Protect Your Sport: Here’s how you can now anonymously report doping in sport via WhatsApp

Do you have suspicions that someone in sport may be doping? Well now there’s a way that you can report it simply by sending an anonymous WhatsApp message to UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). 

This announcement comes three months after UKAD introduced a new SMS service, which people can use to text in their concerns of doping. Both the text and WhatsApp services allow anyone to anonymously send a message to UKAD’s Intelligence and Investigations Team, sharing information in real-time. UKAD will be able to respond to questions and concerns, providing the opportunity for two-way conversations to take place without compromising the person’s identity or phone number. 

The person sharing their suspicions will receive an automated reply instantly followed by a customised response from a member of the team once they are available.  

UKAD launched its Protect Your Sport initiative to encourage people to report doping via email, anonymous hotline, or an online form. The organisation, which has a mission to protect sport from doping cheats, believes that the addition of WhatsApp and text will encourage more individuals with information to come forward in confidence and without fear.   

Mario Theophanous, Head of Intelligence and Investigations at UKAD, said: 

“We are pleased to be sharing yet another way for people in sport to be able to report doping. We know that reporting something that doesn’t seem right is not always an easy thing to do and people may feel unsure if what they have seen is linked to doping. We therefore want to create safe spaces for people to be able to share any piece of information with us they might have, no matter how small it may seem. 

“WhatsApp is a quick and efficient way to have a two-way conversation and something a lot of us now use day to day to communicate, so we hope that it will be another useful option for people to utilise to help protect their sport.” 

UKAD is working with tech experts RealResponse for the Protect Your Sport texting and WhatsApp services. RealResponse’s secure and protected communication platform is intuitive and easy-to-use by both people reporting suspicions of doping and administrators reviewing the information provided.  

"We commend UKAD for their dedication to ensuring clean and fair competition. This collaboration will serve athletes by meeting them where they are when it comes to communicating about sensitive topics like anti-doping," stated RealResponse Founder and CEO David Chadwick. "With WhatsApp as part of UKAD's portfolio of reporting tools, athletes have yet another popular and protected mode of communication through which to share information confidentially and anonymously."   

Evidence gathered from reports of doping can ultimately lead to UKAD charging an individual and can also help it carry out targeted testing in sport and intervene and disrupt potential doping in the future. 

To report your suspicions of doping, text or WhatsApp 07822 023233 or search Protect Your Sport to find out more.  

Notes 

RealResponse has and continues to work with several anti-doping organisations globally, including the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports, the US Anti-Doping Agency, and the International Testing Agency, to name a few.