Testing Procedures


Testing has an important role to play in deterring those who may be vulnerable to doping decisions, and detecting banned substances when someone choose to cheat. Testing functions to support your health and protect the spirit of sport. It’s part of the doping control process that includes:

  • Athlete being selected and notified to give a sample, either urine or blood (or both).
  • Sample being taken to a laboratory.

Who can be tested, by whom, and when?

Athletes can be tested any time, any place, without advance notice. An athlete can be tested In-Competition, from 11:59 p.m. the day before the competition until the competition ends and all testing for that competition has finished. They can be tested out-of-competition, which is any time before or after the in-competition period.

What are the tests' types?

There are two types of anti-doping tests – urine and blood. Once a sample of blood or urine is collected, it is sent to a WADA accredited laboratory to be analysed. The laboratory personnel do not know who the sample is from as the samples are anonymous, onlyntifiable by a sample number.

Doping Control Officers

Doping Control Officers are certified and trained personnel who are authorised to conduct testing. Sometimes athletes are notified by a Chaperone who is a person who can observe sample provision. They always have to showntification when they notify athletes, and then they will make sure you are accompanied at all times until the process is completed. A Blood Collection Officer is a trained and experienced phlebotomist, who carries out the blood withdrawal procedures according to the instructions of the Doping Control Officer in charge of testing.

Sample Collection Process for a Urine Sample

A. Notification of an athlete oh selection for a drug test.

  • Chaperone or Doping Control Officer will notify you about you have been selected for testing and will show you theirntification.
  • You will be told your rights and responsibilities, asked to show yourntification to ensure a Doping Control Officer has the right athlete, and then you will be asked to sign the top part of a Doping Control Form to confirm you have been notified.

B. Reporting for testing

You will be observed at all times by a Chaperone or Doping Control Officer until you arrive at a Doping Control Station, where testing will take place

You should report immediately to a Doping Control Station unless you request a delay for a permitted reason. A delay can be requested for:

In-Competition

  • Participation in a medal ceremony
  • Media commitments
  • Competing in further competition
  • Completing a cool-down
  • Receiving medical treatment
  • Locating a representative or an interpreter
  • Obtaining photo ID
  • Any other justifiable exceptional circumstance

Out-of-Competition

  • Locating a representative
  • Completing a training session
  • Receiving medical treatment
  • Obtaining photo ID
  • Any other justifiable exceptional circumstance

C. Selecting a collection vessel

  • You will be asked to choose a sample collection kit. Inspect the kit carefully to ensure the kit you select is sealed and has not been tampered with.

D. Providing the sample under supervision

  • When ready, you will be asked to wash your hands or wear gloves and then to provide your sample. The Doping Control Officer, who will be the same gender as you, willctly observe you providing your sample. You will be asked to remove/lift your clothing above your chest and below your knees so a Doping Control Officer has an unobstructed view and witness the passing of the sample from your body to the collection vessel.
  • You will be required to provide at least 90 ml of urine. If you are not able to produce 90 ml all at once, you will be asked to wait in a Doping Control Station until you can provide a full sample.

E. Selecting the sampling kit

  • You will be asked to choose an A and B bottle kit. Ensure both bottle kits have not been tampered with and that the code on the bottles match and correspond to the code on the box.

F. Dividing the sample and testing the sample specific gravity

  • You will be asked to divide the sample, beginning with B bottle.
  • Doping Control Officer will then check the concentration of your sample. If f it is overdiluted you may be asked to provide another sample.
  • You should always follow your normal hydration strategies – overhydrating can make your sample too dilute, which can result in you having to provide another sample.

G. Sealing the Samples

  • You will be asked to secure and seal A and B bottles. The lids are specially made to not allow opening without special equipment. They also contain tamper-evident seals.

H. Verifying the Sample

  • You will need to review the information on a Doping Control Form to ensure information is all correct, add in some information, and sign it.
  • Remember to add any medications and/or supplements you have taken within the last 7 days and consider allowing your sample to be used for research purposes. Whatever you decide, it will not affect your doping control.
  • If you have any concerns to share about the process, write them on a Doping Control Form.
  • You will be given a copy of a Doping Control Form that you should keep in a safe place.

Your samples will be sent to a WADA accredited laboratory, where the A sample will be analysed and the B sample will be stored securely. Samples can be stored for up to 10 years.

Sample Collection Process for a Blood Sample

A. Notification of selection for a drug test

  • Chaperone or Doping Control Officer will notify you to say you have been selected for testing and will show you theirntification.
  • You will be told your rights and responsibilities, asked to show yourntification to ensure a Doping Control Officer has the right athlete, and then you will be asked to sign the top part of a Doping Control Form to confirm you have been notified.

B. Reporting for testing

  • You will be observed at all times by a chaperone or Doping Control Officer until you arrive at a Doping Control Station, where testing will take place.
  • You should report immediately to a Doping Control Station unless you request a delay for the same permitted reason as for a Urine Sample.

