Pre-Games Testing
While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) are responsible for anti-doping at their respective Games, WADA's participation in the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games includes several roles, including pre-Games testing, potential review of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), right to appeal decisions, Independent Observer (IO) Missions, and Athlete Outreach. This broad range of activities reflects the importance of a comprehensive approach to the fight against doping in sport.
As a general rule, in-competition testing is planned and carried out by the sporting event organizer. For Vancouver 2010, as for any past Olympic Games, the IOC is responsible for doping controls which take place during the period of the Games — from the opening of the Athlete Village to the day of the Closing Ceremony (February 4–28, 2010). The IOC will work with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) to conduct testing at Olympic venues during this period.
However, there is a well-established need for testing to occur away from Olympic venues, for example for those athletes who arrive late, leave early or do not reside at official Olympic sites. Based on the model established at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and refined at subsequent Olympic Games, the IOC, VANOC and WADA created a task force responsible for planning and coordinating pre-Games testing. The task force works closely to establish a test distribution plan for the Games, including the specific athletes to be selected for testing.
Additionally, the task force coordinates testing and gathers information on the location of athletes who will be competing at the Games, including through WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration & Management System (ADAMS). In the lead-up to and during the Games, the task force also liaises with various anti-doping organizations responsible for testing, including International Federations (IFs), National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) and National Olympic Committees (NOCs).
“This coordinated approach has proven to be effective in the lead-up to previous Games,” says WADA’s Director General David Howman. “In 2008, a significant number of athletes were prevented from participating in the Beijing Olympic Games after violating anti-doping rules in the weeks preceding the event. This ensures that the Games provide a platform for clean athletes to achieve true athletic excellence.”
As with previous Olympic Games, at the request of and in cooperation with the IOC, WADA will manage a program of doping controls during the period of the Games on athletes worldwide who will compete in Vancouver, but who are not yet in the Athlete Village or are not training at Olympic venues. WADA has been asked by the IOC to manage these global controls on its behalf following the opening of the Olympic Village on February 4, 2010.
In addition to testing at Olympic venues during the Games, the IOC is responsible for management of all doping control results related to the Games.
WADA also works closely with the International Paralympic Committee to coordinate activities prior to the Games. WADA’s Out-of-Competition Testing Program will place an emphasis on athletes who will be competing at the Paralympic Games in Vancouver, as it will do with Olympic athletes in the lead-up to the Olympic Games.
In Vancouver, both the IOC (for the first time) and the IPC will use ADAMS for their doping control programs. ADAMS will provide them with a highly secure tool to plan, coordinate and manage their respective programs. In addition, the system will allow doping control forms to be entered electronically into the system directly from the doping control stations.