UK Anti-Doping and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Promote Clean Sport

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine (BASEM). The MoU will enable the two organisations to work collaboratively on future projects as well as sharing their respective expertise and skills.  

The MoU outlines several key joint objectives to protect clean sport and clean athletes by raising the importance of anti-doping and the collective responsibility that athlete support personnel have towards the welfare of athletes.  

UKAD will be sharing its clean sport education programmes and information such as Introduction to Clean Sport eLearning to BASEM’s members through their website, making it accessible for them to access up-to-date and practical education and information.  Such support from UKAD ensures that practitioners are better equipped to uphold the integrity of sport and protect athletes. 

Additionally, the partnership will work towards giving BASEM’s membership the opportunity to inform UKAD practices, programmes, and decision-making from their experiences of working directly with athletes.  

The Chief Executive of BASEM, Lynda Phillips signed the MoU with UKAD’s Tony Josiah, Director of Education, Insight and Global Engagement on 1 April 2023, and the agreement will be reviewed annually.  

This partnership working with BASEM follows on from UKAD’s ASP Research Report: Investigating Behaviour and Influences of Athlete Support Personnel on Clean Sport, March 2022, which recognised the crucial role that Athlete Support Personnel have. “This influential group of multi-disciplinary practitioners have a vital role in preventing clean sport behaviours and preventing athletes, coaches and themselves from committing any Anti-Doping rule violations (ADRVs).” 

 Tony Josiah, UKAD’s Director of Education, Insight and Global Engagement, said:  

“UKAD is always keen to form strategic partnerships with organisations which have an interest to protect clean sport, and we are delighted to be partnering with BASEM as we believe they are key to reaching and delivering the clean sport education programmes to athletes.” 

 “We have a great deal of expertise and best practice to share but we can also learn from BASEM’s membership whose practical experience of working with athletes on a daily basis can only better inform future clean sport strategies.” 

Meanwhile, Lynda Phillips, Chief Executive at BASEM, said it’s vital that their members can benefit from the most up-to-date information on anti-doping legislation. 

“We recognise the challenges in the desire to optimise athletic and team performance which is why the importance of this education cannot be underestimated.  Research shows that athletes are heavily influenced by the coaches and support teams around them.  They must, therefore, be able to advise and guide all sportspeople at all levels to make the right decisions to avoid committing anti-doping rule violations.”

“Research indicates that athletes are heavily influenced by the athlete support personnel around them, and this influence extends to an athlete’s vulnerability to committing anti-doping rule violations and their willingness to dope.” 

“We want our membership to have the very best education and information easily available so they can better support athletes to make the right decision.”