120 PCMA CONVENE MAY 2017 PCMACONVENE.ORG
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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”?’
Good Sports