GENERAL
Doping Authority Netherlands was actively involved in 2020 in the international doping policy. The international activities of Doping Authority Netherlands address several goals: Doping Authority Netherlands wishes to collect current knowledge, influence international anti-doping policy, promote Dutch anti-doping policy and strengthen international collaboration.
The corona pandemic had a major impact on the implementation of international policy because international meetings were no longer possible from March onwards. Teleconferencing provides only a partial solution to this problem, with one of the factors being that the sharing of confidential information on digital media is problematic.
NADO Leaders
Against this background, a group of NADO Leaders met digitally on 2/3 September to discuss the progress of WADA's reform process. Seventeen NADOs released a statement calling for rapid and fundamental reforms in the agency's governance structure. The NADOs met again on 11 November; a group of athletes was also represented at this meeting. Another statement was made public that followed up on the September statement.
WADA
Prohibited list
Like every year, a response to the draft version of the prohibited list was sent to WADA in the summer. Doping Authority Netherlands coordinates the Dutch response on behalf of the NOC*NSF, the NOC*NSF Athletes Committee and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.
Working group on the development of training programmes
Doping Authority Netherlands chairs one of WADA's working groups on the development of training programmes (Global Learning & Development Framework). The training programmes are for people working in the field of anti-doping. The work began in October 2020.
NADO Advisory Group
The CEO of Doping Authority Netherlands was reappointed to this WADA committee, which discusses issues linked to the position of National Anti-Doping Organisations in relation to WADA and the World Anti-Doping Program. The advisory group met twice (via teleconferencing).
WADA Prevalence of Doping Working Group
At the request of WADA, we have a seat on the Prevalence of Doping Working Group. The general aim is to establish a more detailed picture of the knowledge currently available about the prevalence of doping and how this knowledge can best be increased in the future. In 2020, some pilot studies were conducted and work continued on a range of scientific publications on the subject.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
The pandemic meant that there were fewer meetings than usual. We attended two meetings of the CAHAMA (Ad hoc European Committee for the World Anti-Doping Agency). The CAHAMA mission is:
- To examine the issues concerning relations between the Council of Europe, its Member States and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and to decide on a common position, when possible, on these issues;
- To draw up, if necessary, opinions for the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on these issues, including the budgetary elements;
- To periodically revise the mandate of members of the WADA Foundation Board appointed by the Council of Europe.
The work of CAHAMA in 2020 focused in particular on the WADA governance structure.
Advisory Groups
In the context of the 'Expert Group on Education' of the Council of Europe, Doping Authority Netherlands attended an online meeting on 19 November. Doping Authority Netherlands gave two presentations at this meeting, one on international cooperation in education and one on the Erasmus+ project RESPECT.
A working group emerged from the 'Expert Group on Education' in 2019. This 'Drafting Group' is providing WADA with support for the further development of education. Doping Authority Netherlands attended video meetings on 9 March, 26 March, 6 April, 11 May, 15 June, 20 July, 14 September and 14 December.
It also attended a meeting of the Expert Group on Science of the Council of Europe on 23-24 January (Dresden, Germany), and a webinar meeting of the same group on 8 June.
Institute for National Anti-Doping Organizations (iNADO)
The iNADO key objectives are: to support and strengthen the work of national anti-doping organisations, and to represent their members in the international domain.
Doping Authority Netherlands is a very active member of iNADO. In addition, the CEO is also the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the institute and he deputises for the Chair of the Board of Directors in his absence. The full board met four times in 2020, and there were various meetings in smaller groups to discuss specific subjects.
Doping Authority Netherlands also participated in (and contributed to) a range of iNADO activities that went ahead despite the impact that the corona pandemic also had on iNADO's work.
ICIC2020
From 15 to 17 January 2020, Doping Authority Netherlands organised, after the first edition in January 2014, the second International Conference on the Implementation of the revised World Anti-Doping Code, ICIC2020 for short. The reason for organising this conference was the revision of the World Anti-Doping Code decided on in November 2019. After a series of consultations lasting almost two years in all, a large number of changes to the Code were made at the World Conference in Katowice, Poland, in November 2019, and two new international standards were adopted. The amendments took effect on 1 January 2021.
These regulations are complex and extensive and revising them raised numerous practical questions for anti-doping organisations. The aim of ICIC2020 was to seek answers to those questions. Over 160 anti-doping professionals and elite athletes from around forty countries met at Castle Vaalsbroek in Vaals. In ten plenary sessions and 21 parallel sessions, all kinds of implementation issues were discussed. A range of topics were discussed from the new requirements for educational programmes to the new requirements for training and evaluating doping control officers.
