IAAF begins recruiting for integrity unit
Just a fortnight after the International Association of Athletics Federations membership gave an overwhelming 95 per cent vote in favour of constitutional reform, recruitment of four senior positions for the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is under way.
At the core of the reforms, the Athletics Integrity Unity will be a fiercely independent organisation with responsibility for the management of all aspects of the anti-doping programme for international-level athletes and their athlete support personnel, as well as for the management of all other i ntegrity- related programmes operated in elite athletics.
The unit will manage a full range of functional activities, from education and prevention to results management, investigations, prosecutions and appeals. The unit will also have a key role in monitoring the compliance of member federations with their obligations under the Integrity Code of Conduct.
Athletics is the first sport ever to delegate complete authority for the management of its integrity programmes to an inde- pendently governed and independently operated unit.
IAAF President Sebastian Coe commented: “Sport at its best is about the pursuit of excellence. It involves hard work, discipline, training, review, reflection, adaptation and change. Athletes are reflective by nature and good at objectively measuring themselves and their performance against the best in class. As sports bodies, we need to take the strengths of our athletes and turn them into the strength of the body that governs the sport. The Athletics Integrity Unit will do this.
The Integrity Unit, with a budget of US$8 million, will be launched on April 3, 2017 with an independent governance board, independent review panels and an independent staff to manage the anti-doping and other integrity-related programmes in elite athletics.
The unit will assume responsibility for education and testing and for the investigation and prosecution of breaches of the Integrity Code of Conduct by International-Level Athletes and their athlete support personnel.