Athletes unite over rights to compete in clean sport

More than 100 athletes from 54 countries wrapped up an antidoping forum in Calgary on Tuesday with support for an athletes’ charter of rights, along with a dozen other key outcomes.

“We started this project last year with a concept,” said Beckie Scott, chair of the World AntiDoping Agency’s athlete committee. “We have advanced it to the point where we presented our first draft ever to the global athlete community in an effort to ask for more consultation and feedback and guidance as we continue to work on this very important project, implementing actual rights that are enforceable into the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code, and protecting the rights of athletes in this realm.”

The objective of the draft AntiDoping Charter of Athlete Rights is to have its key principles integrated into the 2021 World AntiDoping Code, said athlete committee member Andréanne Morin.

The two days of discussions marked the first Global Athlete Forum organized by the athlete committee. Scott said some of the other major outcomes and key learnings of the event include the importance for athletes to have the ability to speak out on the issue without fear of consequences or retribution.

“We have learned much about this topic in the last couple of years, and really see the importance and the value in enabling athletes to speak openly and frankly,” she said at a news conference.

Another highlight was a call for increased athlete participation at all levels of anti-doping management, governance and policy, Scott added.

“We really want to see the athlete representation increased across the board,” she said.

The Canadian gold medallist in cross-country skiing said some examples of rights incorporated into the draft charter include an athlete’s right to clean and fair sport, equitable and fair testing programs and the right to representation.

Some of the other outcomes released at the conclusion of the forum include a call for more financial investment for global and national anti-doping programs, concern about sporting organizations hosting events in WADA non-code compliant countries and for anti-doping organizations to routinely review their programs.

Forum participants identified corruption, conflict of interest and lack of independence as their top three concerns related to the anti-doping system.

WADA athlete committee member Lauryn Williams said attendees left the Calgary event encouraged and inspired.

“As so many athletes from all over the world came from various athlete committees, it was really encouraging to hear the message that we’re not just participating right now, we’re not just on a committee right now, but what is our role moving forward,” said Williams. “We need to continue to take on leadership roles.”

The event was hosted by the Canadian Olympic Committee, with the support of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.