Stanislav Pozdnyakov: “Anti-doping education of young athletes contributes to the development of a healthy and clean sports environment”

The President of the Russian Olympic Committee delivered a report during the ANOC General Assembly in Doha. As the President of the ANOC Culture and Education Commission, Stanislav Pozdnyakov spoke in detail about its main areas of activity.

The Commission’s top priority is the integration of Olympic education into training programs, the fight against doping and the creation of a strong anti-doping culture in sports, as well as the education of athletes and their social adaptation after the completion of their professional sports careers.

As an example, Stanislav Pozdnyakov cited the International Forum of Young Olympians, already held twice in Moscow and organized by the ROC with support from IOC’s Olympic Solidarity and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Starting in 2018, participants of the International Forum of Young Olympians aged 14-17 have learnt about anti-doping rules and the features of the doping control procedure in an entertaining and interactive way. Olympic champions and winners have helped them in this endeavor.

This year, 16 National Olympic Committees took part in the forum. The event was attended by WADA Director General Olivier Niggli and IOC Olympic Values Promotion Manager Nils Holmegaard.

– Most countries have anti-doping agencies, but we are convinced that National Olympic Committees also play a role and should make every effort to strengthen the culture of doping intolerance among athletes, especially young people. One of the ways to promote the idea of zero tolerance for doping is through seminars and specialized forums where the importance of clean sports and anti-doping is explained to athletes. I strongly believe that the anti-doping education of young athletes contributes significantly to the development of a healthy and clean sports environment, – noted the President of the ROC.

The ANOC Culture and Education Commission will soon be developing a concept for the NOCs to conduct educational anti-doping events, as well as provide links to WADA training materials and prepare information on various educational methods for regular use by National Olympic Committees.

Furthermore, Stanislav Pozdnyakov spoke about projects designed to help athletes find their place in society after the completion of their sports careers.

– Currently, ANOC is about to present scholarships for two sports management programs implemented by the Russian International Olympic University in Sochi and the University of Seoul. We have reviewed the scholarship information and found that only several applicants are former athletes. In this regard, we propose increasing the number of universities that would provide ANOC scholarships and apply simpler selection criteria for former athletes in order to increase their chances of receiving scholarships. Moreover, we believe that NOCs should be encouraged so that they can put forward a larger number of candidates with past sports careers to receive ANOC scholarships.

It should be noted that IOC President Thomas Bach is also actively taking part in the ANOC General Assembly in Doha.