WADA’s 2021 Play True Day Campaign reaches over 87 million people

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Published on Monday, 19 April 2021 16:44

Montreal, 19 April 2021 – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is proud to announce that its 2021 Play True Day Campaign – centered around the theme "What does Play True mean to you?" – reached over 87 million people around the globe. The campaign, which took place on 9 April, once again saw athletes, National and Regional Anti-Doping Organizations, Sports Federations, governments, Major Event Organizers and other stakeholders from the global anti-doping community unite in celebration of the Play True message.
 
Since 2014, in April of every year, WADA and the anti-doping community worldwide have celebrated 'Play True Day' – a day that is dedicated to raising awareness among athletes, the sporting public and others about the importance of protecting Clean Sport.
 
WADA President Witold Bańka said: "Thank you to all who took part in WADA's 2021 Play True Day Campaign. It is amazing that the clean sport message was shared with over 87 million people worldwide. This demonstrates what we can achieve when the anti-doping community unites towards our common goal of a healthy sporting environment. WADA is very grateful to all who embraced the spirit of the day and stood shoulder to shoulder with us as we encouraged everyone to Play True. It is this unified and collegial approach that must prevail as we work together towards a world of clean sport. I look forward to continuing to work with all of our stakeholders as WADA engages and collaborates with everyone involved in anti-doping to increase support, unity and coherence in our collective efforts."

To highlight the success of this year's campaign, WADA has created a Play True Day 2021 recap video, which showcases stakeholder celebrations around the world through their photos, videos and campaigns on social media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpDoxtqDWU0

WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said: "I too was thrilled to see such an immense mobilization by athletes and the global anti-doping community for Play True Day 2021. I wish to thank all our partners, as well as WADA's employees, for this fantastic result. Such efforts are at the very core of WADA's mission to lead a collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport. The 2021 campaign was once again carried out in a socially distanced fashion due to COVID-19, but I truly hope that 2022 will allow us to gather again in person to build bridges and unite efforts to protect athletes and the integrity of sport."
 
WADA Athlete Committee Chair, Ben Sandford said: "On behalf of WADA's Athlete Committee, I would like to thank everyone who took part in Play True Day 2021 – especially our fellow athletes. It was wonderful to see so many athletes of different sports, nationalities, ages and levels come together to let the world know what playing true means to them. The global anti-doping system involves many people and many component parts; however, ultimately it is athletes – through their choice to play true – that are the front line in protecting clean sport."
 
WADA takes this opportunity to invite stakeholders to "Save the Date" for next year's Play True Day, which will take place on 8 April 2022. As was the case this year, going forward, Play True Day will be celebrated on the second Friday of April in order to accommodate as many stakeholders as possible.

6th International Turkish Kick Boxing European Cup

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Published on Friday, 16 April 2021 17:08

 

WADA LAUNCHES 'SPEAK UP!' IN SPANISH AND ENCOURAGES CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES TO REPORT DOPING MISCONDUCT

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Published on Thursday, 01 April 2021 09:35

Montreal, 31 March 2021 – In another boost for athletes and others with information on doping misconduct in sport, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announces that its secure, digital whistleblower platform 'Speak Up!' is now available in Spanish, in addition to English and French. 'Rompe el Silencio!' is intended for potential Spanish-speaking informants and whistleblowers (confidential sources) to report possible Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) under the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), non-compliance violations under the Code, or any act or omission that could undermine the fight against doping in sport. 'Rompe el silencio!' – which includes a secure app for iPhone and Android devices – is now available on the App Store and Google Play.

WADA Director, Intelligence and Investigations, Gunter Younger said: "WADA is pleased to launch 'Rompe el Silencio!' to cater to Spanish-speaking athletes and other potential informants or whistleblowers who wish to report suspicious activity to WADA. Confidential sources are the lifeblood of investigations. Since the launch of WADA's 'Speak Up!' Program and platform in March 2017, WADA's Intelligence & Investigations Department has triggered hundreds of cases stemming directly from intelligence received from confidential sources. These cases range from allegations against individual athletes or support personnel, to complex cases involving systemic anti-doping mismanagement, non-compliance and/or corruption.

"The success of the 'Speak Up!' Program not only highlights the increasing importance of investigations in delivering justice, but also the vital role of informants and whistleblowers to the global anti-doping system. These individuals, whose identities will never be revealed publicly by WADA, are directly responsible for hundreds of intelligence disclosures that have been actioned by the Agency's Confidential Information Unit and each have contributed to protecting the integrity of sport worldwide. Before they come forward, confidential sources need to feel comfortable, secure and reassured. One way of ensuring that happens is being able to interact with them in their own language, which is why WADA has now added Spanish, in addition to English and French."

Anyone who detects, identifies, witnesses, knows or has reasonable grounds to suspect that doping-related misconduct has occurred, is encouraged to 'Speak Up!'. It is, however, important to note the distinction between an informant and a whistleblower as these statuses do trigger different rights and responsibilities. Any person reporting misconduct to WADA will be considered an informant. The informant may decide not to pursue further cooperation with the Agency once they have provided information. An informant can become a whistleblower if both WADA and the informant agree to cooperate further. In this case, WADA and the informant will enter into a formal whistleblower agreement, which offers additional rights as outlined within WADA's current Whistleblower Program Policy.

WADA's Whistleblower Program Policy was first approved by WADA's Foundation Board in November 2016. It formalizes the legal framework and outlines what the Agency will provide in terms of support, confidentiality, protection, and other elements, as well as, the way to go about raising concerns and how they would be investigated by WADA. It is re-evaluated on a continual basis to ensure that it meets international best practice and appropriately addresses the needs of confidential sources.

For more information about 'Rompe el Silencio!' and 'Speak Up!', please visit the Speak Up! website, which can be accessed via WADA's website

'ROMPE EL SILENCIO!' IS NOW AVAILABLE ON THE APP STORE AND GOOGLE PLAY

WADA PUBLISHES 'LIVE' WEBINAR SCHEDULE FOR APRIL

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Published on Tuesday, 30 March 2021 09:49

Montreal, 29 March 2021

Today, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) publishes the Agency's 'live' webinar schedule for April, which encompasses all webinars being offered; in particular, as part of WADA's:

• 2021 Code Implementation Support Program (CISP) webinar series;
• 2021 athlete-led webinar series for athletes; and
• Africa webinar series being offered by the Agency's African Regional Office to assist anti-doping stakeholders in their region.

Unless otherwise noted, the webinars are being hosted in English only.
 

Table of events
 

To register, please simply view the registration instructions in the 'To register' sections of the above table.
 
Please note that on an ongoing basis, WADA will communicate its evolving live webinar schedule and prompt stakeholders to register and participate.
 
Should you have any questions regarding the above, please contact Ms. Selva Balasingam, WADA Communications Coordinator, at: selva.balasingam@wada-ama.org.
 
Best regards,
 
World Anti-Doping Agency