Clean sport in focus: the International Shooting Sport Federation joins forces with the International Testing Agency

The ISSF, a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), is the governing body for Olympic shooting events and also regulates some non-Olympic shooting events. It currently oversees five groups of shooting disciplines. In an effort to provide its athletes with a comprehensive and high-quality clean sport program, the ISSF has decided to delegate all of its anti-doping activities to the ITA for independent management from 1 January 2024.

From this date, the ITA will manage the entire testing program for the ISSF, both for in-competition and out-of-competition doping controls. These tests will be based on a bespoke risk assessment that takes into account all relevant factors, including the physiological profile and sporting specificities of the shooting disciplines.

The management of Athlete Biological Passports (ABPs) of shooting sports athletes and the processing of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) will also be handled by the ITA. In addition, it will strengthen the ISSF’s anti-doping efforts with a long-term sample retention strategy that will allow selected samples to be stored and re-analysed for up to ten years after the date of collection.

In order to provide shooting sports athletes with the most comprehensive anti-doping program possible, the ITA will collect information for the ISSF and respond to all information shared confidentially through the ITA’s secure reporting platform REVEAL.

All clean sport activities on behalf of the ISSF will be conducted by the ITA in strict compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code and its international standards, with the ITA’s dedicated Regulatory Compliance Unit ensuring full compliance with all mandatory rules. All potential anti-doping rule violations arising from the anti-doping measures will be subject to independent results management by the ITA.

The ITA will also raise awareness of doping, support the values of clean sport and contribute to the prevention of doping among shooting athletes by establishing an education plan in line with WADA’s International Standard for Education from 2024. To support the implementation of this plan, the ITA will introduce dedicated online and event-based education programs aimed specifically at ISSF athletes.

“My team and I welcome the ISSF as a new ITA partner, we are pleased to soon start our work to provide shooting athletes with the best clean sport program possible,” says ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen. “As the ITA will manage the entire ISSF anti-doping program in the beginning of 2024, we will be able to accompany its athletes during the important phase leading up to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and ensure that they will compete at a level playing field not only during the Games, but also throughout the years to come.”