In conjunction with the 2015 FINA World Championships, the Legal Advisory Group to the Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention visited Kazan, Russia in an effort to collaborate on global anti-doping efforts. The Russian Federation’s Ministry of Sport invited the council in the hopes of promoting overall information-sharing between government agencies and anti-doping authorities.
As part of the visit, members of the council traveled on-site to the World Championships’ competitive venues and airport custom control posts. They also met with representatives of various governmental agencies, FINA and other groups to review their existing procedures and how they could be rolled into a common European approach to anti-doping in sport.
Of the visit’s purpose, Andrew Pipe, Chair of the FINA Doping Control Review Board, commented, “It was a pleasure to participate in this meeting and to share FINA’s experience and perspectives concerning these anti-doping concepts. We have been impressed by the diligence with which these issues are being addressed by the organisers of the FINA 2015 World Championships and the quality of the anti-doping services in place in Kazan.”
The Head of the Sport Conventions Division, Sergey Khrychikov, echoed Pipe’s statements, indicating, “We are able to observe an impressive system of sharing of information related to the transportation of doping substances and related materials developed by the Russian authorities. The information about this unique system is clearly worth sharing internationally and can be used as a basis for preparing policy recommendation on this matter for other state parties to the Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention.”
You can read the entire FINA release here.