C. Rest for a period of time

  • Before your blood is collected, you will be asked to be seated for a period of time.

D. Selecting the Sample Kits

  • You should inspect a kit to ensure it has not been tampered with.
  • Verify the sample code numbers match; if the kit includes pre-printed barcode labels, you can place those on the tubes.
  • Blood kits can include up to 5 tubes: 2 tubes, A and B sample to analyse whole blood, 2 tubes, another A and B sample, to analyse serum, and 1 tube, A sample only, is for the Athlete Biological Profile.

E. Providing the Sample

  • Blood Collection Officer will determine where to draw blood from.
  • Blood Collection Officer will clean the area with a sterile disinfectant swab, and apply a tourniquet to help with collection.
  • Total of 15-16 ml of blood will be drawn which should not affect athletic performance. Blood Collection Officer can attempt to draw blood up to 3 times.
  • You may be asked to stay at a Doping Control Station if your blood samples need to be left at room temperature for a certain length of time.

F. Sealing the Samples

  • You will be asked to seal your blood samples in tamper-evident devices.

G. Verifying the Sample

  • Blood Collection Officer will ask you if you have had any blood transfusions in the last three months. You will need to review the information on a Doping Control Form to ensure the information is all correct, add in some information, and sign it once completed.
  • Remember to add any medications and/or supplements you have taken within the last 7 days and consider allowing your sample to be used for research purposes.
  • If you have any concerns to share about the process, write them on a Doping Control Form.
  • You will be given a copy of the Doping Control Form that you should keep in a safe place.

Your samples will be sent to a WADA accredited laboratory, where A sample will be analysed and B sample will be stored securely. Samples can be stored for up to 10 years. Throughout this process, forms are completed and signed to show the chain of custody and who has been in possession of the sample from the moment it left a Doping Control Station up to and including when it arrives at a laboratory. The bottles are inspected at a laboratory for signs of tampering or leaking. The sample in A bottle is opened and analysed. B bottle will only be opened if a banned substance is found in A bottle and if you or the testing authority request it to be opened.

Athletes Rights & Responsibilities in Relation to testing

From notification for Doping Control, athletes have the right to:

  • Be accompanied by a representative, coach, parent, athlete support personnel, interpreter.
  • Request a delay in reporting to a Doping Control Station for valid reasons.
  • Ask for additional information about doping control process.
  • Request modifications if you have an impairment that requires modifying the process.
  • Document any concerns or problems during the process on a Doping Control Form.

Athletes have a responsibility to:

  • Always remain withinct observation of a Chaperone or Doping Control Officer from the point of notification until the completion of the sample collection procedure.
  • Be in control of the sample.
  • Produce identification such as competition accreditation, passport, or driving license.
  • Comply with sample collection procedures.
  • Report immediately for a test, unless there are valid reasons for a delay mentioned above.

What is the Athlete Biological Passport - ABP?

Athlete Biological Passport is a biological picture of an athlete, which is built with repeated sample collections over time. Once an Anti-Doping Organisation has collected enough information from samples to establish what an athlete’s “normal” profile is, they are also able to determine if a subsequent sample is out of the normal range, even being not familiar with the reason for the skewed result. The tracking of changes over time is a different approach. In traditional urine and blood tests the laboratory is screening for a banned substance in the sample. In an athlete Biological Passport, they are looking instead for the effects on the body that a substance might trigger.

Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) is used to have a more intelligent target testing of athletes. The samples that can be used for the Athlete Biological Passport are urine, blood, or both, collected in the same way as a normal test. The only difference is that if an athlete has exercised within two (2) hours before a Doping Control Officer arrives, they will have to wait a two-hour period before providing a blood sample. Samples used for Athlete Biological Passport require a specific additional form.

The results are reported into ADAMS and assessed and managed by special units of WADA-accredited laboratories called Athlete Passport Management Units (APMUs). If the passport is abnormal, then the APMU will ask an Athlete Biological Passport expert to review it and determine whether there was a likelihood of doping. If that determination is made, then the passport will be reviewed by a panel of three ABP experts. If the experts make the same conclusion, an Athlete will be notified and have the opportunity to provide an explanation. If after this step the experts maintain the “likely doping” explanation, then an Anti-Doping Rule Violation may be pursued.

Why is all this important for you to know?

Athletes should familiarise themselves with the testing process so they are prepared and confident if they are selected for doping control. Use the ADEL platform for education, attend seminars, and watch videos on the testing process. Learn about your rights and responsibilities during the testing process and keep reading. Ask other teammates who have been tested about the process. Remember the Doping Control Officers are there to assist and can help explain the process, while you can bring a representative such as a parent, coach or team doctor or therapist with you. Keep in mind that refusing a test carries a four-year ban, so prepare yourself, and take the test if you are notified for testing.