[www.inewsguyana.com] – An anti doping seminar was held at the National Resource Centre on Saturday, September 06 to spread awareness of doping under the stewardship of Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization (RADO), Tessa Chaderton-Shaw.
Chaderton-Shaw, who believes the seminar accomplished its purpose, related its focal point.
“The whole purpose of today was really to give managers, coaches, the athletes’ entourage a better understanding of what doping is and what it isn’t. We would’ve looked at the role of the Caribbean RADO, the services it provides to the region and more specifically to Guyana… We had a very comprehensive five hour training seminar that was very well attended and I leave here very satisfied today,” Chaderton-Shaw said.
With Charles Corbin, Dr Karen Pilgrim, Dr Clive Bowman and Dr Navin Rambarran being the four Doping Control Officers in Guyana, Chaderton-Shaw highlighted the excellent job they have done over the year.
However, the RADO executive also revealed what a seminar of this nature could accomplish especially with the huge turnout at the Resource centre.
“Guyana has had some positive test that has been made public, and one test is one too many, and our effort is really to spread that message far and wide so that we have a leveled playing field and all Guyanese athletes are playing fairly.”
Chaderton-Shaw also related her thoughts to lessen doping.
“I think one of the first challenges is consistent anti-doping education being delivered across all sport federations, doing it consistently, it takes time. Anti-doping is an area of sport development that people tend to frown on, and ignore because there is a certain intrusion of privacy; we have to make sure that the urine is leaving their body so a chaperone, of the same gender, must accompany [the athlete], but we are trying to change that stigma, and ensure that it is something that is embraced and seen as a pivotal component of sport development.
She continued: “The other area of concern is testing, doing more testing both in and out of competition across all disciplines. With the assistance of the board members, and the doping control officers in collaboration with the national sporting federations this can be achieved. But it is something that we have to keep chipping away at, in all of our fifteen member countries. So the challenges faced by Guyana are quite similar across the board,” Chaderton-Shaw stressed.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sport Alfred King is currently on the RADO Executive Board which is the regional body for anti-doping in the Caribbean, also affiliated to the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).
