Growing protest against anti-doping rules

Eingestellt von Pucki am Mittwoch, 18 Februar 2009 @ 19:29:53
Dutch social-democrat Member of European Parliament Emine Bozkurt asked UEFA president Michel Platini today to call on the football associations in Europe to ignore the new rules of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). Platini, ...



who spoke today in the Parliament, agreed the revised anti-doping rules are problematic and stated "football players too should have the right to holidays and privacy and should not be forced to be available for doping tests 365 days a year. Tests can be conducted during trainings."

Bozkurt says the revised anti-doping rules of the World Anti Doping Agency are in conflict with European privacy legislation. The revised WADA code took effect on the first of January 2009 but is widely criticised. One of the WADA conditions is that athletes need to be available for tests at all times, every hour of the day, every day of the year and that they need to inform the WADA of their whereabouts three months in advance.

The European Commissioner for Sport, Figel, and the Commissioner for Justice, Barrot, are also critical of the revised WADA anti-doping code. This week they said in a reply to questions from Emine Bozkurt that the code should be in accordance with EU law. They have asked legal advice on the issue from a specialised working group and urged the WADA to postpone the implementation of the new code until this working group has finished their report.

The sport world is also negative about the new rules. Rafael Nadal, the world's highest ranking tennis player, referred to the rules as "a disgrace" and an "intolerable hunt." Fellow tennis player Andy Murray made similar statements about the WADA regulations.

Bozkurt strongly supports an effective anti-doping policy but feels this should respect the privacy and civil rights of athletes. The rights of athletes, their privacy and the protection of their personal data are not guaranteed in the new system. The opinions of the athletes need to be taken into account in order to have an effective anti-doping policy and their rights need to be protected.

Press release: Emine Bozkurt (Member of European Parliament)

Olympic rowers call new Wada 'whereabouts' drug-testing system 'unworkable'

Sixteen world and Olympic rowing medallists have published an open letter branding the World Anti-Doping Agency's new 'whereabouts' rule changes "an impractical and unworkable regime".

Rachel Quarrell
Last Updated: 7:55PM GMT 19 Feb 2009

Time trial: Annie Vernon (rear) with her team at the Olympics, is finding it difficult to meet the demands of the drug-testers Photo: JULIAN ANDREWS

The Olympians, including Beijing champions Andy Triggs Hodge and Mark Hunter, are strong supporters of 'no-notice' testing in rowing, one of the world's cleanest sports, but have joined tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in criticising the new format. After trying it for six weeks, the rowers say the new rules are extremely difficult to follow.

Their complaint is purely on practical grounds. Athletes must still nominate an hour a day when they can be tested, but now it is for 365 days a year, not just five days a week. And this includes holidays, competitions and travel – days on which it is notoriously difficult to be sure where they will be at any time.

Furthermore, the hour nominated can now only be between 6am and 11pm. This poses particular problems for rowers, who often travel to training in the early morning. Under the old system the hour could start at 5am. Now 6am-7am is impossible for many, who have to leave home in that time.

Rowers are not free for testing when racing or training on the water, as they could be at the far end of a lake or river. They are also unavailable when travelling, in meetings, shopping, in a university lecture or walking the dog. The reality for rowers, training up to three times a day in a team sport, is that now they can barely find a suitable hour every day of the week.

"We can change our hour by phone, online or by text," says Olympic silver medallist Annie Vernon, "but the computer system is very unreliable." Breaks between training sessions are rarely long enough. And if a training session runs over and a tester turns up, it counts as missing the test. Three misses and an athlete is banned from Olympic competition for life.

"Prior to the changes, 'whereabouts' was just about workable," Vernon says. "Now it feels impossible." She and her fellow athletes, who are all rowing medallists who have spent years co-operating with drug-testers, fully support random testing. But they want Wada to reform the system so that it does not distract from their concentration on training.

"We spend our days panicking, having always to think about when our nominated hour is on that day," finishes the letter. "There are far better ways of catching doping cheats than this.

Wada urges athletes to give its testing policy a chance

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has told the BBC there will be no changes to the new drug-testing programme and has fired a broadside at its critics.

The likes of Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal have accused the "whereabouts" rules of being an intrusion of privacy.

But Wada director general David Howman says they need time to bed in.

"Just give this a chance," said the Kiwi. "Don't just go out there and be totally critical and damn it. That's not a sensible, pro-active response."

Howman, in London for talks with around nine national and international players' associations, also suggested many critics of "whereabouts" were ignorant of what exactly was involved.

"Learn a little more before you open your mouth," he told them, adding: "It's very important to know what you are talking about before you criticise it."

The new testing programme, which has been in use since 1 January, has already provoked a storm of protest from some of the world's leading sporting figures.

Under the rules, any athlete on the national testing register - largely any elite athlete in an Olympic or major team sport - must make themselves available to testers for one hour a day, between 6am and 11pm three months in advance.

Let's just get this system through the introductory wrinkles and see how it settles Wada boss David Howman

This is done online and can be updated by email or text message.

However, if an athlete is not where they said they would be when the testers call, they are given a strike.

Three strikes in an 18-month period and an athlete is handed an automatic ban from competition, as Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu discovered.

Murray, the world number four tennis player and the British number one, has described the new rules as "so draconian that it makes it almost impossible to live a normal life".

Now Wimbledon champion Venus Williams has joined the growing list of critics, arguing the new regulations are too much of a demand on players.

Ohuruogu backs universal drug testing

"If your match goes to one o'clock at night you don't know what's going to happen if you are focusing on recovery for the next day," said the American.

"You are not focusing on where you are going to be. You are trying to do what you have to do - even at home. First thing you do is wake up and go to play.

"There are some things in the system which need to be looked at. We want a system which works and then it's fair."

But Howman insisted the "whereabouts" scheme needed time to bed in and urged athletes to give themselves time to adapt.

Williams says athletes are focusing on playing not complying to doping rules

"We've been in operation under this new system for six weeks," he said.

"There will be some ripples and there will be some issues you need to change your habits on."

Howman added that there would be opportunities to modify the testing programme at some future point but it was too early to start making changes now.

"Let's try to work together," he said. "Let's just get this system through the introductory wrinkles and see how it settles.

"There are other possibilities. As we go forward we will consider them. But whatever we put into place has to work worldwide.

"We're not just talking about the developed nations or those nations that have been to the forefront of the anti-doping programmes.

"We are talking about the Mozambiques, the Chiles, the Samoas, the parts of the world when anti-doping has not been quite as prevalent. Everything we do must be worldwide in its operation."

Rowing Wad a Letter 09

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