Anti-doping - Host City

When to mediate or litigate in sports events

Sarah Lewis photographed speaking at HOST CITY 2015 (Photo copyright: Host City)

“It’s important to draw a distinction where you actually can use mediation or an alternative dispute resolution method other than litigation. 

“Competition rules and doping offences are not areas where you can mediate, negotiate and so on; these have clear rules and they have to be respected for the integrity of the sport. 

“What you do need, when it comes to competition rules, is a solid internal procedure to have the possibility to appeal to a higher instance than the competition jury – they can make mistakes, so that needs to be verifiable.

“And then you also need the commitment that there will be an appeal possibility to the Centre for Arbitration of Sport (CAS), as the overall instance to check externally that your internal regulatory procedures are working in the correct way.

“From my perspective, as far as anti-doping offences are concerned, it’s a similar situation: an International Federation has to uphold the WADA rules. Then you have to defend those in an internal doping panel procedure and if there is an appeal, again can be appealed externally to CAS; that’s what is given in the code. 

“Then the areas where we have a certain experience where there could be room for negotiation concerns disputes – we’ve had dealings in two particular areas. One has been with a couple of serious accidents that have taken place in international competitions, which are organised under the FIS rules, that are overseen by the technical delegate appointed for the assignment by FIS. 

“Then there have been out of court discussions and negotiations, of course together with the insurance company who plays an important role there. In the one case we found a very good solution that involved supporting a foundation set up by the family in the athlete’s memory dedicated to supporting youngsters in his sport and improving safety measures. 

“The other area has been with non-competition regulations: interpretation of regulations connected to commercial branding and visibility; is a manufacturer a manufacturer or is it a commercial entity; what’s allowed and what isn’t allowed? That is also quite closely connected to Olympic rules.”

 

This exclusive interview was conducted by HOST CITY at LawAccord during the 2016 SportAccord Convention

 

Muscat, Katowice and Geneva bid for WADA’s 2019 World Conference on Doping in Sport

The Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre in Muscat

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has received expressions of interest from three cities to host the next World Conference on Doping in Sport, due to take place in November 2019 subject to the progress of three working groups.

Muscat in Oman, Katowice in Poland and Geneva in Switzerland all submitted before the deadline of 25 November 2016.

WADA will now evaluate the submissions, including “possible site visits”, before the host city is determined by a vote at its Foundation Board meeting on 12 May 2017 in Montreal.

“WADA is delighted to have received such a strong level of interest from three outstanding cities for what promises to be a crucial World Conference on Doping in Sport,” said WADA President, Sir Craig Reedie.

“The World Conference will represent the culmination of active stakeholder consultation that is already underway concerning WADA’s path forward as it relates to compliance, governance and other matters of importance to clean sport. We look forward to appointing the host city during our May 2017 Foundation Board meeting.”

The date of the next World Conference on Doping in Sport is subject to the progress of three new working groups.

These groups, established at the last WADA Foundation Board meeting in Glasgow on 20 November, are reviewing the Agency’s governance structure and lab accreditation process and evaluating the establishment of an Independent Testing Authority.

They are due to complete their work by the November 2017 Foundation Board meeting in PyeongChang.

“The Board upheld that a World Conference be organized for end-2019 with the timing being revisited at the end of 2017 in light of the progress of the Working Groups,” WADA said in a statement.

The World Conference on Doping in Sport is set to be the fifth event of its kind, following similar events in Lausanne (Switzerland) in February 1999; Copenhagen (Denmark) in March 2003; Madrid (Spain) in November 2007; and Johannesburg (South Africa) in November 2013.

Major WADA and Host City conferences touch down in Glasgow

From Left: Francesco Ricci Bitti, President, ASOIF; Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, Visit Scotland; Dimitri Kerkentzes, deputy Secretary General, BIE (World Expos); Sarah Lewis, Secretary General, FIS

Many of the leading decision makers in the events sector gathered in Scotland in recent days, as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and annual Host City conferences took place in Glasgow.

In a first for WADA, one of the most important bodies in sport, the decision was taken to hold its Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre from 19-20 November.

Around 100 delegates attended the weekend-long event, among whom were members of the International Olympic Committee, International Sports Federations and National Olympic Committees, to discuss how to combat doping in international sports. 

The event, supported by VisitScotland’s Business Events team, reflects Scotland’s world-wide reputation as the deliverer of successful major business events and conferences and a world-leader in staging sporting events.

