Australia Signs Sports Drug Agreement
31 January 1998Australia, Canada and the United States entered into an agreement covering reciprocal drugs testing on athletes from each nation and research into banned substances.
The deal, which was 12 months in the planning, involves the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA), the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
"The major benefits we see coming out of the agreement is three of the more influential anti-doping agencies getting together and pooling their resources in terms of general intelligence and particularly research," ASDA spokeswoman Vicki Kapernick told reporters. "We think if we have a more coordinated approach internationally in terms of research we've got a better chance of finding detection methods for things like human growth hormone and other undetectables we're having so much of a problem with right now."
She said the other major component for Australia was that it puts in place reciprocal testing opportunities. "In the lead-up to Sydney 2000 you're going to see more and more Canadian and American athletes training and competing in Australia," she said. "This will allow ASDA to conduct tests on behalf of the Canadian and American authorities which will be much more effective, allowing everyone to conduct tests when athletes are out of the country training."
The agreement does not specify the number of tests to be undertaken, but ASDA chief executive Natalie Howson said she expected it to increase between now and 2000. Howson said she did not foresee any problems testing American athletes, who at times in the past have used privacy laws to avoid random testing. "This agreement is really focused on reciprocal testing and we'll be able to act on the USOC's behalf in Australia and they and the Canadians will act on our behalf in their region," she said. "What I expect is we will receive a notification from the USOC and we'll notify the parties on behalf of that organisation. If any athlete had a problem with that then they'd had have to take it up with the USOC."
