World Anti-Doping Agency Code Research Articles

Anxiety and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Elite Athletes

Physical activity is recommended as a strategy for promoting mental health, and it can even be integrated into treatment plans for psychiatric disorders affecting the general population. However, elite athletes are a subpopulation with protective and risk factors inherent to high-level competition and are not shielded from psychiatric symptoms and conditions. The mental health of elite athletes has been the subject of increasing attention, driven in part by the initiatives of the International Olympic Committee and the growing importance of sports psychiatry. This article is a narrative review that provides an overview regarding anxiety, in particular generalized anxiety disorder in elite athletes. Our assessment concluded that competitive anxiety may affect an elite athlete's performance in both harmful and beneficial ways. Assessing the duration, frequency, and functional impact of anxiety symptoms is crucial for ruling out generalized anxiety disorder. Elite athletes do not show a significantly different prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder compared to the general population. Identifying specific protective and risk factors can contribute to adopting more effective preventive and intervention strategies. As in the general population, psychotherapy is recommended for elite athletes as the initial treatment for this condition, combined, if necessary, with pharmacotherapy, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency Code.

Competence in Sports Pharmacy among Pharmacy Students in Norway.

Pharmacists are competent to promote the proper use of medicines. According to the International Pharmaceutical Federation, pharmacists must develop competence in sports pharmacy and the contents of the World Anti-Doping Agency code. This explorative study aimed to identify the status of sports pharmacy in pharmacy education in Norway and competence in sports pharmacy among Norwegian pharmacy students. The study curricula of pharmacy education were examined for the content of sports pharmacy. An online questionnaire was also developed and distributed among pharmacy students. The anonymous survey collected demographic information and data on competence in sports pharmacy. Data from 122 participants were analyzed. Only 22.5% of pharmacy students had acquired a form of training in sports pharmacy and 91.7% wished to gain higher competence. In total, 40.2% of respondents were uncomfortable in advising athletes and trainers on medication use in sports. Study year was found to correlate with competence level with a significant difference between the 3rd year (bachelor) and 5th year (master) students. Age, institution, and number of years engaged in sports were not associated with competence level. The inclusion of sports pharmacy in pharmacy programs holds practical relevance for enhancing competency levels. This implementation can be realized through the integration of sports pharmacy modules and/or the incorporation of research-based activities.

Thyroid Hormone Abuse in Elite Sports: The Regulatory Challenge.

Abuse of androgens and erythropoietin has led to hormones being the most effective and frequent class of ergogenic substances prohibited in elite sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). At present, thyroid hormone (TH) abuse is not prohibited, but its prevalence among elite athletes and nonprohibited status remains controversial. A corollary of prohibiting hormones for elite sports is that endocrinologists must be aware of a professional athlete’s risk of disqualification for using prohibited hormones and/or to certify Therapeutic Use Exemptions, which allow individual athletes to use prohibited substances for valid medical indications. This narrative review considers the status of TH within the framework of the WADA Code criteria for prohibiting substances, which requires meeting 2 of 3 equally important criteria of potential performance enhancement, harmfulness to health, and violation of the spirit of sport. In considering the valid clinical uses of TH, the prevalence of TH use among young adults, the reason why some athletes seek to use TH, and the pathophysiology of sought-after and adverse effects of TH abuse, together with the challenges of detecting TH abuse, it can be concluded that, on the basis of present data, prohibition of TH in elite sport is neither justified nor feasible.

Model-based meta-analysis of salbutamol pharmacokinetics and practical implications for doping control.

Salbutamol was included in the prohibited list of the World Anti‐Doping Agency (WADA) in 2004. Although systemic intake is banned, inhalation for asthma is permitted but with dosage restrictions. The WADA established a urinary concentration threshold to distinguish accordingly prohibited systemic self‐administration from therapeutic prescription by inhalation. This study aimed at evaluating the ability of the WADA threshold to differentiate salbutamol therapeutic use from violation of antidoping rules. Concentration‐time profile of salbutamol in plasma and its excretion in urine was characterized through a model‐based meta‐analysis of individual and aggregate data collected after administration of a large range of doses following different modes of administration and under a variety of conditions. The developed model adequately fitted salbutamol plasma and urine concentration‐time profiles of the 13 selected studies. Model‐based simulations confirmed that a wide range of salbutamol urine concentrations might be measured after drug intake. Although violation of the WADA Code can be strongly suspected in individuals showing very high salbutamol urine concentrations, uncertainty remains for values close to the WADA threshold as they can be compatible with both permitted therapeutic use and violation. Although not entirely discriminant, the current WADA rule is globally supported by our appraisal. It could be further improved by a slight and reasonable adjustment of inhaled daily dosages allowed for therapeutic use. Our model might help antidoping experts in the evaluation of suspected doping cases through confronting the athlete's urine measurements with their allegations about salbutamol treatment.

