The Royal Netherlands Watersport Association (Dutch: Koninklijk Nederlands Watersport Verbond) is the national governing body for the sports of sailing, surfing, and canoeing in the Netherlands, recognised by World Sailing, the global governing body for the sport of sailing.

[1] The organization was founded in 1890 as Koninlijk Verbond Nederlandsche Watersport Verenigingen.

The Dutch were in most of the Olympic sailing competitions represented by the Dutch Olympic Sailing Team, including the years: 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956 (Boycott), 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980 (Under IOC flag), 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012.

Except for 1908 and 1912, there were always Dutch sailors willing to compete at this pinnacle of competitive sailing.

This boycott was a result of the presence in Hungary of the Soviet Union after the Hungarian Revolution.