Montreal, January 24, 2024
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) today released the results of the “ Operation Refuge », a broad analysis of doping among minors in sport.
The " Operation Refuge » describes in detail the profound trauma and isolation that young athletes experience following a positive test and a sanction for doping. Produced by the department Information and investigations of WADA, the report highlights the immense challenges faced by minors, their families and the anti-doping community when a minor tests positive for a prohibited substance or method. The report presents a number of conclusions and identifies important improvements in this area.
“The data, findings and stories contained in the “Operation Refuge” report should have a great resonance in the world of sport, said WADA President Witold Bańka. I hope that the results, and especially the testimonies of minors and their support networks, will create a sense of urgency within the anti-doping community about ways to better protect young people who find themselves in this type of situation at the 'future.
“Whatever the level of competition, sport must remain a safe space for children. First of all, coordination that promotes more collaboration is necessary across the anti-doping community for the management of minors within the anti-doping process. The report outlines immediate steps to be taken by anti-doping organizations and governments to implement specific policies or practices regarding minors. Currently, many anti-doping organizations do not have specific policies and procedures for dealing with minors or specialized personnel trained to overcome the issues that arise in this area. For its part, WADA is continuing its internal review on the matter. WADA encourages stakeholders to submit suggestions for improvement as part of the process for updating the World Anti-Doping Code and International Standards 2027 of the Agency, which is currently underway.
“One of the areas for improvement will certainly be a greater emphasis on the development of educational initiatives for athletes and support staff, specifically targeting doping among minors. WADA believes that education is the best way to prevent doping in sport. This is all the more true when the athlete in question is young. WADA is leading the way and providing support in this area. It will take buy-in from the entire community to properly address this critical issue. Together we can strengthen the system for young athletes around the world. »
A number of educational resources are available on the AMA Online Learning Platform (ADEL), which includes online education programs for parents, coaches and support staff of high-performance athletes, as well as courses designed for talented athletes participating in major events, Among others.
“Operation Refuge highlights a difficult but important issue,” said Günter Younger, Director of WADA's Intelligence and Investigations Department. Concerned by the number of reports received through its platform “ Break the silence » regarding doping activities among minor athletes, WADA's Confidential Information Unit was the first to raise the issue. The unit wanted to change the way WADA and the anti-doping community investigate these cases. What started as just an idea grew into a two-year Intelligence and Investigations initiative aimed at inspiring the entire anti-doping community to do better. Through this initiative, we are charting a better path for underage athletes around the world. We are working hard to ensure that the experiences people interviewed during this process do not happen again. »
Context of “Operation Refuge”
In early 2021, WADA's Confidential Information Unit observed an increase in confidential allegations of doping among minors, including pre-teen athletes. Although the lack of detail in many of these reports prevented any enforcement action, WADA followed up on each case and launched investigations where appropriate.
WADA became concerned about the nature and volume of the allegations, leading it to launch “Operation Safe Haven”. This examined underage doping activities with a view to identifying possible patterns of offending, possible governance deficiencies and possible strategies to better address the issue of underage doping.
A key aspect of “Operation Safe Haven” was obtaining first-hand accounts not only from minors who committed anti-doping rule violations, but also from their families and support networks. Although these experiences were shared with WADA on condition of anonymity, their impact was such that some of them agreed to have their stories included in the report.
The testimonies collected made it possible to identify six key themes, namely:
- Trauma;
- Isolation;
- Impact;
- Pressure;
- Ignorance, and;
- Abandonment
The report details information obtained from human intelligence (e.g., interviews, informants), data analysis, external academic studies, open source research, and the anti-doping community.
“Operation Refuge” webinar
In addition to the report, WADA will host a webinar for anti-doping organizations. The webinar will take place on February 14, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. EST. Registration information will be communicated to anti-doping organizations at a later date.
