WADA to issue Code Compliance Questionnaire

As part of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) World Anti-Doping Code (Code) Compliance Monitoring Program, which was established in 2016, International Federations (IFs) and National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) will shortly receive what will be the second Code Compliance Questionnaire (CCQ) in WADA’s history.

The purpose of the CCQ is to assess implementation of the 2021 Code and International Standards by Code Signatories with the goal of further strengthening and harmonizing the global anti-doping system. The CCQ will be rolled out in batches according to which Tier the Signatory is in.

Those ADOs in:

• Tier 1 will receive it on 8 March 2022;
• Tier 2 will receive it in late May 2022;
• Tier 3 can expect it in the first quarter of 2023; and
• Tier 4 are estimated to receive it by the middle of 2023.

[Note: To avoid duplication, Signatories that were audited in 2021 or will be audited in 2022 will not receive a CCQ. In addition, some Signatories may receive their CCQ at a different time depending upon individual circumstances, with those Signatories being notified accordingly.]

The Signatory Tier system published on WADA’s website today – which forms part of WADA’s revised ‘Policy for WADA’s Application of the International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories’ (ISCCS) (Prioritization Policy), announced on 4 October 2021 – uses stated criteria to divide IFs and NADOs across four Tiers (as opposed to three Tiers under the previous version of the Prioritization Policy). Although all IFs and NADOs are responsible for implementing the requirements of the Code and International Standards, the minimum compliance requirements for each Tier are different, as articulated in the Policy.

Under the terms of the ISCCS, completion of the CCQ is a mandatory requirement for each Signatory. The questions contained within the CCQ will be made available in advance to afford IFs and NADOs time to prepare. In addition, WADA will host a webinar in February, for which details will follow, designed to provide all relevant information to Signatories about the CCQ and answer any questions or concerns they may have. WADA’s Regional Offices in Tokyo, Japan (Asia/Oceania), Cape Town, South Africa (Africa), Montevideo, Uruguay (Latin America), and Lausanne, Switzerland (Europe), as well as WADA headquarters in Montreal, Canada, stand ready to support Signatories during this process. In the first instance, all questions relating to the CCQ can be directed to compliance@wada-ama.org.

Background

In 2016, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) initiated development of its ISO9001:2015-certified Compliance Monitoring Program, and in 2017, WADA sent out the first CCQ to Code Signatories, and launched the Signatory Audit Program. In 2020, WADA published its Compliance Strategy which guides WADA’s Compliance Monitoring Program towards the objective of continually improving the compliance maturity of the anti-doping system.

The improvements to the overall anti-doping system have been extensive following the issuing of Corrective Action Reports (CARs) to the Signatories that received and completed the 2017 CCQ. In addition, to date, WADA has conducted 66 audits of both IFs and NADOs, with a total of 13 audits completed in 2021 and a further 10 planned for 2022. In line with WADA’s Compliance Strategy, WADA publishes an Annual Compliance Report, which identifies progress, challenges, trends and areas for improvement.

The aforementioned Prioritization Policy was approved by the Executive Committee in September 2021 and came into effect on 1 January 2022. Through the Tier system explained in the Policy, Anti-Doping Organizations’ accountability in the enforcement of the Code is expanded in a graded and proportional manner to include enhanced requirements for NADOs and IFs. The Tiers enable WADA to prioritize its compliance monitoring and enforcement efforts, by focusing on certain categories of Signatories, chosen based on objective factors identified in the ISCCS.