CCES expands services to include ethics consultation

(Ottawa, Ontario – November 10, 2009) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) reported on its achievements for the second quarter of its fiscal year, July to September 2009. CCES expanded its service offering to the Canadian sport community, by taking on a broad ethics consultation role. Sport organizations at any level – national, provincial/territorial, and community – can solicit the assistance of the CCES sport-ethics experts to help with ethical challenges they face. This quarter the CCES consulted with two sport organizations to help resolve matters related to team selection and codes of conduct.

In support of the 2009 Canada Games, the CCES provided comprehensive services. All provincial teams were provided with online education – the True Sport Clean 101 e-learning program. Almost 2,000 participants completed the course. During the opening ceremonies on site in Prince Edward Island, athletes, coaches and officials representing all participants swore an oath that included a pledge to abide by the True Sport Principles. A True Sport athlete was profiled daily to highlight good sport in practice. To expose these developing athletes to the rules of elite sport, CCES provided 60 in-competition doping controls. True Sport animators reached out to over 2,000 Canada Games athletes each week at the CCES booth, rounding out CCES’ contribution to the Canada Games and to the True Sport Movement.

The CCES offers tailored online education services to up-and-coming and elite athletes and their support personnel, seizing the opportunity to promote values-based sport within the context of True Sport and specific to anti-doping. During this summer quarter, CCES online education was once again delivered to approximately 20,000 athletes in post-secondary sport and professional feeder leagues. Four sport organizations – the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA), and Football Canada (junior football) – have tied their eligibility rules to the completion of the ethical sport e-learning course. The CCES commends these organizations for making education a priority and embedding these important principles into the rules of their competition.

To keep Canada’s anti-doping program in compliance with international norms, and to ensure Canadian athletes’ rights are protected, the CCES continues to improve its services. The blood analysis program was renewed this quarter, resulting in the collection of blood samples to supplement the analysis range of a urine sample. All CCES-certified doping control officers (DCOs) were accepted into the program for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics, a testament to the harmonization of anti-doping programs under the World Anti-Doping Code.

One of the flagship services CCES provides to Canadian sport is our administration of the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP). In the July-September quarter, 599 tests were conducted, resulting in two anti-doping rule violations. In support of the testing program, the CCES clarified the rules around therapeutic use exemptions. This quarter, 237 TUE applications were received, 184 of them related to asthma. The whereabouts program is a major investment for athletes and CCES staff alike – this quarter we monitored whereabouts for over 500 athletes in the registered testing pool. A breakdown of the testing conducted by sport and by client is referenced below.

The CCES also provides fee-for-service sample collection for international organizations and this quarter completed 137 tests. Highlights included contracts with the International Canoe Federation (ICF - 36 tests) and the International Military Sport Council (CISM - 21 tests).

The Canadian Anti-Doping Sanction Registry is the list of Canadian athletes who are ineligible to participate in sport. This resource is now available as a snapshot of the sanctions in place at the end of each quarter, as well as in a “most current” version which is updated in real-time.

The CCES is an independent, national, non-profit organization. Our mission, to foster ethical sport for all Canadians, is carried out through research, promotion, education, detection and deterrence, as well as through programs and partnerships with other organizations.

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