WADA Weighs Expanding Influence in Olympic Movement

(ATR) The World Anti-Doping Agency is analyzing its position within the Olympic Movement as doping scandals fester ahead of the Rio Olympics.

At the WADA Foundation Board meeting in Montreal on May 12, the agency made progress towards the establishment of an independent testing authority. But WADA members and athletes alike expressed concerns that not enough is being done to punish those found in violation of the anti-doping code.

"We understand fully that, in the current climate, with new doping allegations surfacing, we have work to do to further secure athletes’ confidence in clean sport," said WADA president Craig Reedie. "We appreciate the sense of urgency in light of the upcoming Rio Games and I can assure you that we take this responsibility very seriously."

IOC member and WADA athletes committee chair Beckie Scott – a Canadian cross-country skier who once lost Olympic gold to a doper – told the Foundation Board that athletes are not happy with the lack of further action by WADA after the Independent Commission report in November detailed massive doping cover-ups within Russian athletics.

Scott outlined four initiatives that athletes around the world would like WADA to implement, including imposing sanctions for serious issues of non-compliance, immediate penalties for code violations in extraordinary cases, better protection for whistleblowers and ensuring that only clean athletes compete at the upcoming Olympics.

"We fully acknowledge that WADA does not have jurisdiction over the Olympic Games, but it does have influence," Scott said. "Athletes request that you use that influence. If there is no guarantee that Russian athletes are not clean, they should not be [at the Rio 2016 Olympics]."

WADA director general David Howman agreed that WADA could expand its influence to better ensure code-compliance in country’s with faltering or insufficient doping programs. Howman suggested having non-compliant country’s pay sanctions and also help cover the costs of any investigations.

"That leads to some incentive to cooperate with investigators to ensure they reduce the cost of the investigation," said Howman. "I put that on the table as something that would be worthy of consideration by the board."

The doping programs in Andorra, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, France, Greece, Israel, Kenya and Ukraine have all been monitored closely by WADA since the last Foundation Board meeting in November.

The programs of Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Israel and Ukraine have been removed from the list of non-compliant countries, while Belgium, Brazil, France and Greece have been taken off WADA’s watch list.

Kenya’s anti-doping program was declared non-compliant by WADA at yesterday’s meeting despite the country passing new anti-doping laws before the required deadline. WADA officials say that WADA had approved certain legislation that would make the country code compliant but that changes were made in the Kenyan legislative process before the new bill was passed. WADA says the changes are unsatisfactory with its anti-doping code.

The greatest expansion of WADA’s influence in the Olympic Movement would be the establishment of an independent testing authority by WADA, an initiative first proposed by IOC president Thomas Bach in November 2015.

On Thursday, WADA decided to expand the working group tasked with examining the technical and financial challenges of such an independent body. WADA will add two National Anti-Doping Organization representatives and another representative from team sports to the working group. The group must now develop a business plan detailing the structure of the testing authority and the finances required to run it.

The financial implications of such a body could ultimately lead to its downfall. WADA repeatedly requests that governments and sports organizations donate more money to the anti-doping cause particularly as major doping investigations in the last year have siphoned its coffers.

WADA financial chair Francesco Ricci Bitti told the board that more revenue streams are needed to ensure the financial health of the agency and that the "charitable" contributions it currently receives are not sufficient.

"These are one shot solutions and are not sustainable in the long-term," said Ricci Bitti.

The WADA reserves will likely take another hit as the agency begins to investigate new claims of Russian athletes doping to win medals at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

"We live in difficult and tough times. We have much work to do and will do our best," Reedie said, concluding the Foundation Board meeting.

Written by Kevin Nutley in Montreal.

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