Contaminated product and lifting a mandatory provisional suspension: Is there a new standard of proof in case of the All-Russian Anti-Doping Rules?

The story of the possible temporary suspension of Russian figure skating star Kamila Valieva during the 2022 Olympic Games was discussed as actively as the results of the competitions. The figure skater passed a positive doping test during the competition in December 2021 but only found out about it on February 8. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) applied a mandatory provisional suspension to the athlete. However, on February 9, the RUSADA Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee, at the appeal of the skater, lifted the decision of RUSADA on suspension and the athlete was able to take part in the Olympic games. The International Skating Union, the International Olympic Committee, and the World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) filed appeals against the Anti-Doping Committee’s decision. The Court of Arbitration for Sport denied all appeals and affirmed the decision of the RUSADA Anti-Doping Committee. The key point was the status of the skater a protected person according to the view of the WADA World Anti-Doping Code — a protected person. At the same time, the special regime for a protected person did not extend to the standard of proof. Such an athlete, like any other athlete, must prove on the basic of a “balance of probability” that a prohibited substance was entered through a contaminated product to lift a mandatory provisional suspension. In the opinion of the RUSADA Anti-Doping Committee, the athlete was able to prove a “reasonable possibility” of a prohibited substance entering her body through a contaminated product. The literal application of the norm of the All-Russian Anti-Doping Rules, in contrast to the WADA Code, is required to prove that “the violation most likely occurred due to the use of a contaminated product”. The extraordinary situation is commented on by the author.

Athletes’ right to a fair trial in ‘non-analytical positive doping cases’: An analysis

ABSTRACT This paper scrutinises the applicability of anti-doping legal regime as adjudicated in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It argues that the existing provisions dealing with ‘non-analytical positive doping’ in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code are arbitrary and violate the principles of natural justice. While determining ‘non-analytical positive doping violation’, the anti-doping organisations are not required to prove the athlete’s guilt because, under the existing WADA Code, this guilt is presumed regardless of the type of violation. The right to a fair trial is the most fundamental aspect of rule of law meant for the protection of human rights. This paper seeks to examine whether fair trial guarantees are available to the athletes when they are brought for trial before the CAS and National Anti-Doping Organisations. In such cases, CAS panel has evolved a presumption in favour of WADA. The WADA provisions result in a violation of the athlete’s right to a fair trial. The study reveals the existing structural defects of CAS and shortcomings of the WADA Code and issues related to the violation of right to a fair trial.

WADA Time to Choose a Side: Reforming the Anti-Doping Policies in U.S. Sports Leagues While Preserving Players’ Rights to Collectively Bargain

If you were to ask any sports fan whether performance enhancing drugs (“PEDs”) are prevalent in any of the major U.S. sports leagues, the answer would likely be a resounding “yes.” From Barry Bonds to Lance Armstrong, the specter of doping has hung over American sports for decades, and there has been consistent pressure to ramp up efforts to both deter and catch offenders. Yet, while the major U.S. sports leagues—such as Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Football League (NFL)—have updated their drug policies, they have not signed on to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s AntiDoping Code. To outside observers, the question arises: If American sports leagues are truly serious about catching athletes who use PEDs, then why not sign on to join the world’s largest anti-doping agency?
 The International Olympic Committee established the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999, in response to the drug scandal that occurred at the 1998Tour de France. The Agency’s Anti-Doping Code (the “WADA Code” or the “Code”) is designed to be extremely strict and punitive in order to properly deterathletes from doping and affecting the fairness of competitions. The Code has drawn the ire of many athletes and has implicated privacy concerns, but remains in place, governing the Olympics, international sporting competitions, and even the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
 MLB, the NBA, and the NFL, despite past pressure from Congress and WADA officials, have continued to monitor their own athletes and collectively bargain with their players’ unions to develop drug testing policies that walk a fine line between ensuring effectiveness while minimizing invasiveness. Collective bargaining has been seen as a weakness among proponents of the WADA Code. Proponents argue that collective bargaining fails to address the players’ incentives to negotiate toothless drug policies and the leagues’ incentives to ensure that their star players are not implicated in any scandals. However, these concerns from WADA officials and the American public are overblown.
 This Note argues that while U.S. sports leagues have some work to do in order to properly combat doping, the WADA Code is far too draconian and overly punitive to be implemented in American sports. As they stand, the U.S. sports leagues’ policies are largely sufficient and should not become any more punitive than they currently are. However, the conflicts of interest involved when leagues and unions develop their own anti-doping policies should be addressed; specifically, the creation of these policies should be entrusted to an independent agency to ensure their unbiased development and implementation. Part I examines the WADA Code, as well as the current anti-doping policies of the NBA, the NFL, and MLB. Part II argues that the major U.S. sports leagues would be ill-advised to adopt the WADA Code to govern themselves because the WADA Code includes significant drawbacksthat place unacceptable burdens on athletes’ privacy and autonomy, the difference in effectiveness is not significant enough justify the imposition of WADA’srestrictions, and doping is not a significant enough problem overall to justify WADA’s many drawbacks. Part III suggests that striking a balance between current U.S. sports league policies and the WADA Code by establishing an independent agency that liaises with each sport’s players’ union and enlists sponsors in the fight against doping. This solution would serve to address some of the issues levied at MLB, the NBA, and the NFL while avoiding the overly punitive and invasive aspects of the WADA Code.

