The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Executive Committee will meet for the second time this year on September 20, 2008, at the Agency’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada.
As is traditionally the case for its September meeting, the Executive Committee will consider the List of Prohibited Substances and Methods (List) for approval for the following year.
The Prohibited List is revised annually through a highly consultative process, beginning with the circulation of a draft List among more than 1,700 stakeholders. The comments received are processed by WADA’s List Working Committee, who then presents its conclusions to WADA’s Health, Medical and Research Committee.
The latter in turn submits its final recommendations to the Executive Committee, who discusses the recommendations and makes a final decision at its September meeting. (Click here http://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibitedlist.ch2 for more information on the process for preparing the List.)
The 2009 List will be published by October 1, 2008, and will come into force on January 1, 2009. Executive Committee members will also approve scientific research projects for funding, which is also done annually at the September meeting.
WADA’s scientific research grant program, one of the Agency’s chief piorities, is dedicated to developing new and improved means for detecting performance-enhancing substances and methods. Since 2001, WADA has committed more than US$37 million to advancing the science of anti-doping.
In addition, WADA’s Executive Committee will consider for approval the International Standard for the Protection of Privacy and Personal Information.
The purpose of this new International Standard is to ensure that all relevant parties involved in anti-doping in sport apply a minimum suitable privacy protection in relation to the collection and use of athletes’ personal data—as it relates to whereabouts, doping controls and therapeutic use exemptions.
WADA led an extensive consultation process among stakeholders, legal experts, international organizations (such as the Council of Europe) and the commissions on privacy protection from several countries. Two draft revisions of the Standard were released over the course of the past year in order to develop the final version presented to the Executive Committee.
Other topics to be addressed at the meeting include WADA's draft 2009 budget; updates on the preparation of the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) compliance report to be released in November; the implementation of the revised Code and International Standards by January 1, 2009; and current issues in relation to the fight against doping in sport.
A press conference with WADA’s President the Hon. John Fahey and Director General David Howman will be held following the meeting.
Date: September 20, 2008
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: WADA Headquarters, Stock Exchange Tower (17th floor), 800 Place Victoria, Montreal.
Journalists who plan to attend the press conference are required to register by contacting Frédéric Donzé, WADA’s Senior Manager, Media Relations & Communications, at frederic.donze@wada-ama.org by September 19.