To the benefit of the athletes: The ITA offers specific training for Beijing 2022 anti-doping chaperones

Anti-doping operations at the Olympic Games are a complex undertaking, requiring good cooperation between all players involved. These are, for example, the IOC, the Organising Committee, the National Anti-Doping Agency of the host country, the anti-doping laboratory and the ITA, which is responsible for the management of this entire program. But it is the largest group of these clean sport players, the so-called anti-doping workforce, that is working on the front line and has the most contact with athletes. For Beijing 2022, these are close to 600 Doping Control Officers (DCOs), Doping Control Station Managers, team coordinators and Chaperones. The latter, consisting entirely of Chinese volunteers, are tasked with notifying athletes that have been selected for testing and accompanying them to the nearest doping control station.

In order to prepare these Chaperones for their mission during the Games and to further improve the athlete experience, the ITA has developed a dedicated online learning course for them. This course covers basic knowledge about anti-doping operations, the notification process, the correct chaperoning of an athlete and the different situations they may face and how to deal with them.

The Beijing 2022 Chaperone training was launched in November 2021 in partnership with the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. As of today, already over 400 Beijing 2022 Chaperones have successfully completed the course and received their certification. The objective is that all Chaperones undergo the training before their mission begins. The course is offered in English to prepare the Chaperones for their role that requires communicating with athletes from all over the world.

“The ITA’s Chaperone training program is a very important part of the Beijing 2022’s anti-doping workforce training system”, says Ling Lin, Head of Doping Control of the Beijing 2022 Organising Committee. “It ensures that our doping control program will be in strict accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the International Standards, and that we will create a fair environment for sports and competition, safeguard the legal rights and interests of clean athletes.”

The DCOs who will be carrying out the doping controls for Beijing 2022 and collaborating with the Chaperones – partly from the Chinese National Anti-Doping Organisation CHINADA, partly international – have all graduated from the ITA’s International Doping Control Officer (IDCO) training and certification Program. This program enables existing trained DCOs to attain an advanced, international ITA certification that allows them to promote quality testing all around the world and at top international sporting events such as the Olympic Games.