Exceptional circumstances beyond International Swimming Federation Doping Control Rules: The Sun Yang case of Court of Arbitration for Sport

The authors refer to the exceptional circumstances surrounding Sun Yang’s violation. The athlete intervened in the doping control procedure in several ways. First, he questioned the proper accreditation of the IDTM’s (The company “International Doping Tests and Management”) Samples Collection Personnel, one of which photographed him. This officer was suspended from urine sampling, but there was no longer a male specialist on the IDTM’s Samples Collection Personnel. Therefore, the collection of urine samples did not take place due to the athlete’s actions. A general distrust of IDTM’s Samples Collection Personnel due to inappropriate photographing was the catalyst for follow-up action. Secondly, the athlete required IDTM’s Samples Collection Personnel to confirm his credentials (accreditation) from the anti-doping organization, despite the submission of documents by IDTM’s Samples Collection Personnel following the International Standard for Testing and Investigations. Not having received the additional and, in the opinion of the athlete, necessary documents, he refused to participate in the doping control procedure as a whole, tearing up his previously given written consent. Finally, the athlete took part in the destruction of blood samples with a hammer, but his role in this process was controversial. A prerequisite for the destruction process of the samples was the assistance of the IDTM’s Samples Collection Personnel, who handed them over to the athlete in response to insistent demands. The listed circumstances, which are exceptional, however, could not affect the reduction of Sun Yang’s period of ineligibility, since the FINA (International Swimming Federation) Doping Control Rules, based on WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) Code 2015, do not imply such a basis. The new WADA Code 2021 offers a more flexible concept of liability and takes into account exceptional circumstances that in subsequent disputes about tampering can be established based on the example of the dispute CAS 2019/A/6148.

Sport and doping: from WADA’s monopoly to collective arrangements and new model of anti-doping

On April 1, 2018, the new standards of compliance to the code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) came into force. The new standards impact all sports. An important amendment has been made to an article of the existing code ‘Additional Roles and Responsibility of the Parties’. Now, all international federations and the unions in agreement with WADA are obliged to reject applications for holding all sporting events from countries that do not comply with the WADA code. By then, Russian elite sport remained in isolation because the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) had no license from WADA until a compromise agreement allowed Russia back into international sports in September 2018. The probability of obtaining permanent return to international sport was extremely low. In order to obtain the license, Russian sport authorities were asked to agree with the reports of Professor McLaren and to admit the existence of doping support in the country at the state level, which seemed improbable. In Russia, although the new standards of the World Anti-Doping Agency code have not caused special concerns it directly impact Russian elite sport. Unless certain conditions were met by 2019, there was a high probability that Russia would not be able to attend large international competitions in the near future, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The situation dictates the choice of the new strategy of development for Russian sport and new model for the fight against doping, which can be not dependent on WADA. To date, there have been no real checks on WADA’s authority other than occasional decisions in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Academics who are critical of WADA’s functions often find themselves marginalized when the purported global doping “crisis” should bring “all hands on deck” to provide a humanistic and scientific approach that is best for athletes past, present and future. The functions of WADA in investigating, charging and punishing athletes do not contribute to sustainable development of sport and the sports industry around the world, and create unipolar environment of influence on sports development. Therefore, in this article, we describe some alternative forms and new order of regulation of the anti-doping relations in sport.

