APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2021 , Vol . 7
Who governs doping / anti-doping ? The global organisation responsible for coordinating anti-doping efforts is the
World Anti-Doping Agency ( WADA ). They draw up the main rules that will apply across nations and sports .
In the UK , we then have a National Anti-Doping Organisation ( NADO ) –
UK Anti-Doping – who implement the rules in our country , in coordination with national governing bodies and other institutions ( eg British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine , universities ).
You mentioned that WADA determine the rules . Can you tell us more about how they do this ? There are several parts to the global rules , but the main one is the
World Anti-Doping Code ( the Code ). It was first introduced in 2003 and has been updated several times as developments have emerged in anti-doping research and practise .
The most recent version has just come into effect , in January 2021 .
What changes have been made to the WADA Code that was updated in January 2021 ? UK Anti-Doping have produced a really nice summary of the main changes for 2021 , available as a
PDF download from their website .
I think one of the most exciting changes for me , is the recognition of ‘ Substances of Abuse ’. WADA have created a list of substances that are often used in society , rather than for performance enhancing reasons , and these are going to be treated differently ( in terms of a lesser sanction ) if an athlete can show that they were taken outside of competition . Importantly , athletes who are found to have used these substances are going to be offered treatment to support them .
Another significant change is the addition of the eleventh ADRV , which makes it an ‘ offence ’ to act out against someone who reports doping activity to authorities . Recently , information provided by the sporting community has become more important to anti-doping efforts . ‘ Intelligence ’ allows targeted testing , and investigations can provide evidence that rules have been violated without a positive drugs test needing to have happened . But it can be really difficult for someone to come forward with information – especially because in the past they might have experienced negative consequences of this . So , I ’ m glad to see the new rule introduced to give people some assurance when coming forward with information .
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