individuals, the use of NWANA methods, and the delivery of programs will be established and published separately. These requirements do not apply to obtaining the initial Individual License.

The annual $200 fee applies only after a local group receives RECOGNIZED status. It does not apply to the Individual License or to a group that is still in the initial development stage.

For fitness chains and wellness companies with multiple facilities, each local group is established for a specific location. A program covering multiple clubs, branches, or an entire network is considered separately and may be established through a special agreement with NWANA.

Financial Administration of Programs

Regular membership fees, subscriptions, and other services provided by the fitness or wellness business remain part of its own business operations and are not administered by NWANA.

If the NWANA-created page is used to collect payments for licenses, competitions, special programs, or other NWANA activities, those payments will initially be processed through the NWANA system.

The financial and administrative structure of a recognized group or a program covering multiple facilities will be determined separately in coordination with the participating business.

What This License Provides

The Individual Fitness & Wellness License gives you an opportunity to:

demonstrate genuine interest in developing Nordic Walking within a specific fitness or wellness business;
become the first participant in that business’s future group;
help establish a dedicated page for the group;
invite clients, employees, trainers, and other participants;
participate in organizing and developing the group if you choose;
gain access to the NWANA educational and methodology system;
connect health-oriented activities with a broader system of training and competitions;
receive a 5% discount on NWANA competition registration fees;
help a specific fitness or wellness business establish its own Nordic Walking Group with the opportunity for future official recognition by NWANA.