Sports chief receives self-criticism after anti-doping crisis - NRK Sport - Sports news, results and broadcast schedule

Wednesday Come Norwegian Anti-Doping and the Ministry of Culture even a short-term solution, This means that confederations and private Norwegian sports teams must obtain pre-approval for doping tests from parents of underage athletes – SOLVED The ongoing anti-doping crisis Which no one thinks is good enough.

Exactly what the solution will look like, and who will get that approval, will be presented to Idretts-Norge at a meeting on Monday afternoon. Norway Anti-Doping has come up with a proposal for a solution – and at the same time believes that the Norwegian Sports Federation (NIF) can actually solve the crisis.

– We suggested The sport can include the option to give guardians consent on the membership registry, so that young people between the ages of 15 and 18 can be tested. We didn’t succeed in that, Anders Solheim, Managing Director of Antidoping Norway tells NRK.

– last solution

On Friday, he met with sports chief Berit Kajol, among others, for a discussion on the topic at the National Sports Policy Arena (NIPA). After the discussion, a very frustrated anti-doping leader met with NRK.

– Now, in the precarious situation we are in now, we have to add all the clothes so that the top Norwegian athletes can take part in international competitions.

– Do you face objection from the Sports Federation in this matter?

– We proposed it, and then we will hear what the Sports Federation has to say. There is a concrete proposal to solve this problem. We are a private organization set up to carry out surveillance and prosecution work. We do not have the authority to propose laws, interpret laws, or approve sports doping regulations. I think this is a last resort, says Solheim.

Over the weekend, work was done on a solution. One of the challenges that had to be resolved was who should get approval for doping testing for children and young people aged 15-18. Nobody really wants to take on that responsibility.

Anders Solheim explains that in order to gain the approval of top junior athletes, private federations must be in the field. Each association with national team players, and high-profile clubs with minors, must obtain approval.

will not justify

It is currently uncertain where the NIF will land. Faced with the fact that Antidoping Norway believes the NIF can solve the problem, Kjøll replied:

– cI don’t want to refer to each other now. Now there is a process underway over the weekend seeking a solution, with the proposal outlined by Adno being one of the proposals. Then together we will come up with something that will be presented to all our special associations on Monday. I look forward to it.

– Do you agree that it was possible to solve this?

– There is a reason not to fix it. I won’t go into that now, because the working group is now looking at several alternative proposals that will be highlighted. And then what is legally correct, and what is practical and easiest to do, will be presented on Monday. Keul says I am looking forward to it.

Norwegian anti-doping crisis

In March 2018, a law firm, at the request of Antidoping Norway, considered whether it was legal to test minors without parental consent. The conclusion was not.
Antidoping Norway and the Norwegian Sports Federation have contacted the Norwegian authorities to obtain their assessment of the department in question.
In October 2019, the Ministry of Culture released its statement. They agreed with the law firm that there was no legal basis in Norwegian law for doping testing minors without consent.
The conclusion led to the fact that no underage athletes were tested for several years.
Anders Solheim, Norway’s head of anti-doping, thinks the situation is unsustainable: – We don’t want a sport where you can take doping until you’re 18 – without a test. He says it provides an opportunity to cheat and gain an unfair advantage.
Norway Anti-Doping and the Norwegian Sports Federation want a regulation or change in the law that would allow young people between the ages of 15 and 18 to give their consent to testing.
NRK wrote first About the issue in April 2021, but the issue is not yet resolved.
in August 2022 NRK . revealed That not having a test is a violation of WADA rules, and that there could be serious consequences for Norwegian sport in a relatively short time.
Authorities said they believe consent-based testing is valid, as WADA accepts solutions where states obtain long-term consent from guardians. This is a solution to battling Norwegian Anti-Doping and the NIF: – If it is voluntary with consent, you can take as much steroids as you like. If there is forced consent, where you must get a parent’s consent to participate, you risk not getting that consent. Solheim explains that you also risk that those who need to exercise will not have this approval.
In the meantime, Norway is left without the opportunity to audition for minors in the third year, which means that talent can enter the first sport without being tested for long.

Take self-criticism

One question that has been raised is how Norwegian sport is now in such a dangerous situation after having been aware of the problem for so long.

The Sports Council was informed of the approval issue in the fall of 2020, according to Kjøll. At the same time, it claims that the seriousness only appeared on the association when Antidoping Norway and the NIF reported to the Ministry of Culture in June.

– Shouldn’t the NIF have thought that any test on 15-18 year olds could result in Norway becoming “non-compliant” within a short time?

– We realized that Antidoping Norway had not been tested for some time in one of our tripartite meetings. What matters to us is that we are an arm’s length away from ADNO. We don’t go in and watch if they test, when they test and who they test. So the seriousness of the case became known to us only now when we conducted a joint investigation of the authorities in June, says Keul.

The sports chief confirms that the NIF was not aware of the dialogue between ADNO and Wada.

– But the corollary of not following anti-doping law is to become a “no-complaint”. How do you say you were not aware of the danger?

– After all, we have constantly addressed this issue to the authorities in order to bring about a change in the law. We ran this race with Antidoping Norway. This would solve these challenges. But we are not part of the dialogue between ADNO and Wada. We must keep our distance with our National Anti-Doping Agency. We did. Now as dangerous as it was in June, Kjøll says, we only found out this spring.

When asked whether it was the authorities who did not act, or whether it was the NIF that were unable to show seriousness, Keul replied:

– We certainly could have worked harder. We see that now. It’s easy to realize that too late. But I don’t want to blame anyone – quite the contrary. Now here we are. Now we have to find and put into action an immediate short-term solution, and a long-term and permanent solution, she says.