Anti-doping

Regardless of the level they play at, all athletes have the right to compete knowing that they and their competition have not taken any banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs.

Led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which is responsible for the collaborative worldwide campaign for clean sport, Volleyball England works in partnership with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) and the international governing bodies FIVB and World ParaVolley to crack down on doping and ensure the integrity of our sport is protected.

Rules

All athletes, coaches and athlete support personnel, from recreational to international level, must abide by the World Anti-Doping Code and the UK Anti-Doping Rules.
Under the revised 2021 Code, an athlete may be classified as being “International-Level”, “National-Level” or a “Recreational Athlete” based on their competition level. Further information on these different categories is available on the UKAD website.
As a member federation of the FIVB, Volleyball England’s national team athletes are expected to be fully compliant with the FIVB’s anti-doping regulations.
Also, as a member federation of World ParaVolley, Volleyball England’s sitting volleyball athletes are expected to be fully compliant with World ParaVolley’s anti-doping regulations.

Responsibility

All athletes need to be aware of the principle of strict liability. This means that all athletes are solely responsible for any banned substance they use, attempt to use, or that is found in their system, regardless of how it got there and whether or not they had an intention to cheat.
The Prohibited List sets out the substances and methods prohibited in sport.
Athletes must check all medications are safe to take prior to use. This can be done using the dedicated online search tool Global DRO.
Athletes are also encouraged to visit the dedicated web page on UKAD’s website for all things clean sport. These is also specific guidance and education for those advising athletes.
If you are retiring from Volleyball, please inform us using this form (3 questions).

Testing

Any athlete of any level can be tested anywhere, at any time. You could be tested in training or at a competition.
Find out about the UKAD testing process here.
For testing specific to minors, click here.
The testing process for athletes with an impairment can be found here.

Rule violations

Breaking the anti-doping rules can result in a ban from all sport.
There are 11 Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs). All 11 apply to athletes and seven (in bold) also apply to athlete support personnel:
  • Presence
  • Use
  • Evading, refusing
  • Whereabouts failures
  • Tampering or attempted tampering
  • Possession
  • Trafficking or attempted trafficking
  • Administration, aiding, abetting
  • Complicity
  • Prohibited Association.
  • Acts to discourage or retaliate against reporting to authorities
Athletes and athlete support personnel need to make sure they are fully aware of these violations, and the consequences of breaking them. For more information and what this means for those individuals, click here.

Protecting volleyball

Protecting clean sport depends on everyone playing their part - athletes, coaches, or parents - whether on centre stage or behind the scenes. Speak out if you feel there’s something wrong - no matter how small. UKAD guarantee that your identity will always be kept 100% confidential. Find out more about Protect Your Sport here.

Covid-19 vaccinations

WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) has released a statement clarifying that, in the highly unlikely event that a vaccine may cause a possible anti-doping rule violation under the World Anti-Doping Code, WADA’s oversight of any subsequent results management will ensure that vaccines and the principles of anti-doping do not come into conflict. 
To be clear, despite the novelty of these vaccines, there is no reason to believe such vaccines would contravene anti-doping rules.
UKAD (the UK Anti-Doping Agency) has also released a statement in support of this. UKAs has also confirmed that all three of the approved UK vaccines have been added to Global DRO with a ‘not prohibited’ status. 
Key links

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Anti-Doping Policy

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