This occasion was closely followed by the annual Host City 2016 conference, where hundreds of event owners, city representatives and suppliers from across the globe enjoyed a busy programme, including top-level speakers from some of the most influential organisations across the spectrum of sporting and cultural events.

The event at the University of Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre, from 21-22 November, is well established as the perfect opportunity for cities and event owners to network with and learn from peers in the business of bidding for and hosting cross-sector events, from mega sporting occasions to live entertainment and congresses.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said:  “The decision by both WADA and Host City to bring these crucial and high-profile conferences to Scotland at this time is representative of our status as the Perfect Stage for events of all varieties.

“Scotland has a wealth of state-of-the-art facilities which allow us to host major conferences year round, generating significant value for the national economy, and I am delighted we continue to offer the ideal solution for many of the world’s most important organisations.”

“In its third year, Host City conference and exhibition is firmly established as the leading international meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events. We are delighted to see Host City continuing to grow in Glasgow, Scotland,” said Matthew Astill, CEO of Cavendish Group and Host City.

Russia doping report "had to be published" before Rio Games - WADA

WADA President Sir Craig Reedie speaking to broadcast media at HOST CITY 2015 conference and exhibition

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has taken note of the views expressed by some concerning the timing of publication of the Agency’s independent McLaren Investigation Report, which was published by Professor Richard H. McLaren on 18 July, exposing Russian State manipulation of the doping control process; and, the Agency’s subsequent recommendations – both that led to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision of 24 July.
WADA understands that the timing of the McLaren Investigation Report has been destabilizing for a number of organizations as they prepare for the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, WADA wishes to factually clarify that the Agency acted immediately on allegations concerning Russia when it had corroborated evidence and the power to do so under the World Anti-Doping Code (Code).
When German-based ARD released their first documentary in December 2014 that contained corroborated evidence, WADA quickly initiated its Independent Commission. The Commission, which was chaired by Richard W. Pound, commenced its investigation in January 2015 when WADA acquired its new powers of investigation under the 2015 Code.
“While our Independent Commission’s Report suggested that doping in Russia was likely not restricted to athletics, and that the Russian secret services (FSB) were present within the Sochi and Moscow laboratories, the Commission did not uncover concrete evidence to the effect that the Russian state was manipulating the doping control process,” said Richard W. Pound. “The Pound Commission leveraged all information that the whistleblowers had provided; and yet, there was no concrete evidence to support State manipulation.”
On 9 November 2015, the Pound Commission reported and exposed wide-spread doping in Russian athletics; and, on 10 November 2015, WADA took quick and decisive action on the Commission’s recommendations.
“It was only when CBS 60 Minutes and the New York Times, on 8 and 12 May 2016 respectively, published the allegations from the former director of the Moscow and Sochi laboratories, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, that WADA had concrete evidence suggesting Russian state involvement that could be investigated by initiating the McLaren Investigation, which we did immediately,” said Craig Reedie, WADA President. “This decision was endorsed by WADA’s Executive Committee and WADA’s Athlete Committee,” he continued. “It must be understood that Dr. Rodchenkov was heard several times by the Pound Commission in 2015; and that, he never provided the information that he later revealed to the New York Times in May 2016. This information was subsequently corroborated by the McLaren Investigation, which also unveiled a wider implication of the Moscow laboratory.”
“WADA’s Executive Committee – composed in equal parts by representatives of the Olympic Movement and Governments of the world – supported Professor McLaren’s independent mandate, which was to obtain evidence as quickly as possible in the interest of clean athletes,” said Reedie. “While it is destabilizing in the lead up to the Games, it is obvious, given the seriousness of the revelations that he uncovered, that they had to be published and acted upon without delay.”
“Further to the International Olympic Committee’s criteria being outlined on 24 July, WADA has facilitated the transfer of relevant information that is available to date, concerning individual athletes, from the McLaren Investigation team to International Federations,” said Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA. “It should be noted however that Professor McLaren’s focus thus far was on establishing involvement of the Russian State and not regarding individual athletes that may have benefitted,” Niggli continued. “WADA will continue supporting anti-doping organizations by providing information as and when it becomes available via McLaren’s ongoing Investigation.”
As it relates to WADA’s process of accreditation and proficiency testing of anti-doping laboratories, it focuses on the technical abilities of laboratories. In the case of the Moscow laboratory, WADA suspended the laboratory in 2015 as soon as breaches were identified via the Pound Commission. Addressing corruption within the anti-doping system – including state or secret service interference in laboratory operations – will be one of the topics discussed during the first in a series of multi-stakeholder Think Tanks that WADA will hold in September 2016.

Source: WADA