On the Scene -- WADA Dismisses Calls to Change Controversial Whereabouts Rule

WADA President John Fahey rejects criticisms of the whereabouts rule.(ATR)World Anti-Doping Agency chiefs reject calls to make changes to out-of-competition drugs testing for athletes, saying the whereabouts rule is “less onerous” than previous regulations.

“We are eight weeks into this. I don’t know of anybody who has failed under the whereabouts testing,” WADA President John Fahey told a media briefing in Lausanne, Switzerland Tuesday.

Fahey said he had read the complaints of athletes and some athletes’ groups in the media in recent days but nothing had been put to WADA directly.

“Let’s give it a go. If you want to have an effective test you have got to have the ability to test anybody at any time. I haven’t had any constructive suggestions of what an alternative might be at this point in time,” he said.

“It’s more appropriate in my view to have a serious look at it at this time next year rather than eight weeks into the revised code.”

Under the revamped WADA code, which came into force Jan. 1, athletes are required to give their national anti-doping authorities three months' notice of their location for testing for one hour each day every day of the week between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.

FIFA and UEFA, world football’s governing bodies, have already expressed concerns over the whereabouts rule, insisting it is difficult for footballers to comply with. Tennis stars Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Venus Williams have criticized the regulation for being too intrusive.

But Fahey said it was “less onerous” than the previous version of the WADA code which called for 24/7 availability.

WADA director general David Howman said different forms of whereabouts requirements had been in place for 10 years and most complaints seemed to be coming from those sports being asked to implement it for the first time.

“You can’t start changing standards on the basis of a few complaints,” he said. “We have to be sensible and practical and we expect the response to be the same.”

Howman said out-of-competition testing was crucial in the fight against doping. Even athletes who felt they could gain a slight edge by microdosing banned substances at certain times to avoid detection would find it harder to cheat, he added.

Commenting on criticism from some senior tennis players, he insisted they should be able to notify anti-doping authorities of their whereabouts as part of the travel arrangements they make between tournaments.

“During that process of thinking and incorporating whatever data they are giving to other people, change your whereabouts. It's not rocket science, it's just an SMS which will probably take 40 seconds to complete. What they haven’t got used to yet is doing it,” he said.

Howman held discussions about the whereabouts rule with nine athletes’ groups in Europe last week and plans to meet with many more in the coming weeks to resolve their concerns.

“It was significant that the English Premier League has already met with U.K. Sport and agreed with the process. It’s more a matter of giving information appropriately rather than resistance,” he said.

“I would like to think that UEFA and FIFA, who are strong supporters of the fight against WADA hosted a media symposium on doping at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday. (ATR)doping in sport, will maintain their support and I’m optimistic of that.”

WADA chiefs also dismissed calls from the two bodies for footballers to be given a break from out-of-competition testing during holidays, claiming it would undermine the anti-doping controls and give cheats time to start doping with impunity.

“You cannot have a time when you are clean and a time when you are not clean. It has to be clean the whole time,” Fahey said.

“I cannot see how you can say you only have to comply by the code for a particular period of the year and it's a free kick in a certain period called holidays. If we really want to have a system that has integrity we are exposing it to losing that integrity with a part-time approach like that.”

Fahey also returned to a theme that dominated last year’s media symposium – governments’ role in the fight against doping.

He said 108 governments out of the 193 members of UNESCO have now ratified the International Convention against Doping in Sport with many further contributing by legislating, establishing and funding anti-doping organizations.

“They are also combating rogue manufacturing, marketing and trafficking of illegal substances. I am encouraged by the growing numbers of busts that are publicly reported,” he said.

Asked for an update on those international federations and national Olympic committees who were non-compliant, Fahey said a report on compliance following an audit last year would be considered at the next meeting of WADA’s Foundation Board in May.

“We have done our utmost and put extraordinary effort into assisting them, trying to make it as easy as possible with questionnaires and personal contact to bring as many into the compliance process,” he said. “Our success or otherwise depends on the usage of the code in the form that it’s in rather than partial usage.”

David Howman, WADA director general, says many of the complaints are coming from sports who are implementing the rules for the first time. (ATR)Howman told ATR that the financial crisis would likely affect WADA’s operations in the next year and may impact some federations’ investment in the fight against doping. “[IOC President] Jacques Rogge said this is the number one priority and I would anticipate it achieves a level of priority in the federations’ minds,” he said.

“We have to make sure it’s cost effective and we lower the costs as much as possible so there is no wastage and that’s what we are trying to achieve this year.”

Alain Garnier, WADA’s medical director, gave a detailed update on advances in the Athlete Passport program to wrap up the media briefing Tuesday.

The Athlete Passport involves monitoring an athlete’s selected biological parameters over a period of time to detect abnormal variations.

Garnier said the operating manual was close to being finalized after which it will be published.

The initiative will be piloted at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in August. WADA hopes it can be used in the fight against genetic doping in the future.

With reporting from Mark Bisson in Lausanne.

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