Ivan Kolev

“The doping control must be started at the youngest age”- with these words the WADA (World Anti- Doping Agency) Director General, David Howman, opened the European conference which took place last night in Athens. “Programs for children education need to be created, and they will reveal the essence of sport. These efforts have been already brought to success in Europe, since the programs created are applied in more and more countries.”

Participants in the conference, which is taking place under the auspices of the European Parliament, are representatives of sports ministries, national sports organizations, laboratories and sport experts. They will discuss and analyze strategies for doping control in the EU member states.

Measures concerning the areas on which EU needs to focus will be outlined.

Athens mayor, Nikitas Kaklamanis, the minister of health and welfare, Dimtris Avramopoulos, the minister of sports, Giannis Ioanidis, Athens regional governor, Giannis Sgouros, members of the European Parliament, etc., all took part in the opening ceremony.

The European Council for youth and sports’ director Ralf-Rene Weingartner made an announcement in relation to the companies sponsoring sports players: “It is in their interest that we have healthy and clean sport. Companies related to athletes using doping withdraw their sponsorship.”

The conference activities today will be held in three work-groups. There will be a discussion in regard to issues that are of this moment a topic of broad debates in the European sports community:

The first work-group will focus on the protection of personal information and its harmonizing with the legislation of the respective member state.

The second work-group will be occupied with the opportunities to create collaboration between the doping-control structures and the pharmaceutical industry.

In the third group, representatives of the approved laboratories in the European Union will have the opportunity to discuss common-interest issues with WADA (World Anti- Doping Agency).