Duggins praises WADA meeting
ST KITTS AND NEVIS SPORTS MINISTER, SAMAL DUGGINS SAID THE RECENTLY-HELD TWO-DAY World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) meeting in Jamaica was “very successful”.
“What we had was the President of WADA (Mr. Witold Bańka) who was with his delegates went through the general presentation. This was the first time that we were all able to meet in one room physically,” Duggins said.
At the two-day meeting, there was participation by Government ministers and other high-level administration and sports officials. This, the minister stressed enabled WADA’s Banka to have frank and open discussions with the various delegations as the global agency prioritised this issue.
“You had people being represented at the ministerial level and the WADA president was able to not only give his overview of how he has seen things over the last three years. Each country was able to give an overview of what is happening in their own jurisdiction, identifying short cummings and successes collectively,” Duggins noted.
The Basseterre Sports Minister recalled they were able to look at every jurisdiction with its own unique circumstances and try to find ways to lend a helping hand of support and technical insight in some cases as well. He said the delegates who attended were also able to tour the Jamaica facilities which he praised for their high standards
“Critically, the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) …has advanced their work and we were able to tour their facilities. It is a magnificent facility and to understand what they are doing and learn from their successes,” he said.
He continued, “JADCO is a brand in Jamaica, everything from billboards to bus stops. Everywhere you turn, you see JADCO.”
Duggins explained that the success of that organisation provided them with an opportunity to learn a lot from their successes and their development.
“We examined their facilities and were able to see some of the tools that they use, they also have a testing bus that they recently commissioned that is fully equipped so that they can go out and conduct testing of athletes at meets and anywhere. They can take testing to their people which helps the way they process their checks and balances, the sports minister said.
He said many burning issues were highlighted, and participants “walked away with some technical knowledge of what we all can introduce to our own jurisdictions.”
The issue of anti-doping in sports is a critical matter for countries such as St Kitts and Nevis, which he said can’t sustain any kind of illegal practice, so there must always be a level playing field.
“We are happy about that. We are not the ones that pose the most threats to that and anything to prevent it brings everyone else to a level playing field to where we are at and we are happy for that,” Duggins declared.
Conducting anti-doping tests is costly too.
“That was one of the major factors discussed by a lot of small island states: how to sustain a programme given the cost just to get the technical expertise to develop, to get the facilities to develop, to consistently be able to test and to be able to store and process at the right way, keep data,” he related.
“So when you look at the stages of the process in doing it right, it is very costly, and discussing where we get that support from was one of the most critical matters that came out from the various jurisdictions,” he revealed.
Diggins is happy with the outcome of the WADA meeting.
“I think it is a step in the right direction. There were things that, yes, I would wish for, maybe a bit more time in the meeting to develop a sort of action plan or policy which we didn’t get to, but I think having everyone coming together gives a really tangible outlook toward the next few steps. Yes, I am happy with it given what I have seen,” Sports Minister Duggins said.
