IFMA extends a warm thank you to SportAccord and Natalie Mills, Project Manager with the Doping Free Sport Unit (DFSU) SportAccord, for an informative and interesting presentation on “Prevention Through Education” – Prevention is Cure.
Natalie Mills opened by explaining the importance of doping-free sport, and the spirit of sport, with some strong images of what the excesses of doping can lead to.
She explained that there are two main types of doping:
1. Conscious doping
2. Inadvertent doping
The best way to stop inadvertent, or unintentional doping, is through education. Athletes, coaches, doctors and all those in the athlete’s entourage should understand what doping is, what a prohibited substance is, what a TUE is, what a doping control is, and for some athletes, what it is to be part of a registered testing pool.
In order to stop conscious doping, education is still key, but this time, education about values: fair play and the spirit of sport, so that doing anything to win is not the way athletes operate.
The National Federations watched a video presentation about doping control, and afterwards, learned how to access the resource in languages other than English.
After explaining what doping is, and how the TUE process works, the next topic was nutritional supplements, and how these can contain ingredients that may not be listed on the label. Athletes should use caution.
Natalie closed the workshop by reminding the National Federations of the role they can play in supporting their athletes, the ways they need to stay informed, and encouragement to keep up to date in the fight for clean sport.
At the end of the workshop, the President of the Turkish Muaythai Federation Mr. Halil Durna graciously showed his deep appreciation with flowers, and participants crowded round for the photo opportunities. Feedback was very positive for this strong learning opportunity. Thank you Natalie Mills and SportAccord DFSU!
