April 3, 2014 – Recently-appointed WADA Athlete Chair Beckie Scott called for fellow athletes to become more outspoken on anti-doping issues within their respective sports. This was the message communicated by the two-time Olympic medalist during last week’s WADA ADO Symposium in Switzerland, which was attended by over 340 anti-doping representatives.

Scott – who was in Lausanne to chair the WADA Athlete Committee meeting which ran in parallel with the Symposium – encouraged other athletes to promote clean sport in the lead-up to the introduction of the revised World Anti-Doping Code at the start of 2015. In a special interview organized during the Symposium, Scott made a plea to governments to implement legislative changes to assist anti-doping, and expressed her appreciation for the revised Code’s ability to cover the athlete entourage within its rules.

 

 

WADA’s Athlete Committee discussed the importance of athlete and athlete support personnel education, including the need to harmonize the provision of information across all regions of the world. The influence of the coach was also discussed and, as a result, the significance of encouraging Sport Federations to educate their respective athletes and coaches.

“Bringing together the Athlete Committee for last week’s meeting was hugely beneficial, as it provided us with the opportunity to not only cover matters amongst the committee, but also to participate in the ADO Symposium at which so many key aspects relating to athletes and the revised Code were discussed,” said Scott.

“Our main objective of the Committee meeting was to review the Athletes’ Reference Guide to the Code. We are very pleased with the Guide, which will be an essential reference in the years ahead, and will help athletes better understand their roles and responsibilities under the 2015 Code.”