LEADERSHIP
Leadership
Building the sport system an athlete expects to find.
Albert Fatikhov serves as President of the Nordic Walking Association of North America while continuing to compete as an athlete.
His approach to leadership begins with a simple principle: a sport should not depend on athletes, instructors, organizers or communities figuring everything out for themselves. The structure should already be there.
ONE CONVERSATION. ONE FLIGHT. ONE DECISION.
NWANA began with a telephone conversation at Riga Airport in November 2024.
Albert was preparing to leave Latvia for the United States. Before departure, he called the president of the Latvian Nordic Walking federation to say goodbye.
During that conversation, he learned that North America did not have the type of Nordic Walking sport structure he had experienced while competing in Latvia.
The idea stayed with him as he boarded the plane.
If the structure does not exist, begin building it.
That decision became the foundation of the Nordic Walking Association of North America.
WHAT A SPORT SYSTEM REQUIRES
Albert’s leadership approach is shaped by the practical needs he sees as an athlete.
Education
Participants, instructors, coaches and officials need clear pathways to learn and progress.
Local Structure
Communities need organizations capable of bringing people together and creating continuing activity.
Competition
Athletes need rules, events, results, rankings, trained officials and a meaningful progression pathway.
Partnerships
Sport development requires relationships with communities, institutions, organizers, sponsors and funding partners.
A championship is not the beginning of the system. It is what becomes possible when the system underneath it works.
FROM IDEA TO OPERATING INFRASTRUCTURE
NWANA is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization developing Nordic Walking across North America.
The organization is being built as a connected system rather than a collection of isolated programs.
Each part is intended to strengthen the others: education creates capacity, local groups create participation, competition creates progression, and partnerships make expansion possible.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP CROWNS THE SYSTEM
Albert’s objective extends far beyond producing one successful championship weekend.
A serious national or continental championship requires athletes, trained officials, event operators, venues, timing, safety planning, local participation, sponsors, volunteers and host-community relationships.
Those elements must be built before the starting gun.
This is why NWANA’s development moves from awareness and education into local activation, regular participation, regional competition, national championships and ultimately North American continental competition.
LIVE COMPETITION ACROSS NORTH AMERICA
The current NWANA competition system is creating active racing opportunities and operational experience.
The next expansion is live competition.
Building that calendar requires relationships with athletes, officials, venues, event operators, sponsors, host communities and volunteers. NWANA is developing those relationships now.
NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The inaugural North American Continental Nordic Walking Championships are being advanced as a collaboratively developed 2027–2028 initiative.
The final location, calendar, scale and program will be developed with the future host community and championship partners.
The goal is not simply to bring a championship into a city. It is to leave a functioning Nordic Walking system behind.
The championship platform can connect elite and age-group competition, relays, community participation, professional education, partner activity, ceremonies and opportunities for local residents to discover the sport.
LEADERSHIP MEASURED BY WHAT REMAINS
Albert’s measure of success is not limited to medals, attendance or media coverage.
A successful host region should be stronger after the event than it was before it.
The event ends. The system should remain.
AN INVITATION TO BUILD TOGETHER
Albert welcomes organizations and partners ready to contribute to the formation of a new North American Nordic Walking platform.
The work ahead includes organizational capacity, education, technology, local activation, live-event development, communications, host-community engagement and championship preparation.
Partners joining now are not arriving after the system is built. They have an opportunity to help build it.
The starting line is being built now.