Achieving compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code: learning from the implementation of another international agreement

ABSTRACT The scale of the compliance problem that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) faces was recently highlighted by the exposure of institutionalised doping in Russia and the series of doping scandals within athletics. The article aims to analyse the problems of achieving compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code. Specifically, the article explores the techniques for, and problems of, achieving compliance with the Code and a similar international agreement. The chosen agreement is the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime, with a specific focus upon anti-money laundering. The anti-doping and anti-money laundering regimes were analysed to identify the range of strategies used to achieve (or at least enhance) the level of compliance with the respective international convention. The anti-money laundering strategies were also evaluated to assess their effectiveness as a way of generating ideas for improving compliance with the WADA Code. To analyse compliance, three inter-related bodies of theory were used: regime theory, implementation theory and compliance system theory. Qualitative document analysis was used to analyse documents published by relevant organisations. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior staff members responsible for monitoring compliance at the international and UK domestic level. The results identified a range of strategies used to achieve compliance, including sanctions, random monitoring mechanisms and whistleblowing. It is concluded that the identified strategies have had modest and variable success in improving compliance, yet have the potential to address the problems of achieving compliance with the 2015 WADA Code.

Managing compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code: China’s strategies and their implications

With the problems of doping in sport becoming more serious, the World Anti-Doping Code was drafted by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2003 and became effective one year later. Since its passage, the Code has been renewed four times, with the fourth and latest version promulgated in January 2015. The Code was intended to tackle the problems of doping in sports through cooperation with governments to ensure fair competition as well as the health of athletes. To understand China’s strategies for managing compliance with the Code and also the implications behind those strategies, this study borrows ideas from theories of compliance. China’s high levels of performance in sport, judged by medal success, have undoubtedly placed the country near the top of the global sports field. Therefore, how China acts in relation to international organizations, and especially how it responds to the World Anti-Doping Agency, is highly significant for the future of elite sport and for the world anti-doping regime. Through painstaking efforts, the researchers visited Beijing to conduct field research four times and interviewed a total of 22 key sports personnel, including officials at the General Administration of Sports of China, the China Anti-Doping Agency, and individual sport associations, as well as sport scholars and leading officials of China’s professional sports leagues. In response to the World Anti-Doping Agency, China developed strategies related to seven institutional factors: ‘monitoring’, ‘verification’, ‘horizontal linkages’, ‘nesting’, ‘capacity building’, ‘national concern’ and ‘institutional profile’. As for the implications, the Chinese government is willing and able to comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency Code. In other words, the Chinese government is willing to pay a high price in terms of money, manpower and material resources so that it can recover from the disgrace suffered as a result of doping scandals in the 1990s. The government wants to ensure that China’s prospects as a participant, bidder and host of mega sporting events are not compromised, especially as the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Athletes’ rights under the World Anti-Doping Code: A legitimate public interest?

World Anti-Doping Agency considers doping transgressions strict liability offences. Strict liability offences that restrict human rights may be morally justified where legitimate social interests outweigh the rights of individuals. The World Anti-Doping Agency Code is currently under review, with a revised Code expected to be issued in January 2021. This article critically examines whether the Code conforms to international human rights standards, and whether strict liability can be ethically justified on the basis that they are in the public interest. It also considers how the principles of anti-doping policy may be shaped by and for athletes through a Rawlsian critique of anti-doping regulation.

When contaminated dietary supplements cause positive drug tests: methylhexaneamine as a doping agent in sport

ABSTRACTResearchers estimate that contaminated dietary supplements cause between 6.4% and 8.8% of all positive drug tests in competitive sport. Methylhexaneamine (DMAA), an amphetamine derivative banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2009, has caused more positive tests than any other stimulant. The current article examines DMAA as a potentially hazardous supplement contaminant and doping agent, beginning with an historical overview. Sections addressing its status as both a performance-enhancing substance and potential health threat follow. The article then situates methylhexaneamine in a sport-policy context, identifying DMAA-related challenges to the effective and uniform enforcement of the WADA Code. A final section offers suggestions for both athletes and athletic organisations.

