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| Doping in sport |
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Substances and types
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Terminology
Abortion doping · Blood-spinning · Doping test · Gene doping · Performance-enhancing drugs · Repoxygen · Stem cell doping · Whereabouts system · Whizzinator
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History
At the Olympics · At the Tour de France · BALCO Scandal · Barry Bonds perjury case · Clemson University steroid scandal · Dubin Inquiry · In association football · In East Germany · Festina affair · Floyd Landis doping case · Game of Shadows · Juiced · Mitchell Report · Operación Puerto · Pittsburgh drug trials · Steroid use in American football · USC steroid scandal · 2007 Tour de France
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Doping-related lists
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Anti-doping bodies
World Anti-Doping Agency
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority · UK Anti-Doping · United States Anti-Doping Agency |
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), is a non-profit organization and the national anti-doping organization (NADO) for the United States. The organization is charged with managing the anti-doping program for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movement including in-competition and out-of-competition testing, the results management and adjudication process, drug reference resources and therapeutic use exemption process, scientific research initiatives, and athlete and outreach education. It's testing program adheres to the World Anti-Doping Code, widely considered the basis for the strongest and strictest anti-doping programs in sports.[1][2] In 2001, USADA was recognized by the U.S. Congress as "the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic sport in the United States."[3]
While USADA is not a government agency, its budget is partially funded by a U.S. federal grant through the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) with the remaining budget generated from contracts for anti-doping services with sport organizations, most notably the United States Olympic Committee.[4]
USADA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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Recognizing the increased negative attention on doping in the Olympics, and a lack of credibility in the international community by the United States in anti-doping matters prior to 2000, the United State Olympic Committee's Select Task Force on Drug Externalization made the recommendation that an independent organization manage the anti-doping program on the USOC's behalf, rather than the USOC itself. In October 1999, the USOC announced the creation of USADA, to begin operation in October 2000. USADA's status and operation independent from the USOC is significant and contrasts the norm in the United States in which most professional sport organizations (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) manage the anti-doping aspects of their sports. The main benefits of using an independent organization are: 1) An independent organization can focus fully on anti-doping matters, and 2) An independent organization removes any potential or perceived conflicts of interest. As a result of the USOC's decision, all national governing bodies (USA Track & Field, USA Cycling, USA Swimming, US Soccer , etc.) rely on USADA to manage the anti-doping programs including testing and results management for their athletes and events throughout the year.[5]
USADA is a signatory of, and responsible for implementation of, the World Anti-Doping Code in the United States. The Code, works in conjunction with five international standards for uniformed and harmonization of testing programs across the globe and is widely considered the basis for the strongest and strictest anti-doping programs in sports.[1][2] The Code works in conjunction with the following international standards:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) required that all Olympic sports adopt the World Anti-Doping Code prior to August 13, 2004.
The USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing is consistent with the WADA Code and International Standard for Testing and outlines the organization's testing program. The organization tests athletes by collecting both blood and urine samples, both during, or in-competition, as well as out-of-competition which can occur at any time, at any location, without any advanced notice. Athletes are subject to testing 365 days a year and testing is not restricted by "off-seasons," training schedules, or competition schedules. Drug testing programs, like USADA's, that are consistent with the WADA Code, have often been referred to as Olympic style drug testing.
