Gerry Sutcliffe MP & UK Anti-Doping Chair David Kenworthy Sarah Winterflood
All British athletes competing at the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will have been tested at least once prior to competition getting underway in Vancouver as part of a comprehensive pre-Games testing and education programme, UK Anti-Doping has announced.
The UK’s first standalone anti-doping body, which was officially launched yesterday by the Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, confirmed that every member of Team GB had also received thorough education in their roles and responsibilities throughout the Games.
A requirement under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the duration of the Games period is that all competitors at the Winter Olympic Games must provide whereabouts details to assist with no-advance-notice and out-of-competition testing. Athletes provide these details via the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) and, as a result, UK Anti-Doping has provided inductions onto the system – either face-to-face or by telephone – to every athlete who will represent Team GB in Canada.
Other resources available to them include Global DRO, an online reference site which allows athletes to check the status of specific substances, and a 24-hour helpline manned by UK Anti-Doping for the duration of the Games. Posters and advice cards have also been distributed to holding camps and Team GB headquarters, reminding athletes to update their details.
Together with the Chair of UK Anti-Doping, David Kenworthy, the Minister addressed key stakeholders at the organisation’s London office yesterday, as he spoke of his pleasure at being able to declare the organisation officially up and running.
Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, said: “I am delighted that UK Anti-Doping has launched on time and I thank everyone involved whose dedication and hard work ensured that this happened. We want UK Anti-Doping to lead the world in anti-doping and I believe that we have the team and infrastructure in place to make that happen. Athletes and fans must be confident that sport is clean and that everything is being done to catch drug cheats.”
UK Anti-Doping Chair, David Kenworthy, said: “We have taken a major step in celebrating the launch of UK Anti-Doping and I am grateful to the Minister and his department for helping us get to this point. Our work with athletes leading into both the Winter Olympics and Paralympics is evidence that we have hit the ground running and we look forward to playing a lead role in protecting the right of athletes to compete in doping-free sport.”
UK Anti-Doping will also have two staff in attendance in Vancouver. Director of Operations, Nicole Sapstead, will sit on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Independent Observer Team, which will monitor the doping control and results management processes, whilst Education Team member Jude Ford will attend as part of WADA’s Athlete Outreach Team, which aims to raise awareness and build understanding about doping-free sport.
Notes to Editors
UK Anti-Doping is UK Anti-Doping is the National Anti-Doping Organisation for the UK.
UK Anti-Doping has responsibility for ensuring sports bodies in the UK are compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code through implementation and management of the UK’s National Anti-Doping Policy.
UK Anti-Doping’s functions include an education and information programme, athlete testing across more than 40 sports, intelligence management and exclusive results management authority for the determination of anti-doping rule violations.
Accountable to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), UK Anti-Doping has a very clear remit in anti-doping in the UK and plays a lead role in the fight against doping in sport.