A performance passport in cycling: facts and fancy

Introduction The Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) is a testing paradigm with immense potential value in the current climate of rapid advancements in biomarker discovery (Sottas, Robinson, Rabin, & Saugy, 2011; Vernec, 2014). Athletes who misuse doping substances do so to trigger physiological changes that provide performance enhancements. Therefore, in the same way that disease-related biomarkers are invaluable tools that assist physicians in the diagnosis of pathology, doping can be detected from specifically selected biomarkers (Sottas & Vernec, 2012). However, despite remarkable results since its implementation, athletes are may fine-tuning their doping methods to circumvent the ABP testing protocols. Hamilton & Coyle, (2012) document that athletes adapted their doping protocols to reduce the chances of being tested positive. The ABP was first adopted in cycling by the International Cycling Union (UCI) to provide an extended overview of the variations in hematological parameters of professional cyclists. As few modifications of the ABP have occurred since its introduction in 2009, additional parameters are needed to strengthen its detection and deterrence potential. The new World Anti-Doping Agency code (WADA, 2015) stresses the importance of the ABP and the need to further develop it to address confounding factors. Indeed, Vernec, (2014) notes that the ABP is not limited to the longitudinal analysis of multiparametric biomarkers present in biological samples but should also include other relevant information such as the athletes’ whereabouts and other parameters, such as performance. Meanwhile, athletes appear compelled to include some forms of altitude training in their preparation apparently in expectation of performance gains compared to training at sea-level. However, altitude exposure may also be a pretext for the justification of suspicious profiles as the validity of the ABP. Refining the passport by introducing new and more robust variables (e.g., new biomarkers and performance alteration) and investigating the altering effect of confounding factors (e.g. altitude exposure) would yield a reinforced targeted approach of athletes’ longitudinal (biological or physiological) passport. For instance, the development of an athlete’s performance (or physiological) passport (APP) may pave the way for the ABP to be strengthened, potentially increasing its sensitivity for identifying athletes with profiles indicative of doping. While cycling performance ability can be evaluated and modelled scientifically (Hopker, Coleman, & Passfield, 2009; Hopker, Coleman, Passfield, & Wiles, 2010; Pinot & Grappe, 2015), the reliability and validity of cycling power meters used in professional cycling first needs to be evaluated. When calibrated and accurate data is obtained, a longitudinal power data profile for a cyclist, in the form of an APP may provide a useful signature of likely changes in training and performance potential. However, accounting for confounding factors that affect performance and integrating this into the ABP represents an additional concomitant challenge. This presentation will introduce the elements susceptible for improve with the current APB. First, stratagems adopted by athletes to circumvent being flagged in the ABP will be described. Second, the effect of confounding factors on biological and performance variables will be highlighted. Finally, a pragmatic strategy to strengthen the ABP through a “physiological module” including performance factors will be presented.

Brief History of Anti-Doping.

The fight against doping in sport as we know it today commenced by the creation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission in 1961 following the death of a Danish cyclist during the Rome Olympic Games the year before. After a slow start, the fight got under way as from the early 1970s under the leadership of the IOC and of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Despite a lack of understanding and weak support even from the sports community, a series of measures were taken during the 1970s and 1980s which still form cornerstones of today's anti-doping strategy. In addition to information and education campaigns, the most important examples are the introduction of procedural rules for doping controls, the establishment and follow-up of a list of prohibited substances and methods, the accreditation of doping control laboratories, the introduction of in- and out-of-competition testing, rules for therapeutic use exemption, and the introduction of blood sampling. During the 1990s, the anti-doping fight gained increasing support both inside and outside the sport community. In order to harmonize the wide variety of rules that had developed both in sport organizations and at the domestic level and to promote anti-doping activities, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was jointly created by the Olympic movement and the public authorities in 1999. WADA is today carrying on the fight supported by the universally accepted WADA Code and an International Anti-Doping Convention under UNESCO.

The 2009 WADA Code: A More Proportionate Deal for Athletes?

This article seeks to assess the leading force in developing anti-doping policy in sport; the World Anti-Doping Agency. This article will analyse the 2009 World Anti Doping Agency Code, which came into force on 1 January 2009. The 2009 Code represents the latest effort to fight doping in sport, and contains a considerable number of new provisions from that which was previously in place. The main question this article poses is whether the changes made in the 2009 Code are justifiable as being proportionate in order to take forward the fight against doping whilst at the same time respecting athletes’ rights. The article goes on to detail the new provisions of the 2009 Code and assesses the proportionality of each in the light of standard principles of justice and specific sporting jurisprudence on the matter, particularly the judgments of the European Court of Justice on this issue. The conclusion reached is that several of the provisions contained in the 2009 Code are in breach of the proportionality principle by violating the personal rights of athletes, particularly those relating to economic livelihood, privacy and procedural fairness. Accordingly, aggrieved athletes will inevitably bring legal disputes.

