Convene - May 2017

120 PCMA CONVENE MAY 2017 PCMACONVENE.ORG
I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
I
O
N
B
Y
C
A
R
M
E
N
S
E
G
O
V
I
A

there’s a meeting for that

Most people only pay attention to the use of illegal perfor- mance-enhancing drugs in
athletics every four years, when the
Summer Olympics come around. And
then there’s the World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA). Headquartered in
Montreal, the independent organiza-
tion is tasked — according to its website
— with “bringing consistency to anti-
doping policies and regulations within
sport organizations and governments
across the world.”
That translates into everything from
education and research to outreach
and enforcement. And, of course, a big
meeting — WADA’s Annual Symposium,
bringing together international sports
federations, athletes, national and
regional anti-doping organizations,
laboratories, government officials, “and
other key stakeholders,” said WADA
Communications Coordinator Maggie
Durand, “that are integral to the clean-
sport movement.”

A BUSY YEAR WADA had a big 2016,
including publishing a high-profile
report on widespread state-sponsored
doping among Russian athletes. That
led to a variety of last-minute changes
to the symposium program, such as
adding a 15-minute “Update on Anti-
Doping Activities in Russia” from Pavel
Kolobkov, Russia’s minister of sport.

“We managed these various challenges successfully and in a cost-efficient manner,” said Benjamin Cohen, director of WADA’s European office and international federation relations, “thanks in particular to the commitment and flexibility of WADA’s staff and our partner Lausanne Tourisme.”

WELCOME TO WADA This was the first year that government officials were invited to attend. “The presence of more than 50 governments, with several sports ministers attending in person,” Cohen said, “led to additional challenges in terms of logistics and security.”

PLAYERS’ CLUB During the symposium, WADA heard a proposal from Athlete Committee Chair Beckie Scott — an Olympic-gold cross-country skier from Canada — for a “Charter of Athlete Rights and Responsibilities.” “I’m very excited,” Scott said in a statement, “by the lively conversation and the positive reaction that we received.” .

— Christopher Durso

WADA Annual Symposium

March 13–15, 2017

Swiss Tech Convention Center Lausanne, Switzerland

convn.org/wada-2017

Attendees 750

Sessions included:

› ‘Lessons From a Turbulent Time for the Anti-Doping Community’

› ‘What Makes a Whistleblower Come Forward?’

› ‘Is Enhanced World Anti-Doping Code Compliance Monitoring (Part of) the Solution?’ › ‘Good Governance in the Fight Against Doping: What Is the Perception From the “Outside”?’