Spirit of Sport: Anti-doping

You may be familiar with the headlines about elite athletes who have been banned from sport or stripped of their titles after being caught doping. This is not just the use of banned substances or returning a positive test but breaking any of the anti-doping rules that apply in sport. What you may not realise is that doping and abiding by the other anti-doping rules isn't just an issue among elite athletes - it affects sports at all levels and is on the rise in amateur sport.

All sports clubs who are affiliated to a National Governing Body (NGB), and where that NGB is subject to the National Anti-Doping Policy, are bound by anti-doping rules. This means that as a club, you have a duty to uphold and protect the spirit of sport and support your members in understanding their rights and responsibilities in regards to anti-doping.

Put simply, if you are affiliated to an NGB that is subject to the UK's National Anti-Doping Policy, the following applies to your club:

• All members and participants should conduct themselves in line with the spirit of sport and anti-doping rules
• Any member or participant could be prosecuted for any of the ten anti-doping rule violations
• Any member, participant or coach who could be described as Athlete Support Personnel (ASP) could be prosecuted for six of the ten anti-doping rule violations
• Any member or participant could be tested at any time, in any place
• Deliberate doping, even for a first-time offence, can result in a four-year ban from all sport
• The anti-doping rules have limited sympathy for carelessness - this means that inadvertent doping, even a first-time offence, can result in a two-year ban from sport
• Everyone involved in sport has a duty to protect it – any suspicions of doping behaviour should be shared with your sport, UKAD or reported anonymously through report doping in sport hotline

For more information, visit the link below.

SOURCE: Club Matters