It is Time to Ban Rapid Weight Loss from Combat Sports.

Most competitions in combat sports are divided into weight classes, theoretically allowing for fairer and more evenly contested disputes between athletes of similar body size, strength and agility. It has been well documented that most athletes, regardless of the combat sports discipline, reduce significant amounts of body weight in the days prior to competition to qualify for lighter weight classes. Rapid weight loss is characterised by the reduction of a significant amount of body weight (typically 2-10%, although larger reductions are often seen) in a few days prior to weigh-in (mostly in the last 2-3days) achieved by a combination of methods that include starvation, severe restriction of fluid intake and intentional sweating. In doing so, athletes try to gain a competitive advantage against lighter, smaller and weaker opponents. Such a drastic and rapid weight reduction is only achievable via a combination of aggressive strategies that lead to hypohydration and starvation. The negative impact of these procedures on health is well described in the literature. Although the impact of rapid weight loss on performance is debated, there remains robust evidence showing that rapid weight loss may not impair performance, and translates into an actual competitive advantage. In addition to the health and performance implications, rapid weight loss clearly breaches fair play and stands against the spirit of the sport because an athlete unwilling to compete having rapidly reduced weight would face unfair contests against opponents who are 'artificially' bigger and stronger. The World Anti-Doping Agency Code states that a prohibited method must meet at least two of the following criteria: (1) enhances performance; (2) endangers an athlete's health; and (3) violates the spirit of the sport. We herein argue that rapid weight loss clearly meets all three criteria and, therefore, should be banned from the sport. To quote the World Anti-Doping Agency Code, this would "protect the athletes' fundamental right to participate in a doping-free sport and thus promote health, fairness and equality".

2015 WADA code comes into effect: significant changes in the Spanish legal arena

2013 was a particularly relevant year for the study of legal considerations on doping. Not least because of the celebration of the Fourth World Conference on Doping in Sport that focused on the World Anti-Doping Code review process (Code that will be in force on January 1, 2015). This legislative issue has also been of great relevance in Spain. Hence, this work especially considers the legal implications of doping from the Spanish legislation perspective. On the one hand, this country undertook the task of developing and enacting a long-awaited regulation: the Fundamental Law 3/2013, enacted on the 20th of June, for the protection of athletes’ health and the fight against doping in sports activities, which was published on the 21st of June, 2013. On the other hand, on the 30th of April 2013, the Operation Puerto trial's resolution was made public. This resolution is still generating a storm of controversy with significant differences and approaches from the legal (conducted under the Spanish Criminal Law) and social world. This analysis of the fight against doping will emphasize with the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the new World Anti-Doping Code to come into force in 2015.

The emergence of global administrative systems: the case of sport.

The “global” dimension of sport is, in the first instance, regulatory, and it embraces the whole complex of norms produced and implemented by regulatory sporting regimes at the international and domestic levels. These rules include not only private norms set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and by International Federations (IFs) but also “hybrid” public-private norms approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and international law (such as the UNESCO Convention Against Doping in Sport). Sports law, therefore, is highly heterogeneous, and, above all, it is not simply transnational, but actually “global”. This law represents an autonomous global legal system, which displays distinctive features such as the presence of some separation of powers (in particular quasi-judicial, with the strategic role played by the Court of Arbitration for Sport) and the development of relevant procedural principles (e.g. fairness and due process); and these principles operate both in rulemaking procedures (e.g. the adoption of the WADA Code) and in adjudicatory ones (e.g. for disciplinary measures). Finally, this global legal system is made up with several international regulatory regimes, both private – such as the Olympic movement – and hybrid public and private – such as the world anti-doping regime. The paper will deal in particular with this latter issue. The analysis will focus on the global administrative dimensions of sports regimes, together with their inter-institutional relationships and its legal implications for the public and private interaction.

Dope Testing in Cricket

ABSTRACT Use of drugs is prohibited in sports and the same is applicable in cricket also. Research into the science and medicine underlying cricket performance and injury has progressed since the First World Congress of Science and Medicine in Cricket in 1999. Dope testing in cricket was introduced in 2002 and is being done since then in major cricket events. The International Cricket Council (ICC) became signatory of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in July 2006. The ICC Anti-Doping Code compliant with the WADA Code ensures cricket plays its part in the global fight against drugs in sport. The present paper elaborates about the testing protocol being adhered to for the testing of samples in cricket for both in competition and out of competition of samples. How to cite this article Beotra A. Dope Testing in Cricket. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):197-198.