Releases
WADA releases new education program for ‘Talented Athletes’
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Today, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) releases a new education program entitled ‘ADEL for Talented Athletes’ which is available on the Agency’s Anti-Doping Education and Learning Platform (ADEL).
This new education program, specifically targeting ‘Talented Athletes’, is the sixth program that has been made available for athletes on ADEL. In line with the International Standard for Education (ISE), this program provides a solution for Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) wishing to educate athletes at the ‘talented level’ as defined and recommended within WADA’s Guidelines for Education.
Under the Guidelines, athletes at the talented level are defined as ‘athletes training regularly and committed to sport, identified as talented through some formal mechanism such as attending talent camps, or part of a talented development program’. ‘ADEL for Talented Athletes’ reinforces values that are important to their athletic career, including respect, integrity and resilience, and introduces the main aspects of anti-doping.
Some of the other key topics taught in this program are:
- Clean sport and the anti-doping system;
- Safe use of medications in sport;
- Food and healthy eating;
- Introduction to the anti-doping testing process;
- Sharing concerns about doping via WADA’s Speak Up! whistleblower platform; and
- Consequences of doping.
WADA Director of Education, Amanda Hudson, said: “This is the first time an online education program for younger, talented, athletes has been developed by WADA. Educating along the athlete pathway and reaching younger athletes is important to support the development of ethical sporting behavior by instilling the values of clean sport at an early age. With the release of this program, more athletes will have the opportunity to access education, joining the 20,000+ athletes who have already enrolled for our existing education programs hosted on ADEL.
“Some of these athletes will advance to international competition such as the Youth Olympic Games or international age-group championships; and, many will continue as athletes and/or in Athlete Support Personnel roles such as coaching. As such, providing values-based education at this stage can play a fundamental role in the development of their sporting careers and should be prioritized.”
While the course is currently available in English, the French and Spanish versions are under development and will be made available on ADEL in the coming months.
WADA would like to take this opportunity to remind athletes and ADOs, as well as National Olympic and Paralympic Committees, that with the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games fast approaching, our ‘ADEL for Tokyo Olympics’ and ‘ADEL for Tokyo Paralympics’ courses remain available as pre-Games education solutions for athletes and coaches who are heading to the Tokyo Games. The courses are accessible on the ADEL platform under the Major Events Education catalog and are available in a variety of languages, thanks to the translation efforts of ADOs around the globe.
ADOs who would like to keep track of new courses and resources on ADEL are invited to visit the ADEL Roadmap. For any questions regarding the ‘ADEL for Talented Athletes’ education program, or to provide feedback on any of our courses and education programs, please contact WADA’s Education Department at: ADEL@wada-ama.org.