The President of the Russian Olympic Committee took part in a meeting with members of the Monitoring Group of the Council of Europe’s Anti-Doping Convention
A working meeting was held at the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation with a delegation from the Monitoring Group of the Council of Europe’s Anti-Doping Convention, led by its Chairman, Mikhail Petru.
The President of the ROC Stanislav Pozdnyakov delivered a welcoming speech where he spoke about how the Russian Olympic Committee implemented the provisions of the new World Anti-Doping Code, which came into force on January 1, 2021, and the activities that the ROC conducted as part of its anti-doping educational program.
Particular attention was paid to the joint project of the ROC and the RIOU on training anti-doping coordinators from the All-Russian Sports Federations and financing the expenses of their work.
– At the moment, more than 100 specialists are undergoing training or have already completed this program, – said Stanislav Pozdnyakov. – The ROC fully covers this program, and also finances the salaries of those anti-doping coordinators who, after training, work in the national federations. Now there are already 23 specialists, and there are plans to increase this number.
I should also mention the cooperation with the national federations in terms of financial assistance for other anti-doping activities. For example, on the eve of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the ROC provided strong support to the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) to conduct additional anti-doping tests for those athletes who were supposed to take part in upcoming international competitions, including, the Olympic Games.
An important and promising program that we implemented together with RUSADA was the project on contract testing of young athletes-candidates for membership to the Russian Olympic team at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games. The ROC concluded a special agreement with RUSADA, according to which all young Olympians, without exception, were tested (in full compliance with international standards), who later took part in the Games as part of the Russian Olympic team. The ROC and RUSADA plan to continue working on similar projects ahead of other youth Olympic events in the near future.
The ROC President also talked to his colleagues about the already traditional annual Forum of Young Olympians – a cultural and educational event for young athletes from a host of countries. The main topic of the Forum is anti-doping education and forming the right attitude amongst young people who have decided to connect their lives with sports. This year, for the very first time, the Forum was organized both offline and online: young Olympians could take part personally, having arrived in Moscow, or by using online platforms.
Advisor to the Rector of the Russian International Olympic University Veronika Loginova spoke in detail about the educational programs that were being implemented by the university in conjunction with the ROC and RUSADA in order to improve the qualifications of specialists working in the national sports federations and regional organizations.
The Monitoring Group is due to submit a report on the results of the visit and the corresponding recommendations in December. After official approval, the report along with the recommendations will be published.
