National athletes tested for banned substances

All tests conducted by the National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) on Vincentian national athletes in recent “out of competition” tests have come back negative.{{more}}

This was reported on Friday, September 16, in a release from NADO. The release said, as a necessity for compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code, and with the establishment of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), a number of ‘out of competition’ tests were conducted by Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) Doping Control Officers (DCOs) here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The release said the tests, which involved the collection of samples from a random selection of local athletes from selected sports, followed on from the recent UNESCO, sponsored two-day workshop in March 2011, entitled Anti-Doping in Sport, which provided all stakeholders, including an outreach to local schools, with information about the use and abuse of drugs in sport.

The athletes tested on this occasion were not announced in advance, which introduced an element of surprise. They were approached in a variety of locations, including the airport departure lounge, training and team camp locations and the beach. This highlights the fact that our national athletes can now be expected to be asked to provide a sample for drug testing purposes at any time, whether in or out of competition, with no advance notice. The failure of an athlete to provide a sample when asked to do so by their sports federation, via a certified Doping Control Officer, could mean a mandatory 2-year ban from competing in any sport, and from receiving funding from the Government and National Olympic Committee or even a ban from training with other athletes.

Dr. Perry De Freitas, board member of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) and Director of SVG National Anti-Doping Organisation, was indeed pleased to report that all tests were negative, as advised by a World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) accredited laboratory, where the samples were submitted for full scientific analysis for banned substances in sport.

For more information on anti-doping in sport, please contact your National Olympic Committee or the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) on the web at http://caribbeanrado.com