Athletes subject to USADA testing and that fall under the organization's jurisdiction include:[6]
USADA maintains a group of elite athletes as part of its registered testing pool.[7] Consistent with the WADA Code, athletes in this pool are subject to strict whereabouts requirements in which they must inform the organization of their whereabouts (specific locations) at all times.[8] Critics of WADA Code whereabouts requirements have criticized the requirement as overly strict, while proponents claim the requirement ensure athletes cannot evade tests.[9]
USADA determines its test distribution plan (TDP) or the determination of who, when, and where the organization tests through a combination of many factors that are consistent with the WADA IST. The purpose of USADA's test distribution plan is to use all available information and resources to intelligently, strategically, and most effectively detect and deter the use of performance enhancing drugs. Tests in many cases are targeted to specific athletes, events, locations, and times. Factors for determining tests may include:
The term "random," has sometimes been used to describe Olympic style drug testing, although, as stated above, USADA uses a number of factors to intelligently and strategically plan when and where they test athletes. the term "random" refers to the fact that, to a tested athlete, there are no factors, compromises, stipulations, cut-off dates, or off-seasons restricting when and where an athlete may be tested, thus creating a more random experience in which an athlete is less likely to predict when they will or won't be tested.[11]
Anti-doping sample collection is consistent with the WADA IST and are conducted by doping control officers (DCOs), specifically trained and employed by USADA. For tests in which blood is collected, USADA contracts with trained phlebotomist who work in conjunction with a USADA DCO.[12]
In conjunction with the WADA International Standard for Laboratories, all samples are analyzed at laboratories that have been accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. In the United States there are only two WADA Accredited labs, the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory in Los Angeles, CA., and the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory(SMRTL)in Salt Lake City, Utah.[13]
USADA is responsible for the results management aspect of drug testing for athletes that fall under their jurisdiction. Results management includes communicating the results of drug tests with athletes as well as the adjudication of athletes suspected of committing an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), which can be the result of a positive drug test, as well as other methods including all forms of credible evidence. According to the Code, an ADRV consists of the following:
USADA can sanction athletes found to have committed an ADRV, a process that athletes can either accept or challenge through an established legal process. In the United States athletes can take a case before an arbitration panel with a final appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Sanctions normally include one or more of the following:
Sanctions have ranged from public warnings or time served while completing education (often the case for first time marijuana offenses) to life-time bans for repeated or particularly egregious cases.[15] USADA maintains a list of all sanctioned athletes on its website.
Athletes subject to testing by USADA have access to a number of resources designed to help athletes understand prohibited substances and if specific medications are prohibited according to the WADA prohibited List. In addition to a drug reference phone line, where athletes can speak to an expert, USADA has partnered with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) to provide the Global Drug Reference Online (GlobalDRO) tool. The tool allows athletes to search for the prohibited or not-prohibited status of a medication, by brand or generic drug name as well as drug ingredient.
USADA also allows athletes to apply for and obtain a therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs)when a legitimate medical need for a prohibited substance exists. The USADA TUE process is consistent with the WADA International Standard for Therapeutic Use Exemptions. TUE applications are reviewed by a TUE Committee consisting of independent doctors and medical experts. The TUE process varies depending on competition level. USADA's TUE process is considered strict, and a TUE is not always granted for applications.
In the years 2001-2009, USADA budgeted $2 million per year to support research related to the deterrence of the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.[16] Since 2009, the majority of anti-doping research activities previously undertaken by USADA has been assumed by the Partnership for Clean Competition. A List of research projects and grants can be found on USADA's website.
USADA focuses on deterring the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport through education efforts that are targeted both at elite-level Olympic and Paralympic athletes as well as the general public, including specifically youth level athletes. In addition to topics surrounding performance enhancing drug use in sport, USADA claims to be an important promoter of other positive values associated with sport (sportsmanship, respect, teamwork.) In March 2011, USADA released a research report titled "What Sport Means in America: A Study of Sports Role In Society" The report aimed to measure the value of sport in American society and attitudes about the importance of protecting sport's integrity.[17]
In December 2009, USADA launched Supplement Safety Now, in partnership with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League, the U.S. Olympic Committee and other national sports and health organizations, to end, what the founding organizations feel, is the existence of dangerous and unscrupulous practices of “rogue” manufacturers within the nutritional supplement industry. The effort, called “Supplement Safety Now,” works to eliminate the practice of selling supplement products containing steroids and other drugs which are labeled as “safe and legal” dietary supplements.