September 17, 2012 (Calgary, AB) – Canada’s two-time Olympic medalist in cross-country skiing, Beckie Scott, will continue her crusade for clean sport as a member of WADA’s prestigious Executive Committee.

Scott’s appointment makes her one of two Canadians, which also includes Federal Minister of Sport, Bal Gosal, on the 12-member Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s ultimate policy-making body, allowing her to share in the work towards a vision of a world where all athletes compete in a doping-free sporting environment. The Board is composed equally of representatives from the Olympic movement and government.

“I am tremendously honoured to hold a seat at the decision-making table of WADA. It is a great responsibility and one that I take very seriously,” said Scott on Monday after returning from her first official meeting held in London at the completion of the 2012 Paralympic Summer Games. “I am deeply committed to the prospect of continuing to contribute, and work on behalf of clean, fair sport and the athletes who depend on it.”

A trailblazer for Nordic sport in Canada, Scott retired in 2006 having rewritten the Canadian record books while firmly establishing herself as one of the world’s best all-round cross-country ski racers.

The only Canadian to have two Olympic cross-country skiing medals around her neck, it is her work outside the field of play that has made her one of the most respected Olympians around the world. A true icon for fair play and clean sport, Scott’s pursuit of justice around her 2002 Olympic gold medal is a triumph, which captured the imagination of a nation. Her name has since been synonymous with athletes’ rights and fair play.

“Anti-doping has obviously always been a movement close to my heart,” said Scott who has been Canada’s representative on WADA’s Athlete Committee for four years prior to being a member of WADA’s Foundation Board over the last six years. “Ifeel very privileged to work with the athletes, and I intend to represent them to the best of my ability, while lending a strong voice to the very important work that lies ahead.”

Scott’s responsibilities will include participating in three meetings each year in Montreal and Lausanne, as well as continued communication and liaising between Canada’s Olympic sport community, athletes and WADA.

In addition to her work with WADA, Scott was one of two international athletes elected by her peers to the IOC Athletes’ Commission for an eight-year term during the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. As one of the 13 athletes on the Commission, Scott has spent a great deal of time participating in influential discussions leading up to the Olympic Games in Beijing, Vancouver, London and Sochi, while providing an important voice for Canada’s athletes.

The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) mission is to lead a collaborative worldwide campaign for doping-free sport. WADA was established in 1999 as an international independent agency composed and funded equally by the sport movement and governments of the world. Its key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti Doping Code (Code) – the document harmonizing anti-doping policies in all sports and all countries. WADA is a Swiss private law Foundation. Its seat is in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its headquarters are in Montreal, Canada.