FINCIS, the Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports, received excellent ratings from athletes tested in Finland in 2024. The surveys commissioned by FINCIS show that athletes trust FINCIS’ other activities in addition to testing.
FINCIS annually monitors the feedback provided by tested athletes on testing situations and their general opinions on doping and FINCIS’ activities. The survey is sent to all tested athletes. The assessments for 2024 indicated strong confidence in the testing situation, as the average of ten different points to be assessed on a scale of 1–5 was as high as 4.7, and nearly 95 per cent of the respondents felt that the test situation went well or very well.
The athletes’ assessments praised the test staff for their friendliness, professionalism and cooperation skills almost without exception. In addition, the athletes gave positive feedback on the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere created by the test staff. FINCIS reviews the accumulated feedback annually and reacts immediately to the feedback provided by athletes, for example, by instructing the testing staff.
Athletes’ values and morals prevent the use of doping
Finnish athletes trust the effects of testing and anti-doping activities, as the majority of the athletes who responded to FINCIS’s survey considered the effects of doping on the outcome of their sport to be minor at the national level. Instead, athletes believed that doping had a greater impact on the end result in international competitions.
Nine out of ten respondents estimated that morals or values prevent the use of doping. Half of the respondents also believed that awareness of health hazards encourages clean sports.
In addition to testing, the athletes recognised FINCIS’ activities in matters related to education and training and communications. FINCIS was the most important source of information for 92% of the respondents, and almost the same proportion had participated in anti-doping education and training sessions.
Athletics is the most tested sport
During 2024, FINCIS collected a total of 2,390 samples under the national testing programme. The most tested sports were athletics (281 tests), cross-country skiing (198), fitness (193) and ice hockey (187). The testing volume was slightly lower than in 2023. There were five anti-doping rule violations in 2024, and one case is still pending.
“The targeting and timing of doping tests will always be influenced by upcoming major sports events. Last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris were visible in the implementation of doping control. In addition to testing, it is important that all athletes in the competitions were included in the Registered Testing Pool and received anti-doping education and training before the competitions,” says Katja Huotari, FINCIS’s Doping Control Manager.
The Registered Testing Pool is a group of top-ranked athletes determined by FINCIS, on whom doping control efforts are particularly targeted and who are obligated to report their whereabouts.
FINCIS’ testing statistics since 2000: https://suek.fi/en/doping-test-statistics
Additional information:
Susanna Sokka
FINCIS Communication Manager
tel. +358 40 740 7477