Age-Group athletes are bound by the British Triathlon Anti-Doping Rules (the UK Anti-Doping Rules) which specify that any athlete at any level in the UK could be tested at any time. For further information on this testing programme please visit the UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) website.

Age-Group athletes competing in World Triathlon (WT) and Europe Triathlon (ET) Championships are also bound by the World Triathlon Anti-Doping Rules whereby all athletes are subject to the World Triathlon test distribution plan.

• The UK Anti-Doping Rules are listed below and can also be found here.

• There are 11 Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs). All 11 apply to athletes, two (in bold) also apply to athlete support personnel and five (in bold) also apply to athlete support personnel and other persons. 

  Apply to athletes only

• Presence

• Use or Attempted Use

• Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit to Sample Collection

• Whereabouts failures

• Apply to athletes and athlete support personnel

• Possession

• Administration

• Apply to athletes, athlete support personnel and other persons

• Tampering or Attempted Tampering

• Trafficking or Attempted Trafficking

• Complicity or Attempted Complicity

• Prohibited Association

• Acts by an Athlete or Other Person to Discourage or Retaliate Against Reporting to Authorities

The World Triathlon Anti-Doping Rules can be found here.

You need to take anti-doping seriously and fully understand the principle of strict liability.

Strict liability means that you are solely responsible for any banned substance you use, attempt to use, or is found in your system, regardless of how it got there or whether there was any intention to cheat.

Athletes are central to clean sport. Their actions, behaviours and choices determine how clean sport is.

To make the global anti-doping system work, you together with other athletes around the world need to commit to your anti-doping responsibilities.

The facts - what you need to know

The World Anti-Doping Code states the roles and responsibilities that athletes have in relation to anti-doping.

So, you must:

• know and abide by the Anti-Doping Rules, policies and practices

• be available for testing at all times

• take responsibility for what you ingest or use

• tell medical professionals that they should not use prohibited substances or methods, as per the WADA Prohibited List, and that any advice or treatment given to an athlete should not violate the Anti-Doping Rules

• tell UKAD and your International Federation if you have committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation within the last 10 years

• co-operate in any doping investigations when asked to do so

• disclose the identity of your support personnel upon request from an Anti-Doping Organisation

Athlete’s Anti-Doping Rights Act

The Athletes’ Anti-Doping Rights Act promotes athlete rights within anti-doping and ensures they are clearly outlined, accessible, and universally applicable e.g. an athlete has the right to receive anti-doping education.

Click here for more information from the UKAD website.

UKAD have provided a guide for parents and carers called; Clean Sport Essentials: Parents and Carers of Young Athletes. Click here to access the document.

It is your responsibility to check that any and all medications you may use do not contain banned ingredients; you can do this using the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. Using the list, you will need to check each of the ingredients listed on the product label.

You should also search the prohibited status of medications by brand name (e.g. Lemsip Max Strength) using Global DRO. Global DRO allows you to search for medications purchased in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland or Japan to check its prohibited status. Remember to print out or save your search for future reference. Be aware that medications bought abroad may contain different substances to the same product available in the UK.

Products and medications may change their ingredients over time so you will need to re-check each time you start using a new bottle, tub, packet etc. WADA update the List annually on 1^st January, but updates may be added throughout the year as and when new substances and methods are deemed to be prohibited. We highly recommend that you check and re-check your medications each time the List is updated as new prohibited substances may have been added. We do not expect you to read or memorise the List in full but instead be aware of its existence and how to check ingredients on it. We also recommend that you keep a record of your searches for future reference.

For further information please visit the UKAD website.

Some medications may contain substances which are included on the WADA Prohibited List. If you need to take such a medication for a genuine medical reason we recommend that you ask your doctor if there are any alternative medications or methods that could be used that are not prohibited.

If you are tested and you then receive notification that the result of that test is adverse you will need to apply for a retroactive Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). You will have five working days from the notification of an adverse finding in which to apply for a retroactive TUE. You can do this by downloading a form from the UKAD website  and applying directly to UKAD. You will need your doctor to complete part of the form and supply recent medical evidence.

You will not need to apply for a TUE in advance of a competition or for out-of-competition.

