Safeguarding education at Junior Cup and IBU Cup
The BIU held successful and well-attended educational sessions via Zoom during the Junior Cup in Obertilliach, Austria (14-17 December 2022) and the IBU Cup in Ridnaun, Italy (15-18 December 2022).
The sessions, comprising a webinar on Safeguarding, were attended by over 70 athletes from 15 different nations.
This was a new topic for athletes, so the sessions began with a short informational presentation, before the athletes broke out into small groups to discuss case studies.
Athletes were engaged and interested, and the presentation and case studies led to lively discussion afterwards with the whole group.
The aim of the sessions was to inform athletes about their right to practise their sport in a safe environment and their responsibility to speak up if they witness or experience something that doesn’t look right.
After the session, an athlete commented: “I believe that safeguarding is crucial in our sport, and it is really important for us to know what our rights and roles are. Keep biathlon fun and safe!”
The day after the sessions, Katharina Gatterer, BIU’s Safeguarding and Education Officer, and Nita Gjikolli, BIU’s Anti-Doping Coordinator, were available at an outreach booth for follow-up questions from athletes and staff members.
One of the BIU’s top priorities is to educate all athletes on Safeguarding issues, with the aim of keeping them safe from harassment and abuse.
IBU-IOC development camp
The BIU contributed another theoretical training session for athletes at a winter IBU-IOC development camp, held in Martell, Italy on 29 November to 3 December.
The session was a follow-up to one delivered at an IBU-IOC development camp in Antholz, Italy on 14 October.
The training camps are held for National Federations each year by the IBU, in conjunction with the IOC, with the aim of supporting them with both practical and theoretical knowledge and training.
A total of 19 male and 18 female athletes, representing 19 national federations, participated in the session at the training camp in Martell on 29 November.
The session focused on safeguarding, and comprised a basic introduction to the topic, followed by group work in which athletes discussed a series of case studies.
The aim of the session was to inform athletes about their right to practise their sport in a safe environment and their responsibility to speak up if they witness or experience something that doesn’t look right.
Several coaches joined the session, showing that they understand the importance of the topic.
Dominik Windisch, a recently retired top athlete and now coach of youth athletes, concluded the session by giving some insights about the importance of establishing a good coach-athlete relationship and displaying respect for each other. He said: “As a coach, I try to have a good relationship with my athletes, but I also try to keep a certain distance and keep it always on the sport and don’t get too private. But I talk a lot to my athletes and try to build trust and a positive emotion within the team.”
The BIU plans to continue the collaboration with the IBU and IOC by delivering further education sessions at future development camps.
Medication and Supplements
It’s that time of year again. You begin to feel unwell, and then you go down with flu-like symptoms.
To get back to training, you decide to take some flu medication.
WAIT!
Stop right there…
As an athlete, you can’t just take any medication prescribed by a doctor or bought over the counter.
It could contain prohibited substances.
And it’s your responsibility to check the medication before you use it:
- You can ask your National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) for help or use their drug database (https://www.globaldro.com/home/other-countries);
- Or you can use GlobalDro (https://www.globaldro.com/Home), but this is mainly applicable to medication used in English speaking countries, Switzerland and Japan).
Be careful: medication bought abroad might contain different substances from those bought in your home country, even if the name/label is the same!
Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)
If you have a medical condition and you need to take a medication or use a method that is on the prohibited list, you need to apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), ideally with the help of your team doctor.
TUEs have to be applied for in advance and can take some time to be processed. So, make sure to do so 30 days before you need to take the medication or use the method (exceptions apply, e.g., in case of an emergency).
Also, TUEs have an expiry date. Make sure to check it before using the medication!
Find out more about how and where to apply for a TUE here.
The Athlete Biological Passport
A podcast interview with Lasse Vestli Bækken of the Norwegian Doping Control Laboratory.
What is the Athlete Biological Passport – or ABP – and how does it work?
We spoke to Lasse Baekken of the Norwegian Doping Control Laboratory, who has been working with the athlete biological passport in anti-doping since 2015.
Lasse is responsible for the daily operations of the Nordic APMU and the hematological module of the Athlete Biological Passport. He’s also involved in the analysis of whole blood samples (hematological ABP module) and EPO analysis.
