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Anti-Doping Education at Youth and Junior World Championships

BIU stages athlete education activities at Youth and Junior World Championships

The BIU staged educational activities at the 2023 Youth and Junior World Championships, which took place in Shchuchinsk, Kazakhstan on 4 to 10 March.

Katharina Gatterer, the BIU’s Safeguarding and Education Officer, led the activities on-site, in collaboration with QAZ NADO, the local National Anti-Doping Organisation.

Anti-doping seminar

An anti-doping seminar for youth athletes was held on 6 March. The seminar was mainly targeted at youth athletes that were competing at a major event for the first time. The session comprised an introduction to anti-doping, including a discussion about fairness and the need for rules in sport, along with an explanation of the doping control procedure, finishing with a Kahoot quiz.

The seminar was well-attended, attracting about 90 athletes from 18 nations.

For many of the athletes, this was their first introduction to the anti-doping process; only a few already had experience of the doping control procedure.

Outreach booth

The BIU ran an outreach booth in the competition venue, together with QAZ NADO on 5 to 7 March.

The booth offered athletes the chance to complete WADA’s anti-doping quiz, while information handouts on anti-doping were also distributed. Katharina and two members from QAZ NADo were on hand to answer questions from athletes and team members.Good attendances were also recorded at the outreach booth, with 126 athletes and coaches from 30 different nations.

A link to the WADA quiz (available in 47 languages) can be found here.

BIU Outreach at the IBU World Cup in Antholz

The BIU held an outreach session at the IBU World Cup in Antholz-Anterselva on 20 January, 2023.

The aim of the Outreach was to interact with athletes and inform them about the day-to-day work of the BIU, including anti-doping, safeguarding, match-fixing, whistleblowing and investigations.

Katharina Gatterer, the BIU’s Safeguarding and Education Officer was on hand to answer the athletes’ and coaches’ questions.

Many athletes stopped by the Outreach stand, and signed a board with the message: ‘Remain true to yourself’.

The BIU aims to hold similar interactions with athletes in all biathlon competition series (Junior Cup, IBU Cup, World Cup and World Championships).

 

 

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.

 

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. 

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

WADA Play True Day

BIU teams up with WADA to take part in Play True Day for Peace on 8 April

The BIU is teaming up with The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and other members of the global anti-doping community to take part in Play True Day for Peace on 8 April 2022.

On behalf of the Biathlon family, the BIU is using the occasion of Play True Day for Peace to express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they fight to regain peace in their country. Our sport shares their values of friendship, endurance, camaraderie, inclusion and peace.

WADA President Witold Bańka said: “In light of the war in Ukraine, WADA considered postponing Play True Day this year. However, after consulting with a number of our stakeholders worldwide, we decided to go ahead with Play True Day for Peace. The feeling is that values such as fairness, integrity and respect for rules — which are embodied within the Play True message — contribute to harmony in sport and society.”

This year, the BIU joins the global anti-doping community in standing with WADA in solidarity for peace, by:

·         Inserting the BIU name on the ‘Play True for Peace’ frames provided;

·         Sharing them on our social media channels with the hashtags #PlayTrueDay and #PlayTrueforPeace; and

·         Following the campaign in real time via WADA’s dedicated Play True Day wall that will capture all posts with the #PlayTrueDay and #PlayTrueforPeace hashtags.

The campaign is being supported by our athlete ambassadors, Anastasiya Merkushyna (Ukraine), Julian Eberhard (Austria) and Sebastian Samuelsson (Sweden).

Anastasiya Merkushyna said: “When a painter draws a picture, he has a sense of accomplishment after finishing it. However, when an artist simply buys a masterpiece pretending it is his work, he can become famous and rich, but deep inside there always will be the knowledge that he didn’t deserve it. I want to be a true creator of my success.”

Julian Eberhard said: “Living together in our society depends on honesty and sincerity. Sport in particular has a model effect in this respect. Playing true creates trust in yourself and in the people around you.”

Sebastian Samuelsson said: “The whole foundation of sports is about fair play! I always aim to play true both in sports and in my personal life!”

Since 2014, WADA has invited athletes, National and Regional Anti-Doping Organizations, Sports Federations, Governments, Major Event Organizers and all other anti-doping stakeholders worldwide to join the Agency’s social media campaign to celebrate ‘Play True Day’ — a day that is traditionally dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of Clean Sport among athletes, the public and others.

The inspiration for Play True Day stems from a WADA-hosted Education Conference in 2013, which was attended by 17 South American countries. While the event started as a small South American initiative, last year, the social media campaign reached over 87 million people worldwide.

Note to Editors

The Biathlon Integrity Unit is an operationally independent and specialised unit of the International Biathlon Union. It was established in 2019 in order to ensure all of Biathlon’s stakeholders can have confidence that ethical issues in the sport will be address

BIU drives home Anti-Doping Education message at IBU Virtual Coach Webinar Week

The Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU) was pleased to play its part at the 2020 IBU Coach Webinar Week, which, due to the current COVID-19 global pandemic, took place virtually at the end of September.
Participating for a second successful year, the BIU provided coaches with essential values-based education on anti-doping in biathlon. Topics covered during the anti-doping education session ranged from the World Anti-Doping Code and Prohibited List to rights and responsibilities, and from injuries and illness to Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs).
“Coaches are those that are often closest to athletes, and therefore hold the most influence over athletes’ decision-making, particularly those athletes who are young and at a stage where they are learning fast. It is crucial that we are able to play a hands-on role, educating coaches on the global anti-doping rules, why they are in place and the impact they have on an athlete’s career – so that athletes receive the right messages from those they trust most,” said BIU Head, Greg McKenna.
More than 320 participants registered for the IBU’s Coach Webinar, which was conducted to provide coaches from all National Federations with key education and knowledge in the principles of training young athletes at the national level.
The training was held over four days and drew an international team of biathlon experts from elite sport, education and psychology. The experts delivered a series of lectures with each day focusing on a different topic; along with anti-doping, the topics included: Talent identification and development in biathlon; Skiing technique; Shooting; and Psychology in biathlon.
The webinar formed part of the IBU’s strategic plan, Target 26, to empower federations by providing them, as well as athletes and coaches, with practical support. In the future, such training seminars will fall under the management of the yet-to-be established IBU Academy.
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