Anti-doping controls at venues impress CEO
Preparations for anti-doping controls during the Samoa 2019 XVI Pacific Games have “impressed” the chief executive officer of the Oceania Regional Anti-Doping Organisation.
Anti-doping testing, in collaboration with WADA, the World Anti-Doping Association, will be held throughout the Games, which are being held in Samoa from 7-20 July. Any Athlete that tests positive for a prohibited substance will be disqualified.
CEO Natanya Potoi-Ulia said: “We did a venue visit, checking out the doping control station that the Organising Committee have allocated for us. It has been well-planned and well-prepared.”
She says: “The venues themselves are very impressive, we really appreciate the effort the Samoa Organising Committee has put into the anti-doping component for the Games. It is something not all Games do.”
The inspection allowed their team to prepare for the Games and what to expect.
“We hope that the services for the anti-doping will meet the bar, especially having the Australia Sports Anti-Doping Authority team coming over to have a look and observe on what has been done.”
Anti-doping contributes to the integrity of sport, and Potoi-Ulia has no doubt the Games will be a success.
“In our communities sports provide an open door for a lot changes, and it is an opportunity for people to dialogue on a lot of sensitive matters. If there is a case where drugs can be involved it takes away the true spirit of sport.
“Sport is a cross-cutting subject, such as gender equality through youth and all Sustainable Development Goals. It has the ability to bring about positive change,” she said.
Potoi-Ulia is a biochemist by profession and as a sports lover she is thrilled for Games time. “I was into athletics at an early age, but I wasn’t able to pursue that because I had a medical condition, a heart problem, and I wasn’t able to do intense training.
“I resorted to sports administration, which still allows me to be part of sport but not intense physically but intense mentally.”