It is an athlete’s responsibility to be aware of, and understand, the TUE process and requirements that apply to them. These requirements will vary depending on the athlete’s medication, their sport, and their competition level.

Use the flow chart which can be accessed by this link to determine if you need a TUE before or after your event.

If you have established that you do need a TUE;

International athletes including those listed below are required to submit a TUE application to the International Triathlon Union in advance of being selected for Doping Control

• Those listed in the National registered testing pool
• Those in the GB Podium Potential Squad
• Athletes in the GB paratriathlon performance squad
• Elite senior, U23 or Junior athletes at any World Triathlon or Europe Triathlon event
• Elite senior athletes competing at Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events.

Age group athletes and all other British Triathlon members are not required to apply for a TUE prior to competition. These athletes can make a retroactive TUE application to UK Anti-Doping following an adverse analytical finding (AAF).

Any athlete requiring a retroactive TUE has five days post the receipt of an AAF to submit a retroactive application. Typically an athlete will receive a letter by courier to confirm an AAF and inform them of the requirements to apply for a retroactive TUE for the prohibited substance detected in their sample.

To find out more about TUE applications please see the UKAD website or email cleansport@britishtriathlon.org

There is a risk associated with the use of any supplement and it is your responsibility to manage that risk by assessing the need and possible consequences of using a supplement. The biggest risk of inadvertently doping is by consuming a supplement product that contains a prohibited substance. This could be due to contamination during production or a product not listing all its ingredients, or listing ingredients differently to how they appear on the WADA Prohibited List, on its label. Remember, under the principal of Strict Liability, it is your body therefore it is your responsibility for any substance that is found in it regardless of how it got there and whether it was intentional or not. Firstly, assess the need for taking a supplement (including vitamins and sports drinks) then assess the risks involved. If you decide to use a supplement then assess the consequences that could happen following a positive test.

Once you have competed the above process, should you decide to use a supplement, British Triathlon recommends that you minimise your risk by using products that have been batch-tested through the risk minimisation programme Informed Sport. Informed Sport lists all the batches of products that have been tested for WADA prohibited substances. Remember, the risk is only minimised as there is no guarantee that a batch-tested product is ‘safe’; only a small sample is tested and there is a risk that the remainder of the batch could be contaminated.

If you decide to use a supplement you must understand that you do so at your own risk. Remember, even if you have followed the above advice and use an Informed-Sport batch-tested product, if your doping control sample is found to contain prohibited substances as a result of the use of supplements you would still be liable for disciplinary hearings which could still lead to a sanction and possible ban.

Please visit the UKAD website for further information.

Don’t use it! Not only may this lead to a ban if you were found to have a prohibited substance in your body, it could also be damaging to your health. Instead, read the information above and on the UKAD website. Assess the need, risk and consequences of using a supplement and if you decide that you still want to go ahead with supplement use you can minimise your risk by using an Informed Sport batch-tested product (see above FAQ).

Your rights and responsibilities from the moment you are notified of selection for doping control to completion of the sample collection process and the doping control form (DCF) can be found here:  

Remember that you can be accompanied by a representative of your choice during the test and this is strongly recommended for minors under the age of 18. The Doping Control Officer must be of the same gender as you as they will be the person who watches the sample being collected.

It is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the basic procedures of doping control should you be selected for testing – please visit the UKAD website.

For further information please watch UK Anti-Doping’s video on the testing process.   

If you would like to anonymously report any information or concerns related to doping you can call the confidential Crimestoppers Report Doping in Sport Hotline on +44 (0) 8000 32 23 32 or you can submit information via a secure online form. Alternatively you can contact the UKAD Intelligence and Investigations Team at protectyoursport@reportdoping.com

You can follow UKAD on social media:

Facebook – www.facebook.com/ukantidoping

Twitter - twitter.com/ukantidoping or @UKAntiDoping

Or download the UKAD 100% Me Clean Sport App for iOS or Android  devices.

To speak to somebody at British Triathlon please email cleansport@britishtriathlon.org or call +44 (0) 1509 226 183.

To speak to somebody at UKAD please email protectyoursport@reportdoping.com or call +44 (0) 8000 32 23 32