DownloadMessage from the CEO
ASADA Chief
Executive Officer Aurora Andruska PSM
I am pleased to provide the following report on ASADA’s achievements in 2010–11.
It has been a successful year for ASADA, and there is no doubt that this success is directly a result of ASADA’s collaborative work with the Australian sporting community, as well as partners in law enforcement, government, education, medicine and science. ASADA’s leading-edge anti-doping programs continue to push the boundaries, including intelligence-based testing programs, leveraging new media to educate athletes about doping, and sharing expertise internationally.
In 2010–11, the Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel (ADVRP) entered 42 athletes on the Register of Findings for possible anti-doping rule violations, an increase from 29 in the previous year. All cases brought forward resulted in a finding against an athlete. A total of 7,090 blood and urine tests were conducted in Australia and overseas.
Given the increased numbers of positive tests for methylhexaneamine, ASADA conducted a public information campaign through the media to increase awareness of the risks of using supplements, immediately reducing this disturbing trend.
Through our partnership with the Queensland Police Service, a targeted testing mission at an Australasian Natural Bodybuilding event resulted in three athletes testing positive. The test results, and additional information from ASADA, allowed Queensland Police to conduct search warrants on the athletes’ homes leading to charges being laid against several people under Queensland legislation.
More than 400 members of the Australian Commonwealth Games team were tested in the lead-up to the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games. This was part of a multi-faceted program conducted by ASADA in the 12 months leading up to the Games. Two ASADA Doping Control Officers (DCOs) took part in a pre-Games out-of-competition testing mission in India.
Eighty-two per cent of sporting organisations, athletes and support personnel measured by ASADA’s annual stakeholder survey are confident that ASADA’s activities maximise doping detection against a target of 77 per cent. In addition, satisfaction with ASADA’s programs continues to improve with 88 per cent of respondents considering that ASADA has been effective or very effective in deterring athletes and support personnel from prohibited substance and method use in Australian sport, an increase of six per cent on 2010 results.
The launch of ASADA e-Learning has had a major impact on the reach of our anti-doping education program with 1,451 participants across a range of sports taking part since November 2010. The target of 8,000 participants in ASADA education and communication programs was exceeded by well over 3,000 in 2010–11.
Education strategies have been developed with Australian Rugby Union, Netball Australia, the Australian and Tasmanian Institutes of Sport, and the ACT Academy of Sport. A further six strategies are currently under development.
In a first for anti-doping internationally, ASADA launched a counselling service for athletes and support personnel facing possible anti-doping rule violations. The service is delivered by independent counselling service, Davidson Trahaire Corpsych.
National Anti-Doping Organisations’ (NADOs) DCOs across the Asia/Oceania region were invited to join ASADA DCOs at their annual conference. International delegates from NADOs and agencies in Singapore, Japan, Qatar, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada also joined ASADA staff for in-depth training in anti-doping intelligence theory and procedures. In recognition of our highly skilled field staff, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) invited an ASADA DCO to join the WADA Independent Observer team at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
ASADA has continued to build the profile of the organisation internationally, engaging with WADA, the Council of Europe and other NADOs, presenting our perspective on sports law issues at the Tackling Doping in Sport conference in London, and working with anti-doping experts on the WADA protocols for coordinating investigations and sharing anti-doping information and evidence.
There has been increased focus on strategic and financial management over the last 12 months. ASADA’s 2011–14 Strategic Plan and risk management plan are well advanced and a rolling review of the financial and governance frameworks has been introduced. In 2010–11 ASADA delivered an operating surplus, and obtained re-certification of the Quality Management System to ISO 9001 through a rigorous external audit by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). In June 2011, ASADA received the commended award in the online category of the Institute of Public Administration Australia annual report awards for its 2009–10 Annual Report.
The members of the ASADA Advisory Group were appointed by the Minister for Sport. Providing advice and guidance on how ASADA develops and implements its programs, the group is comprised of experts in sports medicine, education and training, sports law, ethics and investigations.
There has been a positive shift in the outlook of staff measured by the 2010–11 staff survey. Of the 42 staff that completed the survey, 93 per cent rate ASADA as a good place to work, an improvement of nine per cent on previous results, and a favourable comparison to the APS-wide result of 65 per cent. This is supported by the low turnover rate of five per cent overall in 2010–11 compared to 19 per cent in the previous year.
Looking ahead, ASADA’s focus for the coming year will be:
- to increase its activity around blood and urine profiling to support more target testing of athletes, as well as pursue the Athlete Biological Passport
- to ensure that Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic teams go to London in 2012 as ambassadors for clean sport
- to work with sporting administration bodies to develop tailored education strategies
- to develop memoranda of understanding and partnerships with NADOs, law enforcement agencies, International Federations and state institutes and academies of sport
- to continue to share intelligence expertise by training national and international delegates
- to share knowledge and develop best-practice benchmarks by engaging with anti-doping experts
- to review and develop systems and programs, including the implementation of a new system to integrate and manage our testing program.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank ASADA’s employees, the sporting community, and colleagues across government and internationally for their commitment to our shared goal, to protect the integrity of sport, and continued efforts to develop a sporting culture that is free from doping.
Aurora Andruska PSM
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority