The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) is extremely proud of the progress being made with the Vancouver 2010 anti-doping program – a two-fold initiative involving state-of-the-art testing and education to ensure a doping-free Games.
“In terms of testing, VANOC is planning for a significant increase in testing numbers, both blood and urine, in comparison to previous Games,” said Jeremy Luke, VANOC’s director of anti-doping. During the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games approximately 800 tests were conducted; approximately 1,200 were conducted in Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. VANOC is expecting to conduct upwards of 2,000 tests during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and moving forward with plans to conduct 450 tests for the Paralympic Winter Games. To do this work, the anti-doping team, under the direction of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), will have 11 full-time staff and approximately 500 volunteers.
Recruitment of these volunteers – consisting of doping control officers, blood collection officers and chaperones – will be completed by the end of 2007, with training to commence in early 2008. “The ultimate goal,” noted Dr. Jack Taunton, VANOC’s Chief Medical Officer, “is to ensure doping control staff and volunteers are professional, experienced and efficient in their roles protecting athletes’ rights to fair and ethical competition.” The first test for the new Doping Control Officers will be in February 2008 with the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, which is taking place in Whistler, BC.
With regards to the laboratory, agreements are being finalized to have a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory onsite for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. “I have no doubt that we will be faced with new developments in testing over the next few years and, as such, we are designing a program and lab that are able to respond, and adapt, to newly introduced testing practices,” said Luke.
“In addition to testing, VANOC is equally committed to increasing the level of anti-doping awareness among athletes and their support staff,” continued Luke. “It is VANOC’s intention to replicate the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) highly successful athlete outreach program in the lead up to 2010, capitalizing on international sporting events and major conferences.” As well, VANOC will work closely with national anti-doping agencies and National Olympic/ Paralympic Committees (NOCs, NPCs) to provide interactive resources and education tools to assist in educating athletes prior to the Games.
With these programs in place, combined with the recent success VANOC has so far encountered, the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee is on track to reaching its goal of hosting doping-free Games in 2010. For more information on the 2010 Winter Games visit www.vancouver2010.com.
Contact Us
