Anti-Doping

Protecting athletes. Preserving the integrity of the sport!

Every athlete and stakeholder has the right to compete in clean sport, reflecting a commitment to fairness, respect, honesty and excellence, ensuring athletes compete on a level playing field.

WFDF is committed to prevention, education, reporting and response across the sport.

Through clean sport, WFDF aims to protect competition and celebrate the best of sport.

WFDF manages and enforces an Anti-Doping Program, protecting athletes' and participants’ health and their right to take part in fair competition across the sport, in compliance with WADA’s World Anti-Doping Code.

Essentials

What is doping?

According to the World Anti-Doping Code and the WFDF Anti-Doping Rules, doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the following Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs). Most commonly, this means the presence of a prohibited substance in an Athlete’s sample collected during Doping Control. However, it’s not just a positive test that can result in a sanction. In fact, there are 11 Anti-Doping Rule Violations:

Presence of a prohibited substance in an Athlete’s sample
Use or attempted use of a prohibited substance or method
Refusal to submit to sample collection after being notified
Failure to file Athlete whereabouts information & missed tests
Tampering with any part of the doping control process
Possession of a prohibited substance or method
Trafficking a prohibited substance or method
Administering or attempting to administer a prohibited substance or method to an Athlete
Complicity in an ADRV
Prohibited association with sanctioned Athlete Support Personnel
Discourage or Retaliate other Persons from reporting relevant Anti-Doping information to the authorities

What are the respective Rules?

The WFDF Board of Directors unanimously approved becoming a signatory of WADA’s World Anti-Doping Code and the introduction of the Anti-Doping Rules in 2011, and have since maintained compliance.

In the Rules, you will find information about:

Anti-Doping Rule Violations
Rights and responsibilities of stakeholders
Details about the disciplinary procedures
Possible sanctions and consequences

Who is subject to the Anti-Doping Rules?

The Anti-Doping Rules apply to all those involved in the sport. Everybody involved in the sport must respect the Rules and World Anti-Doping Code and may be liable for committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.

The first four Anti-Doping Rule Violations on the above list apply only to Athletes since they refer to the obligation not to take banned substances and the obligation to submit to testing.

The remaining seven types of ADRVs apply to both the Athletes and the Athlete Support Personnel, such as coaches and team doctors, or anyone else working with the Athlete. National and International Federation administrators, officials and sample collection staff may also be liable for their conduct under the World Anti-Doping Code.

Athletes competing at certain WFDF Sanctioned Events are considered “International-Level” and subject to testing, requesting Therapeutic Use Exemptions (if required) and other specific provisions.

What are Prohibited Substances?

The Prohibited List is a list of substances and methods which are prohibited for athletes.

Substances and methods are classified by categories in the list, for example – steroids, stimulants, masking agents. Some substances are prohibited in-competition and others are prohibited at all times (both in-competition and out-of-competition).

Some substances are prohibited for particular sports.

The Prohibited List is updated every year and the new list comes into effect on 1 January of each year. The list is usually available in October of each year, ready for the following year.

It is the athlete’s responsibility to make sure that no Prohibited Substance enters the athletes body and that no prohibited method is used. The “strict liability” principle applies. If a prohibited substance is found in an athletes body, they are responsible for that.

If I need to take medications, what do I need to check?

Before you take any medication, make sure you check with your doctor that it does not contain a prohibited substance.

Athletes are responsible for everything they ingest – everything they eat, drink or take. This includes food, drink, vitamins, other food supplements and medications.

Many of the substances on the Prohibited List do not have medical application or benefit, but for those that do, the Prohibited List only contains the generic names of the pharmaceutical substances. The list does not contain brand names of medications, which vary from country to country.

WFDF only allows an athlete to use a prohibited substance for medical reasons if the athlete has a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for the substance that WFDF has granted or recognized.

Are recreational drugs banned?

Many substances known as “recreational” or “party” drugs are on the Prohibited List and are therefore banned In-Competition, including marijuana, ecstasy, heroin and cocaine.

Athletes and Athlete Support Personnel should be aware of their health risks and related doping control implications.

Some of these substances can stay in the Athlete's system for a long time after you take them; that means an Athlete could use a substance Out-of-Competition but test positive for that substance In-Competition, and they will be penalized based on the relevant Rules.

If an Athlete uses “recreational” drugs, they can risk their careers but also face health issues like heart problems, kidney failure, seizures, and addiction, as well as legal consequences, as in many countries, recreational drugs are illegal.

What is a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)?

Athletes may have a condition, illness or injury that requires a particular substance or method (i.e., ADHD, asthma, diabetes, etc.). If an Athlete is required to take medications that contain Prohibited Substances. the Athlete must apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

If strict conditions are met and a TUE application is successful, this gives the Athlete the authorization to use such medications within the context of the sport in a defined dosage and with a limited period of validity.

They must submit an application with supporting documentation that is evaluated by a panel of physicians (TUE Commission).

The TUE process avoids the risk of sanctions due to a positive test.

To apply for a TUE, athletes must submit an application form with supporting medical documentation from their physician at least thirty days before a competition (in most cases), which is then reviewed by the TUE Commission.

You can find out more about TUEs on that section of the website.

What testing does WFDF do?

WFDF has a testing program that collects blood and urine samples in-competition and out-of-competition.

WFDF also has a testing pool of top-level or high-risk athletes who are regularly tested over the 12 month period, both in-competition and out-of-competition, and must do quarterly whereabouts reporting.

What are the consequences of doping and/or a positive test and Anti-Doping Rule Violation?

The consequences of doping can be severe.

Athletes who take prohibited substances put themselves at significant risk with consequences impacting their health, career and social life.

An athlete’s or other person’s violation of an anti-doping rule may result in one or more of the following consequences:

Disqualification of results in competition, including forfeiting any medals, points and prizes
Ineligibility to participate in any competition or other activities for a specified period of time
Financial sanctions imposed for the violation directly and/or to recover costs associated with the proceedings
Public reporting of the violation

What are the educational requirements?

WFDF supports WADA’s principle that an athlete’s first experience with anti-doping should be through education rather than testing.

All International-Level athletes and athlete support personnel are required to complete International-Level anti-doping education and submit proof of completion as part of the Sanctioned Event registration process.

All registered Athletes are required to complete the International-Level Athletes Education Program
All registered Coaches and Sport Technical Staff are required to complete the High Performance Coaches Education Program
All registered Medical Professionals are required to complete the Medical Professionals Education Program

Certificates are valid for a period of two years.

Additional Anti-Doping Information

Visit the Anti-Doping Hub on WFDF Academy for additional information on anti-doping and clean sport.

Speak Up and Report

Whether you are an athlete, coach, administrator, official, other support personnel, or anyone else associated with the sport, help keep the sport clean, safe, and fair by reporting misconduct.

All information, no matter how big or small, is important and could be crucial in uncovering integrity violations within the sport.

You can report in a number of ways:

Via the IOC’s Integrity Hotline at www.olympic.org/integrityhotline
Via WFDF’s email to integrity@wfdf.sport

The WFDF and IOC Platforms are accessible for anyone at any time to confidentially and anonymously report any suspicious actions that have come to your attention.