WADA publishes new Guidelines for Major Events

May 23, 2024

Montreal, 22 May 2024

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to publish new Guidelines for Major Events (Guidelines). The Guidelines support the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) and International Standards to better equip Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) when preparing and implementing anti-doping programs in the lead-up to a major event.

While Major Event Organizations (MEOs) have specific roles and responsibilities under the Code and International Standards that are referenced in these Guidelines, please note that the Guidelines can also be used by other ADOs and stakeholders for single sport major games, such as a world, continental or regional championships.

Building on the experience and best practices implemented at major games, these Guidelines provide clear and practical solutions for preparing and implementing an anti-doping plan in the framework of a major event. Given that developing an efficient plan for a major games requires ADOs to navigate within many anti-doping areas, activities, and requirements, references to the Code and International Standards have been integrated throughout the Guidelines, enabling the document to function as a centralized source for all relevant information.

To further support ADOs in the preparation of games, WADA has produced multiple resources, including templates and checklists, many of which are referenced in the first section of the document. Acknowledging that every games faces different challenges, the document is designed to help stakeholders from all Tiers¹ navigate through it in the most convenient way and is therefore broken down into five sections:

General overview of an anti-doping program during major games
Planning the anti-doping program for your major games
Pre-Games implementation period
Games implementation period
Program sustainability

WADA will be organizing a webinar to present to stakeholders a more detailed overview of these new Guidelines in the coming months.

Should you have any questions or comments regarding the Guidelines for Major Events, we invite you to contact Sport Movement Relations at sportrelations@wada-ama.org.

Note:
(1) WADA’s Policy for the Application of the International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories (ISCCS) also known as the Prioritization Policy, divides Signatories into different Tiers.