Anti-doping Message Hits The Road On Eve Of Code Change

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12 December 2008



Anti-doping message hits the road on eve of code change

More than 130 representatives from peak sporting bodies across Australia have attended forums with the
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) to learn about how the new World Anti-Doping Code 2009
(the Code) will impact their member athletes and support personnel from 1 January 2009.

Tim Shirley from the Gliding Federation of Australia, who attended the Canberra session, praised ASADA for
engaging directly with sports, especially smaller sports without a high public profile.

He said, `The changes are really positive for sport in general and the presentations will help to ensure that
we remain compliant with the Code. It was also pleasing to see the changes in the Therapeutic Use
Exemption (TUE) processes, which will help our senior athletes to more easily meet their obligations.'

Australian sporting organisations are required to have a compliant anti-doping policy in place, and they
have been working closely with ASADA in recent months to review and implement their policies in line with
the new Code. The education sessions provided sports with an opportunity to ask specific questions about
a range of operational issues: high on the agenda were the athlete whereabouts provisions, which now
require athletes to provide a daily one-hour window between 6am and 11pm, and the abolition of
abbreviated TUEs.

Karen Higgs, High Performance Administrator at Triathlon Australia, who attended the Sydney session, said
that she now better understands how the TUE process applies to athletes at different levels within
Triathlon.

She said, `Our International-level athletes go to their International Federations and our National level
athletes go to ASDMAC; the rest will require a retrospective TUE.'

Recreational athletes and Masters competitors will not need to obtain a TUE prior to competition, but will
need to obtain a retroactive TUE if they are tested and their sample returns an adverse analytical finding
(AAF), which is when the testing laboratory finds a prohibited substance in the sample. Those competing in
an open-age, national event will still need to obtain a TUE prior to competition.

Athletes in the ASADA Registered Testing Pool received an information pack this week outlining the key
changes to the Code.

Detailed information about the Code, as well as the education session presentations, is available on the
ASADA website at www.asada.gov.au




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