WMC 2003 Anti-doping

FAI issued the following news release on 12 Mar 2003

FAI - News
Bulletin 05/03 FAI - The World Air Sports Federation

Keeping Air Sports Free of Doping

The FAI played an active part in the recent World Conference on Doping in Sport, working to ensure that air sports remain free of this objectionable form of cheating, which also constitutes a threat to flight safety. The FAI community will soon be invited to adopt the new World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Code, replacing the Olympic Movement Code which FAI competitors have had to follow until now.

Full text and Internet links available below or at : http://www.fai.org/news_archives/fai/000205.asp

FAI - News Center / press@fai.org
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Avenue Mon-Repos 24, CH-1005 Lausanne, Switzerland / www.fai.org
Jean-Marc BADAN / +41.21.345.10.70 / jmb@fai.org

World Conference on Doping in Sport
The World Conference on Doping in Sport, held in Copenhagen from 3 - 5 March 2003, was attended by over 1000 delegates from governments, national anti-doping organisations, Olympic Committees, and international federations. Many governments were represented at ministerial level. The Conference accepted the new World Anti-Doping Code (may be down-loaded at t1.asp ).

A Universal and Effective Anti-Doping Regime
This Code aims at achieving a universal and effective anti-doping regime, applicable to all sports throughout the world. The Conference was widely seen as marking an historical turning point in the fight against doping in sport. Conference participants undertook to try and obtain agreement from their respective organisations to enable the Code to be formally signed and implemented by mid-2004. The text of the resolution adopted by the Conference is at resolution_en.pdf.

Governments will use statutory instruments of various kinds to give legal force to the Code in their countries. The International and National Olympic Committees will withdraw financial and other support from any federations that refuse to comply with the Code. The final text of the Code met most of the earlier concerns raised by international federations, including FAI. There is now a new, clearer definition of what constitutes « Doping ». There is provision for Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE), in cases where athletes have no option but to take substances on the banned list, for medical reasons. And it is left to FAI to decide what should happen, in team events, if an individual team member violates the anti-doping code.

Competitors' Personal Responsibility
Unchanged is the principle of « strict liability ». This means that it is the personal responsibility of each international air sport competitor to ensure that no prohibited substance enters his / her body. It is not necessary for intent, fault, negligence or knowing use to be proven for a violation to occur.
The current (Olympic) list of prohibited substances is at en_report_542.pdf
This list will be replaced by the new WADA list in due course.

FAI Approval of Code
The FAI General Conference in Krakow in October 2003 will be invited to adopt the World Anti-Doping Code.
Meanwhile, those who wish to learn more about WADA's campaign against doping in sport may wish to look at True Game, a program specially developed by WADA.

Lausanne, 12 March 2003

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world air sports federation, was founded in 1905. It is a non-governmental and non-profit making international organisation with the basic aim of furthering aeronautical and astronautical activities worldwide. Ever growing, FAI is now an organisation of some 100 member countries. FAI activities include the establishment of rules for the control and certification of world aeronautical and astronautical records. FAI establishes regulations for air sporting events which are organised by member countries throughout the world. In achieving these goals, FAI brings together people who take part in air sports from all over the world.

This is a News release from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale: FAI - The World Air Sports Federation. FAI on the Web : http://www.fai.org/

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12 Mar 2003

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