WADA launches Preliminary Phase of Athlete Council Election

Athlete Commissions of International Federations to submit candidatures by 25 October 

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to announce the launch of the Preliminary Phase of the Election of the eight athletes who will form WADA’s Athlete Council Group 2 for 2025-2027. WADA is now inviting all eligible International Federation (IF) Athlete Commissions (ACs) that are Signatories to the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) to present candidates for the election by 23:59 EDT on Friday 25 October 2024. 

About the Athlete Council 

WADA’s Athlete Council is a Permanent Special Committee that represents, supports, and promotes the voices of athletes on anti-doping matters. The Council is composed of athletes’ representatives chosen by athletes and is grouped as follows: 

• Group 1: Five athletes appointed by the International Olympic Committee’s and International Paralympic Committee’s ACs; 
• Group 2: Eight athletes elected by IF ACs; and 
• Group 3: Seven other athletes, selected by an appointment panel made up by a majority of athletes, to fill skills and diversity gaps. 

WADA Athlete Council Chair Ryan Pini said: "WADA’s Athlete Council is the primary mechanism through which athletes can get directly involved in WADA’s governance and a meaningful way to ensure that the athlete experience is captured in anti-doping policies. We are proud of what we have been able to achieve since our inception last year and are looking forward to keeping up the momentum. I encourage any athlete who is interested in getting involved and engaging with other passionate athletes on this important work to strongly consider this opportunity. If you are looking to promote athlete representation in anti-doping, reach out to your International Federation’s Athlete Commission to ask about putting you forward for the Athlete Council election.”  

The Athlete Council also provides the path for athletes to assume important seats within WADA’s governance bodies. Specifically: 

• the Council Chair is appointed to WADA’s Executive Committee; 
• two members have seats on WADA’s Foundation Board (with at least one coming from Paralympic sport); and 
• the Council is in charge of appointing athlete representatives to other WADA bodies, including the Standing Committees. 

Group 2 Election Procedure 

The rules that govern the election can be found within the Election Procedure, including: 

• eligibility criteria for IF ACs and for candidates (Note: each IF AC will be allowed to put forward one candidate only); 
• role of the election scrutineer;  
• procedural steps for submission of candidatures; 
• voting procedure; and 
• provisions related to potential infringement of the procedure and protection of personal information.  

The rules and other information regarding the election process were communicated directly to all Athlete Commission Chairs of IFs that are Signatories to the Code earlier today, inviting them to submit candidatures. 

Election Timeline 

The following table outlines the timeline that will apply to the Group 2 election this year:  

*Might be postponed in case of tie results, in which case run-off rounds will need to be organized. 

WADA encourages its stakeholders to promote this opportunity to amplify the voices of athletes within the collaborative global movement for doping-free sport. We kindly ask IFs to promote this election process through their channels and within their athlete networks to expand the reach to as many athletes as possible. 

Should you have any questions, please feel free to direct them to athlete@wada-ama.org.