The International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegated its responsibilities related to the implementation of doping control activities at the Winter Youth Olympic Games 2020 (YOG) to the International Testing Agency (ITA). Anti-Doping Switzerland (ADCH) acted as the Sample Collection Authority and the Lausanne 2020 Organising Committee (YOCOG) was responsible for putting into place and carrying out operational and logistical aspects to enable doping controls during the Games.
The anti-doping programme in place for the YOG was prepared, implemented and supervised by four different entities, all with various areas of responsibilities. The IOC, as owner of the event, is the official Testing Authority (TA) and, as a result, has the overall responsibility for the programme to ensure compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code.
The IOC delegated the following anti-doping responsibilities to the ITA:
The ITA also trialled a paperless anti-doping administration system and a rooming application in order to make the doping control process more reliable and user-friendly.
A member of the ITA testing team briefs a group of Lausanne 2020 volunteers on their role as anti-doping chaperones for the event.
The Real Sport Lab is an interactive experience that enables learning through workshop-composed simulations. These sessions were designed to provide the young athletes participating in the Lausanne 2020 Games with a first exposure of the testing process that they will inevitably experience within their upcoming athletic career.
The workshops complemented the actual testing programme in order to ensure that as many athletes as possible were exposed to the process. The Real Sport Lab featured interactive games, competitions, prizes and group discussions, which were all designed to facilitate learning in a safe and positive environment.
The ITA 'Real Sport Lab' in full action in St. Moritz - the young athletes on stage are learning how to check medication for prohibited substances.
