April 9/15 11:12 am - Cycling Canada Unveils New Anti-Doping Policy

Posted by Editor on 04/9/15
 

Grounded on the findings of the 2014 National Consultation on Doping in Canada, Cycling Canada is pleased to announce a new and progressive policy on Anti-Doping for cyclists and cycling support personnel in Canada.

Developed in consultation with the CCES and with Cycling Canada's Athletes' Council, this forward-thinking policy fully complements the 2015 Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP), which is more stringent than ever before. Our policy is designed to ensure that Cycling Canada proactively deters cheaters by applying every available penalty towards those who are caught doping.

Highlights include:

1. Cycling Canada will not hire, employ, subcontract or accept volunteer services from individuals who have received a sanction for an anti-doping rule violation, which results in a period of ineligibility of 12 months or longer.

2. Participants who have been sanctioned for an anti-doping rule violation may not be fully funded to participate in future National Team Projects upon return to the sport.

3. Cycling Canada will seek financial compensation from persons who have received a sanction for an anti-doping rule violation including:

a) Recovering Cycling Canada's costs from related hearings;
b) Seeking a fine proportionate to the seriousness of the violation;
c) Education of our athletes will be ramped up through RACE CLEAN and other programs. All fines collected will be used to support CC's anti-doping education programs.

Cycling Canada is pleased with this next step in bringing consequences to those caught doping in Canada, and will continue to work with our partners in the fight against doping to strengthen these penalties even further in the coming years.

John Tolkamp, President of Cycling Canada, provided his thoughts on the policy development: "Cycling Canada takes doping very seriously, and we believe this policy shows that. While we are encouraged by this first step, we would like to provide stronger penalties and sanctions in the policy. Knowing that this is a long fight, and using the CADP as a guideline, we went as far as we could in our first phase. We are passionate about continuing to make these penalties stronger in the coming years and continuing to be at the forefront of the fight against doping in Canada. We want our clean athletes and supporters to have confidence that this policy will carry through in everything we do, and that we are not done in the fight against doping. We are proud to be a leader in Canada in this area."

Canadian Mountain Bike Cross Country multiple Champion and Member of the Athletes' Council Geoff Kabush was pleased to provide his perspective on the policy: "Cycling Canada's new ADRV policy is one step towards changing the culture and increasing the consequences for athletes who choose to cheat. As an athlete whose career was hugely impacted by these athletes I would like even stronger policies that make it clear anyone involved in doping at any level is not welcome in any role at Cycling Canada. These new policy statements however; are an important step towards penalizing individuals and making it clear that doping is not acceptable in Canada. Openly discussing the issues and education are important so I'm proud to see the messages involved in the Race Clean, Own Your Victory program are continuing to be part of Cycling Canada's anti-doping effort."

The policy was developed in consultation with the Provincial and Territorial Cycling Associations and the Athletes' Council with advisory support from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. This policy further builds upon the work that was done in the National Consultation on Doping Activity in the Sport of Cycling that was released in recent months by Cycling Canada.

Download the complete Cycling Canada Anti-Doping Rule Violation Policy.