WADA Rules Too Harsh?

Earlier this year 2 tennis players were banned for one year from the sport. Their crime was missing a doping test. Seems harsh? Not really, unless you take into account the WADA rules, which say that a person has to be available for one hour a day, 365 days a year for testing. Shocked?

Known as the 'Whereabouts Rule', this is the mainstay of the WADA policy. Highly criticized by top players and athletes, the rule is very very strict indeed. Under this rule, top players and athletes must be available for out-of-competition tests for one hour a day, all 365 days a year. More ridiculously though, they also have to provide WADA with their 'whereabouts' for a period of 3 months. That is to say that WADA should know their schedule for the next 3 months, so that they know where and when the athletes can be tested.

Failure to comply results in a ban, as does missing 3 consecutive tests. For players to submit a schedule for the next 3 moths stating where they will be is not only very difficult, but also regarded by most as an invasion of privacy.

WADA, on the other hand, says that 'the fight against doping benefits all athletes and supersedes that right [right to privacy]. WADA insists on out-of-competition doping tests claiming that most banned substances that are used before and after tournaments are usually undetectable during tournaments. The aim is to ensure that players are not using banned substances all through the year, and not just during tournaments.

While WADA is on, no doubt, a good crusade, banning players for missing tests seems a bit harsh. A one year ban for the tennis players will result in them losing their WTA rankings and starting over fresh. While strict fines and other penalties might seem to be the way out, the future for the 2 tennis players banned seems to be bleak.

With professional sports being highly competitive, even a month or two of inaction can prove to be detrimental to anyone's career. Keeping this in mind, we hope that WADA amends the whereabouts rule, or failing that, at least the penalties imposed for failing to comply with the rule. Most of the top players and athletes are unhappy with this rule, and have spoken out publicly against it. This seems to be all in vain however, with no change forthcoming from WADA. With top players now having to worry about one more thing, we hope that this rule does not see the top players from different sports being banned for something as trivial as missing a doping test.