As athletes and sports return to training and provincial health restrictions are lifted, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) has developed supplemental doping control procedures to enable the safe resumption of urine sample collection, including sample collection in athletes’ homes, under the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP) effective July 13, 2020.
The CCES has developed a set of supplemental doping control procedures that include the necessary safety enhancements for athletes and doping control staff in order to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The drafting process involved a complete review and risk assessment of each aspect of the doping control process, factoring in guidance from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and provincial health authorities. All personnel have been retrained to incorporate the following supplemental procedures:
- All CCES personnel will complete a COVID-19 self-assessment prior to performing work for the CCES.
- All involved in the process will maintain appropriate physical distancing as much as possible.
- Only urine sample collection will occur until CCES has developed the appropriate safety enhancements deemed necessary for blood collection.
- At the time of notification, athletes will be required to complete a COVID-19 self-assessment as well.
- CCES will initially limit the participants in all testing sessions. This will typically mean only one athlete is tested at a time. As restrictions are lifted, testing session sizes may increase.
- All participants in the testing session must wear protective masks.
- Hand sanitizer will be available for the athlete’s use (and their representative, if applicable).
- There will be very limited sharing of supplies.
Athletes and stakeholders who have completed True Sport Clean 2020 or the True Sport Clean Review course will receive an email prior to July 13, 2020 inviting them to complete the Return to Testing online learning module. Those who have not yet completed their online learning in 2020 will complete the module on supplemental procedures as part of their course.
Find additional information related to COVID-19, including the CCES’s procedures, and links to various WADA and Public Health Agency of Canada resources at cces.ca/covid-19-procedures.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the CCES at info@cces.ca.
