What Is Doping?

Doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the following anti-doping rule violations:

•          Presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete’s sample

•          Use or attempted use of a prohibited substance or method

•          Refusing to submit to sample collection after being notified

•          Failure to file athlete whereabouts information & missed tests

•          Tampering with any part of the doping control process

•          Possession of a prohibited substance or method

•          Trafficking a prohibited substance or method

•          Administering or attempting to administer a prohibited substance or method to an athlete

•          Complicity in an anti-doping rule violation

•          Prohibited association with athlete support personnel who has engaged in doping

WHY IS DOPING IN SPORT PROHIBITED?

The use of doping substances or doping methods to enhance performance is fundamentally wrong and is detrimental to the overall spirit of sport. Drug misuse can be harmful to an athlete’s health or to other athletes competing in the sport. It severely damages the integrity, image and value of sport, whether or not the motivation to use drugs is to improve performance. To achieve integrity and fairness in sport a commitment from athletes and all persons involved in sport is critical.

Every athlete has the right to clean sport. The purpose of the Athletes Anti-Doping Rights Act is to ensure that the rights of all athletes worldwide to participate in doping-free sport are clearly set out, accessible, and universally applicable. The Act is based on the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code and its related International Standards.

Any athlete may be tested in- and out-of- competition at anytime, anywhere and with no advance notice.

Every athlete needs to be aware of the current List of Prohibited Substances and know his or her rights and responsibilities under the FIAU’s Anti-Doping Rules (in line with the World Anti-Doping Code). Athletes should know that, under the Code, they are strictly liable whenever a prohibited substance is found in their body. This means that a violation occurs whether or not the athlete used a prohibited substance intentionally, knowingly or unknowingly, was negligent or otherwise at fault.