RIOU launches a professional development program for anti-doping coordinators from the all-Russian Sports Federation

The Russian International Olympic University (RIOU), on the ROC initiative and with the active assistance of RUSADA, initiated the professional development program named  “Organizational and legal aspects of anti-doping enforcement: roles and duties of responsible persons.”

The program, which started today, is focused on representatives of the all-Russian Sports Federations in Olympic sports. The audience includes anti-doping coordinators from the federations.

Among lecturers, there are only practitioners – representatives of RUSADA, experts in sports medicine, sports law, sports psychology, all with substantial knowledge of the anti-doping subject. Lectures and practical sessions are devoted to such topical issues as modern organization of the world anti-doping system, WADA standards, rights and duties of athletes and athlete personnel in terms of anti-doping enforcement, responsibility for the violation of anti-doping rules, roles and responsibilities of all-Russian Sports Federations in organizing doping control.

The program will have eight streams of 20 trainees each. The first group starts March 29, and training will last until April 2. Employees of rhythmic gymnastics federations, synchronized swimming, modern pentathlon, bobsleigh, rugby, triathlon, and others are among participants number. Training for regional sports federations will begin online in June.

Vladimir Sengleev, the ROC Director General:

— The anti-doping issue is one of the priorities in the work of the Russian Olympic Committee. As you know, on January 1, 2021, an updated version of the World anti-doping code came into force, and the WADA International Standards were revised. This led to changes in the Russian anti-doping rules and the Anti-doping rules of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Today’s reality requires us to strengthen organizational work with the Russian Sports Federations on forming a new anti-doping culture in the sports environment. Now, the anti-doping coordinator (a staff member representing a national or regional sports federation) and the athlete who violated anti-doping rules will have to share the responsibility for such violation.

We are ready to undertake not only the financing of educational sessions and professional development for these specialists but also to allocate funds to the Sports Federations for a decent remuneration of their work.

The anti-doping sessions that started today are part of the systematic educational work that the Russian Olympic Committee will develop and support regularly. We plan to promptly give our colleagues from the all-Russian and regional sports federations new information to understand international anti-doping trends and rules.

Lev Belousov, the RIOU Rector, Academician of the Russian Academy of Education:

— A flexible, autonomous approach to the development of educational products allows RIOU to respond instantly to the challenges of our time. Doping is perhaps the toughest challenge that Russian sport has faced in the past few decades. We were the first educational organization to sign a cooperation agreement with RUSADA, which allowed us to integrate the task of anti-doping into our master programs and develop special anti-doping sessions. On the joint initiative of RIOU and one of our founders, the ROC, we are opening today this intensive educational session aimed at anti-doping coordinators from all-Russian Sports Federations. The more actively we accumulate anti-doping capabilities, the faster we will develop an “artificial immunity” to this evil – and this is also the goal of our programs.

Ksenia Shoigu, the President of Russian Triathlon Federation:

— For the Russian Triathlon Federation, anti-doping policy is one of the key areas of work. That is why we have formed a separate commission, which will deal with this issue within the Russian triathlon. This program is a great opportunity to make the commission work even more effective, and I am grateful to the Russian Olympic Committee and the Russian International Olympic University for such an important initiative for Russian sport.