Dear Colleagues,

We wish to provide you with an update on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Compliance Monitoring Program since our last communication of 17 August 2017.

As you know, in February 2017, WADA sent a World Anti-Doping Code (Code) Compliance Questionnaire (CCQ) to 307 Code Signatories – International Federations (IFs) and National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) – for completion and return. We are pleased to say that, to date, only one Code Signatory has yet to submit its completed CCQ. This is an excellent response, which reinforces the priority that WADA and you, as Code Signatories, are attributing to Code Compliance, and we thank you all for that.

Upon receipt of CCQs, WADA reviews them to develop Corrective Action Reports (CARs). CARs are designed to assist Signatories in enhancing their anti-doping programs on a priority basis through timelines provided for the implementation of corrective actions.

As previously communicated, our focus for 2017 was to give precedence to CARs for Signatories based on the following criteria in order to give confidence to the athlete community that WADA was prioritizing its monitoring work properly:

• IFs of Olympic sports; and
• NADOs of top ranked countries based on results from recent Olympic Games; as well as, of countries that host a WADA-accredited laboratory.

It is the role of our four Regional Offices to support and guide Signatories that have received a CAR so that they understand their corrective actions and implement them within set deadlines.

In our communication of 17 August 2017, we also outlined a proposed timetable for distribution of a second wave of CARs in October and November 2017; which, is now being slightly delayed, with the remaining CARs being distributed gradually throughout 2018.

While we appreciate that this slight delay may cause concern for some Signatories, we do wish to be clear that the delay is largely due to the significant level of support and guidance that is being provided by WADA to the first wave of prioritized Signatories in the implementation of their corrective actions. This is intended to prevent any avoidable situation of a Signatory being declared non-compliant due to a lack of understanding or support. Our shared experience through this process will of course benefit other Signatories that have yet to receive their CARs; and that, will receive a similar level of support and guidance.

We are aware that many Signatories have already started to address identified shortcomings from the CCQ process in advance of receiving their CAR. This is a proactive approach that we certainly encourage.

In closing, we wish to emphasize that we have already seen a steady increase in the global compliance of Signatories’ anti-doping programs as a result of WADA’s enhanced monitoring process. This is a very positive outcome that we must sustain; and so, we wish to thank you in advance for your ongoing partnership and commitment to this key priority for Clean Sport.

Best Regards,

World Anti-Doping Agency