National Anti-Doping Policy

UK Sport is at the forefront of the international sporting community's fight to keep sport drug-free. It has been designated by Government to deliver its policy objectives as the national anti-doping organisation, to represent Government in international meetings and to coordinate the national anti-doping programme of testing and education and information for sport throughout the UK.

The UK's National Anti-Doping Policy sets out UK Sport’s commitment to the World Anti-Doping Code, and outlines the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in the anti-doping process. Through the Policy, UK Sport aims to:

Protect athletes and other participants in sport in the UK;
Promote doping-free sport in the UK;
Establish consistent standards of anti-doping policy, testing and education across the UK;
Encourage and build upon national and international harmonisation of anti-doping in sport.

The Policy, which brings the UK in line with the World Anti-Doping Code, is applicable not only to all sports that are part of UK Sport’s anti-doping programme, but also all sports which receive funding from either UK Sport or one of the home country sports councils. The Policy is accompanied by a set of Model Rules which governing bodies of sports can use to ensure compliance with all mandatory provisions of the Code.

Both the Policy and the Model Rules were published in May 2005 and were finalised after a long consultation period which began in September 2004. This included getting input from the national governing bodies of sport, each of the home country sports councils, athlete representatives, legal advisers and other key national and international stakeholders.

The Model Rules go into more detail on specific aspects of the anti-doping programme, including testing, results management, disciplinary hearings and sanctions. They set out the provisions for implementing the Code and the UK anti-doping programme requirements. Hard copies of the Model Rules are availalble for national governing bodies of sport by e-mailing drug-free@uksport.gov.uk