This makes him the perfect guide to the ABP for athletes and their support personnel.
Click here to listen to the interview.
BIU holds two sessions at IBU-IOC development camp
The BIU contributed two theoretical training sessions – one for athletes and one for coaches – at an IBU-IOC development camp in Antholz, Italy on 14 October.
The event was one of a series of training camps held for National Federations each year by the IBU, in conjunction with the IOC, with the aim of supporting them with both practical and theoretical knowledge and training.
The BIU contributed two theoretical training sessions – one for athletes and one for coaches – at an IBU-IOC development camp in Antholz, Italy on 14 October.
The event was one of a series of training camps held for National Federations each year by the IBU, in conjunction with the IOC, with the aim of supporting them with both practical and theoretical knowledge and training.
Athletes’ session
The session involved basic anti-doping education, including an interactive quiz in which athletes could test their knowledge.
Coaches’ session
Coaches were presented with information on safeguarding and its importance in Biathlon, which included group discussions on case studies.
After the coaches’ session, Martina Seidl, a youth coach from Ruhpolding (GER) and Olympic Champion, commented: “For me, as a coach of youth athletes, safeguarding is very important and, in my opinion, it fell short in past education in many federations.
“As coaches we have a duty to take care of our athletes as well as we can and provide them with a safe setting while training and competing. Safeguarding education helps to deal with different cases, discuss them and find solutions and/or support.”
Katharina Gatterer, Safeguarding and Education Manager at the BIU, added: “Safeguarding is quite a new topic for many, so I was extremely pleased with the coaches’ active participation in the discussion.
“They seem to have understood that their role goes beyond simply improving their athletes’ performances, and that they need to act when they feel something is not right. Our next step is to inform athletes about their right to train and compete in a safe sport environment.”
Another session is planned for the second edition of the camp in Martell, Italy on 26 November to 3 December, as the BIU continues its mission to support athletes and coaches in all integrity related matters.
Biathlon Integrity Certificate
Beginning with the first event of the 2022-23 season, all Biathlon team staff members (including coaches, medical personnel and technicians) participating in any IBU event (Junior Cup, IBU Cup, World Cup) must hold a ‘Biathlon Integrity Certificate’ issued by the BIU.
The purpose of the certificate is to ensure that everyone dealing with athletes has a basic knowledge of integrity and anti-doping matters.
They should also be aware of the influence their words and actions can have over athletes, and know their obligations under the IBU Integrity Code.
A certificate can be obtained by completing a short online course, which can be found here.
The course is available in three languages (English, Russian and German) and will take between 45 and 60 minutes to complete.
The course is divided into three main modules:
1) Safeguarding and Integrity (definition of safeguarding, how to recognise signs of abuse and how to react);
2) Basic information on anti-doping;
3) Your role as Athlete Support Personnel and your influence on athletes’ behaviour and attitudes.
After completing the course, participants have to upload the certificate (valid for two seasons) to the IBU Membercenter.
Save the date
At 16.00 CET on 5 October, the BIU and IBU will jointly host a webinar on functions of the Membercenter, with an opportunity for participants to ask questions.
For more details on the Biathlon Integrity Certificate, contact:
Lucie Rothauer
BIU Prevention Manager
Lucie.rothauer@biathlonintegrity.com
Katharina Gatterer
BIU Safeguarding and Education Officer
Safeguarding Workshop
During the recent 15th Ordinary IBU Congress in Salzburg, the BIU held a well-attended and informative workshop on safeguarding.
The aim was to discuss relevant safeguarding issues in Biathlon, and the workshop began with a short presentation defining safeguarding and its importance in Biathlon. NFs’ obligations under the IBU Safeguarding Policy were also discussed.
This introduction was followed by round table discussions with NFs, with the aim of answering two main questions:
1. What are the potential / present risk factors or safeguarding issues in your sporting community?
2. What do you as NFs need from BIU to further advance your safeguarding efforts?
NFs generally agreed that there is a need for education for coaches / personnel dealing with athletes, but also for athletes themselves, as they are sometimes unsure of which behaviours are and are not acceptable.
