Drug Testing

OVERVIEW OF TESTING PROGRAMME

Testing continues to be the mainstay of our work. Its primary role is as a deterrent but the increasing sophistication of our planning substantially increases the potential to detect use of prohibited substances. Testing provides the clearest evidence of the level of compliance of athletes at a given point in time. The testing programme now focuses on a smaller pool of athletes and we will be looking to bring even greater precision to the timing and location of tests.

The introduction of a more rigorous tracking process of the whereabouts of  athletes has created both challenges and advantages and will need to be further intensified with additional WADA mandatory requirements.

To date we have committed approximately 70% of our budget to testing activity. Of our total budget more than 20% goes to the analytical laboratory, based in Sydney, which is the nearest WADA accredited laboratory available.

INVESTIGATION.

Our drug-testing history suggests there is no systemic or widespread drug use within New Zealand sport. However, it is recognised that testing alone is no Guarantee of a doping free environment. For this reason our strategy, and our new Act, allows for a growth in investigative based work as part of the business of Drug Free Sport NZ. This may lead to a reduction in the quantity of testing over time, with a greater focus on “intelligent” testing based on information which allows us to target drug use more precisely.

We are also ensuring we have the ability to seek out and properly investigate any evidence that anti-doping rule violations may be occurring. To this end Drug Free Sport NZ contracts, as necessary, a firm with an experienced investigation team to follow up any allegations that rule violations may have been committed. In addition increased co-operation with other agencies, in particular Customs, is being developed.