WADA launches new e-learning course for athletes and coaches heading to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022

With the start of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 scheduled for February 2022, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announces the launch of a new interactive education course on its Anti-Doping Education and Learning Platform (ADEL) for athletes and coaches aiming to attend the Olympic Winter Games.

This latest ADEL course, entitled ‘ADEL for Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022’, was again developed by WADA in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Testing Agency (ITA), and further demonstrates the organizations’ commitment to collaborating with one another in order to educate and support athletes and their coaches in the build-up to the Games.

Similar to the pre-Games education courses previously made available for the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, athletes and coaches taking this latest course will gain an understanding of the Beijing 2022 anti-doping rules, procedures and requirements – including how to check medications and apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), how to provide whereabouts information, and explanations of the athletes’ rights and responsibilities during the testing process. The course will also allow athletes and coaches to identify key information, such as important dates that they need to be aware of and which organization has jurisdiction over them during the Games.

In addition to the above, the new course will provide important information regarding modifications to the 2022 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods which will be published on 30 September 2021 and will be in force during the Beijing Games. In particular, the course will provide information on the major changes regarding routes of administration of Glucocorticoids that will be enforced from 1 January 2022.

WADA Director of Education, Amanda Hudson, said: “WADA is proud to launch ‘ADEL for Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022’, which is the latest addition to our education solutions that Anti-Doping Organizations can use to educate their athletes and coaches. The course will enable Anti-Doping Organizations to help prepare their national team athletes and coaches on all things anti-doping at the Games.

“Aligned with the design of WADA’s new ADEL platform that was launched in January 2021, the course targets winter Olympic athletes and coaches and we are grateful to the IOC for the use of some inspiring visuals to complement the learning activities. WADA, the IOC and the ITA strongly encourage all Anti-Doping Organizations sending athletes to the Beijing Games to use this new interactive course.”

IOC Medical and Scientific Director, Dr Richard Budgett, said: “The anti-doping program at the Olympic Games is a strong partnership that exists to protect the participating athletes and the integrity of the Games. The IOC, therefore, is pleased to support this new e-learning course, as it will greatly help the athletes and their entourage to be fully informed on all anti-doping matters ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, in particular when it comes to the changes to WADA’s Prohibited List that will come into force on 1 January 2022.”

ITA Director General, Benjamin Cohen, said: “The ITA is leading an independent anti-doping program for Beijing 2022 on behalf of the IOC. We will coordinate and oversee comprehensive clean sport operations at the Games, which consist of intelligence-led testing alongside with the processing of TUEs, Athlete Biological Passport notifications, Results Management and Intelligence & Investigation activities. As part of this important program, athletes and Athlete Support Personnel will play a key role in ensuring that the Games are clean – and their work starts now with the release of this new education course that can be completed pre-Games.”

Completion of this course – which includes a certificate for those who achieve a score of 80% or higher – is highly recommended. WADA, the IOC and the ITA strongly encourage all National Olympic Committees to work in close collaboration with their National or Regional Anti-Doping Organizations and their National Federations to ensure that athletes and coaches are properly educated in advance of the Games – a principle that is reinforced by the International Standard for Education.

In January 2020, WADA and the IOC also launched the ‘ADeL for Medical Professionals at Major Games’ course, which is a mandatory requirement for all medical professionals attending the Games.