Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport

(Ottawa, Ontario – June 5, 2012) – In its fourth quarter, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport reached out to the sport community for its feedback into the upcoming changes to the World Anti-Doping Code and international standards. The Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP) will be revised in 2014 to remain compliant with the new Code and will come into effect in January 2015.

During the first stage of consultation, the Centre for Ethics released a survey to Canadian sport organizations and the public at large. All responses and comments were fully reviewed and considered by the Centre for inclusion in a common Canadian position that was submitted to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on March 15.

“We seek the input of the Canadian sport community because they are the ones who are affected by the changes to the Code,” said Paul Melia, President and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. “We want them to know that their voices are being heard and that they have an influence on the rules that govern our sport system.”

The next phase of WADA’s anti-doping rules consultation started on June 1. Further communication about the review process from the Center will be initiated during the summer of 2012.

Other Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport highlights for the January-March 2012 quarter include: 

Updated Medical Exemption Wizard
The Medical Exemption Wizard was updated to provide athletes and support personnel with more detailed information on medical exemptions. Based on the athlete’s sport, level of competition, and the particular prescribed drug, the wizard will reveal whether the athlete needs a medical exemption, what to include in the application, and where to send it.

Community Philanthropy Symposium

On February 24, Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) hosted the Sport and Community Philanthropy in Richmond, BC. The Centre for Ethics spoke of its partnership with CFC on a pilot project to leverage the power of good sport by using an Asset-Based Community Development approach to strengthen communities. Four community foundations participated in the first phase; nine community foundations are participating in the next phase of the project. Others will have an opportunity to respond to a second Request for Proposals in the fall.

True Sport Long-Term Athlete Development Matrix

The Centre was also in attendance at the Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) National Summit where it presented a new poster of the True Sport Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Matrix, which identifies ethical literacy as a key component of the overall CS4L LTAD model.

Active and Safe initiative collaboration

The Centre for Ethics announced its collaboration with the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), Hockey Canada (HC) and ThinkFirst Pensez d’Abord Canada (TFC). The project is aimed at reducing brain injuries in team sports in Canada as part of the federal government’s Active and Safe initiative enabled through the financial support of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Pre-Games doping control for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Pre-Games testing of Canadian athletes long-listed for London 2012 began in February.  The Centre’s pre-games testing strategy places an increased focus on testing athletes who will potentially be representing Canada in London. Testing will continue throughout the next quarter. 

Doping control program statistics

The Centre conducts testing under the domestic Canadian Anti-Doping Program and also provides doping control services for various national and international clients. The following table summarizes our activity during this quarter. Numbers include tests that are planned, coordinated, and/or collected by the CCES.

For details, see www.cces.ca/pdfs/CCES-MR-2012JanMarDetails-E.pdf.

Athlete services statistics

The Centre support athletes subject to doping control by providing education, processing medical exemptions, and responding to substance inquiries.  The following table summarizes our activity during this quarter. 

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is an independent, national, not-for-profit organization. We recognize that true sport can make a great difference for individuals, communities and our country. We are committed to working collaboratively to activate a values-based and principle-driven sport system; protecting the integrity of sport from the negative forces of doping and other unethical threats; and advocating for sport that is fair, safe and open to everyone.

-- 30 --