As part of a continuing effort to assist athletes meet their anti-doping requirements, the IAAF has now made it possible for athletes to provide their whereabouts information online.
Elite athletes who are part of the IAAF’s Registered Testing Pool (RTP) are now able to logon to the secure IAAF site and provide or update their whereabouts 24hrs a day. The system means that athletes can provide updates, check their current information, change their contact details and provide additional comments where necessary.
The athlete whereabouts programme is one of the most crucial aspects in the fight against doping in sport. Athletes who have been named on the IAAF RTP are required to provide details of where they can be located for testing each day of the week. This allows for the IAAF to implement a testing programme at anytime of the year without providing notice to the athlete. However these important rules are also onerous on the athletes. They require constant attention, and there may be serious consequences if the information is incorrect when the IAAF attempts to test the athlete. The IAAF is working to make this process as easy as possible.
Recently launched, the system is already drawing praise from athletes and their managers who appreciate the simplicity it brings and its help in cutting down the time involved in updating athlete whereabouts information:
“I like the idea, definitely! It is easy to access, available 24 hours a day, the information never get lost, etc...”
“I like the space for further comments. It is very useful where you can explain any detail about your day that you would find important. That is a great idea”.
“System was good, easy to use and what I like about it is that you can see what you've entered in the past and amend what you need to quickly when racing/training schedules changes as 3 months in advance is hard to plan sometimes when you first hand in the form”.
While encouraged to make use of the efficient Online Whereabouts System, athletes are still able to use the other methods of providing information. The IAAF realises that athletes may not always have access to a computer so we try to provide as many avenues as possible to make their task easier. As well as the Online System athletes can provide their information by fax, post, email, as well as send updates by SMS.
Athletes on the RTP who would like more information on how to use the online system should contact the IAAF’s Athlete Whereabouts Manager, Jane Boulter-Davies, through the IAAF office.
