All sports stakeholders must advance the message of clean sports together. Sports federations have an important role in promoting clean sports and ethically sustainable activities and committing sports stakeholders to anti-doping codes. Sports federations also affect the value base of sports clubs and, consequently, the values shared among individual athletes. Education and communication play a key role in promoting clean sports.
Anti-doping programmes of sports federations
The World Anti-Doping Code (2021) and the new International Standard for Education require athletes, their support personnel and sports federations to commit to anti-doping activities and to support them with through own actions, such as efficient training and communications. Finland’s Anti-Doping Code requires all national sports federations to arrange anti-doping education and training sessions in cooperation with FINCIS. In addition, sports federations are required to establish anti-doping programmes and implement, evaluate and, if necessary, update them in their operations.
In their anti-doping programmes, sports federations specify how anti-doping education and training sessions are arranged in the federation according to the criteria. The main purpose of anti-doping education and training sessions arranged by sports federations is to arrange training for various target groups and include the theme of anti-doping in instructor and coach training. Each sports federation assigns a person responsible for its anti-doping education and training in their respective programmes.
Training and education services for sports federations
According to the anti-doping programme, the purpose of education is to increase awareness of matters related to anti-doping and promote ethical choices in sports, beginning with children and young people. Sports federations are responsible for ensuring that athletes and other sports stakeholders have current information and are aware of their duties and rights in anti-doping matters. All parties have the right to anti-doping education and training.
FINCIS provides sports federations with free education and training about the themes of anti-doping and manipulation of sports competitions. Sports federations can request education and training services for their key target groups, such as athletes and coaches, health care personnel and club representatives in events arranged by the federation. Education and training sessions can be arranged at training camps for top athletes or season opening ceremonies, for example. The education and training services targeted to top-level athletes and young athletes aiming to become top athletes should be requested from FINCIS in particular.
FINCIS provides the training personnel of sports federations with annual anti-doping education and training sessions. These sessions are an easy way to increase the sports federation’s expertise on sport ethics and ensure the availability of up-to-date information. The anti-doping training personnel of sports federations can arrange anti-doping education and training sessions at the federation and communicate about matters related to anti-doping to various parties. Those who complete the training have yearly access to the updated FINCIS training material.
Clean Win is an online training service that athletes, their support personnel as well as other sports stakeholders can use to learn about anti-doping and ensure that they have the latest information. Completing the online training is recommended to all sports stakeholders. Sports federations can use the online training service in their own athlete and coach training programmes. The service can be used, for instance, to review the knowledge of anti-doping matters of a team before heading off to a competition, or it can be used as part of coach training. The online training complements and supports training performed in person. The service also helps clubs improve their expertise on anti-doping matters.
Sports clubs
Sports federations should take the clubs’ strong expertise and influential power into account in grassroots activities. Clubs play an important role in bringing up athletes who believe in clean sports and fair play. Sports federations can affect the value base of sports clubs and athletes, guiding the choices of the top athletes of tomorrow. It is important to commit sports clubs to anti-doping codes. It is important for sports federations to encourage clubs to arrange anti-doping education and training sessions. The primary mode of training for sports clubs is online training. Federations can request training and education services from FINCIS for their club meetings or federation events where several clubs can be reached simultaneously.
