Whereabouts
WHAT ARE WHEREABOUTS?
Whereabouts are information provided by a limited number of top elite Athletes about their location to the International Sport Federation (IF) or National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) that included them in their respective Registered Testing Pool (RTP) as part of these top elite Athletes’ Anti-Doping responsibilities.
Why Are Whereabouts Important For Clean Sport?
The Whereabouts Program prevents dopers from evading to be tested. Because Out-of-competition Doping Controls can be conducted without notice to Athletes, they are one of the most powerful means of deterrence and detection of Doping and are an important step in strengthening Athlete and public confidence in doping-free sport. Accurate Whereabouts information is crucial to ensure efficiency of the Anti-Doping programs, which are designed to protect the integrity of sport and to protect clean Athletes.
Who Has To Provide Whereabouts?
An Athlete identified in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) by UIPM is required to provide accurate and current Whereabouts information via an online system called ADAMS. UIPM has established a RTP, chosen according to specific criteria, i.e. the World Ranking List, which Athletes are required to file individual Whereabouts on a quarterly basis for the entire year.
uipm-registered-testing-pool-criteria-for-inclusion.pdf
Exemption Application Form and Procedure
Pursuant to Article 5.6.1 of the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code (Code), National or International-Level Athletes in a Registered Testing Pool who retire and then want to return to active participation in sport must make themselves available for Testing by providing 6 months prior written notice to their International Federation (IF) or National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) before they can compete in International or National Events. However, also pursuant to Article 5.6.1 of the Code, an Athlete may apply for an exemption to the aforementioned 6-month written notice rule where the strict application of the rule would be manifestly unfair to the Athlete.
An athlete wanting to benefit from an exemption to the 6-month written notice rule must file a request in writing to their NADO and the relevant IF using the exemption application form available on WADA’s website.
When making their decisions, IFs and NADOs must use the exemption decision template provided by WADA. Once the relevant IF and NADO has rendered their decision and provided it to WADA, WADA shall make a final decision on the athlete’s request.
We encourage all stakeholders to inform athletes who retire and athletes wishing to return to competition after retirement of the existence of the above-mentioned exemption forms.
For more information, please contact: radka.zapletalova@pentathlon.org
Quick reference card