It also emerged that, while good educational material is often available within a country / federation, distributing the material in order to stimulate discussion within the Biathlon community can be problematic.
During the workshop, Sara Studebaker-Hall (USA) and Heather Ambery (CAN) presented insights and good practices from their respective countries. Both countries have centres dedicated to Safe Sport: https://uscenterforsafesport.org/ and https://www.cces.ca/. These also serve as contact points for the Biathlon federations. Sara and Heather concluded that collecting feedback from team members is important (ideally by an independent reviewer), and that it is also crucial for federations to have a responsible person (with necessary training) to deal with safeguarding matters.
The BIU was delighted with the level of interest and the lively discussion provoked by the workshop.
For more details, contact:
BIU Safeguarding and Education Officer Katharina Gatterer – katharina.gatterer@biathlonintegrity.com
Spotting the signs of overtraining
What is overtraining and how can you make sure to avoid it?
As a biathlete, you often need to push your limits to reach your athletic goals. At this time of year especially, with the new season just around the corner, many biathletes intensify their training loads.
But more isn’t always better.
There’s a thin line between training hard enough and training too hard. When you don’t give your body the rest and recovery it needs, you risk overtraining. Too much training without sufficient recovery can hinder your progress and lead to a decline in performance.
Common symptoms are not only physical, but can also be emotional and behavioural.
Look out for these signs:
· Long-term decline in sports performance
· Unusual muscle soreness, even after lower exercise intensity
· Decreased motivation to train or compete
· Moodiness
· General tiredness/fatigue; lack of energy
· Decreased quality of sleep
· Loss of appetite
· Irregular menstrual cycles; missing periods
· Increased occurrences of illness
· Increased blood pressure and at-rest heart rate
· Excessive weight loss.
One or more of these symptoms could indicate that you are overtraining.
Overtraining can be hard to spot before it becomes a problem, so it is very important to pay close attention and listen to your body.
What can you do to avoid overtraining?
· Make sure that you eat and drink properly
· Get a good night’s sleep
· Talk to your coach about balancing training with time for recovery; and let them know when you don’t feel great.
It’s hard to fully recover from overtraining. It can require weeks or months without working out. For an elite athlete, that could mean the end of their career.
Make sure it’s not you!
Competition manipulation outreach
The BIU conducted a quiz among athletes and support personnel at the SBWCH in Ruhpolding to provide information on the risks of match-fixing.
Competition manipulation or match-fixing is defined as an intentional act to unfairly change the course or the outcome of a sports competition. One of the BIU’s tasks is to make sure it does not happen in Biathlon.
The aim of the outreach programme was to provide information and education on the risks of competition manipulation, using a quiz format.
The quiz aimed to reinforce the four main rules relating to match-fixing:
· Don’t fix
· Don’t bet
· Don’t disclose inside information
· Report any match-fixing suspicions
The quiz comprised six case studies of potential competition manipulation or match-fixing, and participants were asked to choose whether or not a variety of actions by athletes and/or support personnel were in breach of the rules.
In all, more than 100 biathletes and coaches from 24 countries took part in the quiz over the four days, signing a ‘wall’ to show that they had participated.
The BIU was delighted at the high level of interest shown by participants, and in most cases their awareness of the risks of competition manipulation.
However, two questions in particular showed that some participants were uncertain over some aspects of match-fixing:
· Only 58% of participants knew that betting on biathlon competitions is forbidden for anyone involved in biathlon.
· In the case study that produced the highest number of wrong answers, an athlete told her best friend about an injury to a teammate before it was publicly announced. Almost 40% of respondents said that this is not competition manipulation. However, disclosing inside information to anyone outside the team, even to a good friend, is, in fact, against the rules.
Participation in the quiz enabled BIU staff members to engage directly with athletes and support personnel to correct these errors and explain the rationale behind the rules.
Although the main topic of the outreach was competition manipulation (match-fixing), everyone was welcome to ask any questions about other integrity issues such as anti-doping and safeguarding at the BIU booth.
The quiz can be found here.
For more information on competition manipulation, check out BIU’s short video.
