COC to host WADA’s first Global Athlete Forum in Calgary this June
TORONTO-MONTREAL (March 14, 2018) – The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) today announced that they will hold the first Global Athlete Forum in Calgary, Alberta, from 3-5 June, 2018. The forum will convene more than 150 athlete leaders to discuss key developments in anti-doping, including current issues and concerns such as athlete rights.
Using an interactive platform, the forum will see world leaders and experts in the anti-doping field addressing and exchanging ideas with participants while furthering the development of an Anti-Doping Charter of Athlete Rights to include measures for protection of clean athletes. The two-day event will ensure that athletes have an opportunity to express how they believe their rights should be protected today and in the future.
“I am grateful to the COC for offering to host the forum and very excited by this opportunity to bring together athletes of the world to discuss one of, if not the, most important issues in sport today,” said Beckie Scott, Chair of WADA’s Athlete Committee. “Athletes are at the heart of sport and doping continues to be an issue that adversely impacts the pursuit of their ambitions. Protecting the rights of clean athletes is the WADA Athlete Committee’s highest priority. To that end, the forum will drive solutions-based discussions and strengthen the dialogue with and between athletes, while enabling further development of the Anti-Doping Charter of Athlete Rights with the hope of including it within the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code.”
“The Canadian Olympic Committee considers the athletes’ voice and success at every step of its mission; and so, hosting WADA’s first Global Athlete Forum is a natural fit in ensuring the protection of clean sport that is athlete centered,” said Tricia Smith, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee. “We look forward to welcoming athletes of the World to Calgary; and, to foster an open and honest discussion that will contribute to the WADA Athlete Committee’s key objective of enhancing the rights of athletes in particular with regard to anti-doping.”
In its desire to serve as a catalyst for positive change in clean sport and to further a broader discussion on anti-doping, the COC hosted an Ethical Sport Symposium in Calgary on 24 November, 2017. This symposium featured international leaders in clean sport and anti-doping and served as a springboard for developing pathways to action for standing up for clean and ethical sport.
The WADA Athlete Committee looks forward to welcoming participants nominated from National Anti-Doping Organizations and the Olympic and Paralympic Movement.
Further details related to forum registration will be communicated in the coming weeks.
Media Conference
During the afternoon of 4 June, a media conference will be hosted by Beckie Scott and other leading anti-doping experts and will be followed by an opportunity for members of the media to carry out one-on-one interviews with athletes attending the forum.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Maggie Durand, Manager, Media Relations and Communications
Phone: + 1-514-904-8225
E-mail: media@wada-ama.org
Josh Su, Coordinator, Communications
Canadian Olympic Committee
Tel: 416-324-4303 / Cell: 647-464-4060
Email: jsu@olympic.ca
Photi Sotiropoulos, Director, Communications and Media Relations
Canadian Olympic Committee
Tel: 416-324-4298 / Cell: 416-476-9174
Email: psotiropoulos@olympic.ca