2022-23 ANNUAL REPORT – ANTI-DOPING

This article forms part of a series of reports which accompany the 2022-23 BF Annual Report.  

Background

At the beginning of 2021 a new UK National Anti-Doping Policy was introduced, this is a Government policy that enables the UK to meet the UNESCO Convention against Doping in Sport. The policies and requirements are driven by the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) standards https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/international-standards.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) then published an Assurance Framework that all NGBs must comply with. British Fencing (BF) has been leading the work in completing this framework for fencing,  ensure all anti-doping policies (including those of the Home Nations) are compliant with the new standards.

See details of the assurance framework on UKAD’s website here https://www.ukad.org.uk/national-anti-doping-policy.

As part of this work, in 2022 BF produced an education strategy to cover all the requirements for this.

In April 2022 BF completed this Assurance Framework under which the 2022-23 initiatives were delivered:

Assurance Framework update 2023

In April 2023 all BF’s anti-doping requirements were reviewed and updated to ensure BF continue to meet the requirements of the UKAD assurance framework.

Website and Communication

Activities in the 2022-23 period included:

• Maintaining our website with the latest information from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). (See all the information you need as an athlete, parent, coach, or other person involved in fencing here https://www.britishfencing.com/policy-zone/anti-doping-2/).
• Posting regular online news posts on policy updates and reminders along with highlighting education opportunities.
• Being active on social media, with reminders and information relevant to all members of BF and all those who support them.

Training and Education

• BF-led education sessions continued online with community sessions every 2 months, delivered by Neil Brown, Clare Queen (Scottish Fencing), and Lorraine Rose.
• Updates were provided to all ADP fencers at intervals throughout the year.
• Anti-doping education is also a core part of the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) syllabus so forms part of the ADP athlete education plan.
• A series of webinars delivered by the (International Testing Agency) ITA for the Fédération Internationale d’Escrime (FIE) was promoted and shared to the community.
• In addition anti-doping information relevant to our senior fencers was disseminated and further information and support given to support teams: coaches and other athlete support personnel (ASP).

Anti-Doping Educator CPD
Members of our educator team have done multiple workshops and training webinars with UKAD and the International Testing Agency (ITA). These have looked at latest updates, the changes to the prohibited list that are published every year, discussions with experts in anti-doping scientific and education research, and some online session delivery training.

Coach Quality Assurance
As part of BF’s commitment to supporting Clean Sport, it is a requirement for all coaches travelling to international events or working with the ADP to have completed UKAD’s online course Coach Clean within the last 3 years.

The certificate upload is now a field on the membership database to enable monitoring and automation of reminders when they are due for renewal.

Please see the Coach Clean course (for coaches working at all levels) and the Introduction to Clean Sport course (for anyone supporting an athlete in any role) on the UKAD eLearning portal here https://www.ukad.org.uk/news/ukad-moves-elearning-platforms-new-and-improved-clean-sport-hub-qa

International Fencers
All fencers who are selected by BF for any international events (at all age groups, senior, junior, or cadet) now must specifically agree that they have the knowledge to compete clean and understand their clean sport responsibilities before their selection can be confirmed.

All fencers selected for the 2023 European Games were required to conform to the Clean Games standard set by UKAD.

UKAD recently launched their new online education course, Compete Clean+. ADP fencers have been strongly encouraged to do this course, and upload their certificate to their membership record on Sport:80.

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