Whereabouts & Testing Pool Requirements
Prohibited substances that are used out-of-competition will not always be detected in an athlete’s sample if the athlete is tested in-competition. For this reason, out-of-competition testing is a necessary part of an anti-doping program.
What are Whereabouts?
The ICSD needs information about where athletes are in order to locate athletes for out-of-competition testing at any time or any place. This information, which is called Whereabouts, is stored confidentially and only used by the Anti-Doping Organisations who have authority to test the athletes.
The athletes who are required by ICSD to provide Whereabouts information are included in the Testing Pool or Registered Testing Pool, and notified accordingly by the ICSD Anti-Doping Commission. For athletes in any testing pool, it means that you must be where you say you are.
Athletes in the Registered Testing Pool are required to provide information into the WADA ADAMS platform, a web-based system that centralises anti-doping information including Whereabouts information. It is a secure platform for athletes and Anti-Doping Organisations to use.
The national deaf sports organisation provides with your full name, gender and date of birth. They are also required to provide initial contact details for you which will include, but is not limited to, your:
- Primary residential address
- Primary mailing address
- Primary contact telephone numbers
- Coach details
- Team doctor details, if applicable
- primary email address, if applicable
Athletes are required to provide the following information for each day:
- Address, email address and phone number
- Overnight accommodation
- Regular activities such as training, work, school or University
- Competitions an Athlete participating in
- A 60-minute time slot where the athlete will be available and accessible for testing
- Travel details for overseas or long-distance travel
An Athlete can be tested anywhere at any time, not only during the 60-minute time slot. If an Athlete is not available for testing at the location they indicated for the 60-minute time slot, then that may be declared a missed test.
Athletes can submit their whereabouts in ADAMS and/or in Athlete Central. Athlete Central is a mobile app that can be used to provide whereabouts information and update it. It can be downloaded here: App Store/Google Play
Whereabouts information must be provided by a specific date and time for a 3-month period. Generally they are submitted either quarterly or for a specific 3-month period. Once submitted, an Athlete must ensure that all the whereabouts information provided remains accurate and up-to-date at all times. So if an Athlete’s plans change, the whereabouts information must be updated accordingly. Whereabouts information must provide sufficient detail so that the athlete can be located for an out-of-competition test.
Not providing the information or providing inaccurate or misleading information can result in consequences. An Anti-Doping Rule Violation is known as a Whereabouts Failure. A Whereabouts Failure is when there is any combination of 3 (three) missed tests and/or a filing failure within a 12-month period.
Testing Pool
Athletes in the Testing Pool must also provide whereabouts, but the requirements that apply to them are less stringent. Any combination of two (2) filing Failures or Whereabouts Failures for Athletes in the Testing Pool can lead to being added to the Registered Testing Pool where more stringent requirements must be met.
The above information is only a brief overview of Testing Pools & Whereabouts, meant for awareness purposes. Athletes who are included in the Testing Pool or Registered Testing Pool are notified accordingly by the ICSD Anti-Doping Commission. The notification includes all the necessary information. It is highly recommended that Testing Pool or Registered Testing Pool Athletes take ADEL e-learning for International-Level Athletes.