FAQ

A doping control involves taking urine and/or blood samples. The doping control procedure is clearly defined. It is important that athletes are familiar with, exercise, and fulfill their rights and obligations when undergoing testing.

Doping Control Procedure

Depending on their sport and performance level, athletes and teams are assigned by Antidoping Switzerland or their International Sports Federation to what are known as whereabouts pools. Their main purpose is to help test planning and they are relevant to the therapeutic use exemption process.

Whereabouts Pools

Whereabouts reporting helps to ensure that athletes can be located at all times, so that testing can be planned efficiently and carried out unannounced.

Whereabouts

The samples that have been collected may be analyzed exclusively by a WADA-accredited laboratory. These laboratories are independent of Antidoping Switzerland and analyze the samples anonymously.

Analysis and Profiles

All athletes who hold a license or membership of a club or federation affiliated with Swiss Olympic may be subject to testing at any time. This also apply to athletes participating in competitions held by such organizations.

The Anti-Doping Testing System

The anti-doping rules do not just apply to international-level athletes. It is important that athletes at all competition levels know their rights and obligations along with behavioral tips.

Know-how for Athletes

The support personnel has a key role. In addition to being a role model, it is also their role to teach the athletes the most important rules and tips. In addition, numerous anti-doping rules apply to the support personnel specifically.

Role of athlete’s support personnel

Athletes and support personnel can acquire important knowledge via e-learning and videos. In addition, behavioral tips are taught in workshops in collaboration with sports federations, the FOSPO and sports schools.

Education

"Doping" is defined as one or more violations of the anti-doping rules as laid down in the Doping Statute. The basic idea is to protect clean athletes and the sport as a whole.

Why Anti-Doping?

Nutritional supplements present a doping risk as they may be contaminated with prohibited substances. Athletes should therefore only use nutritional supplements following an individual assessment of the benefits and risks.

Nutritional supplements

The anti-doping rules also apply in case of sickness or injury. Therefore, some important points must be taken into account, and medication must always be checked before use.

Sick or Injured?

With the help of the Medial Inquiry Service Global DRO, medication can be checked independently at any time.

Medial Inquiry Service Global DRO

Depending on the substances contained, the route of administration and the dosage, asthma medications may be permitted or prohibited. See the further information on asthma medication.

Information on asthma medication

There are situations in which athletes need to take a prohibited substance or use a prohibited method, as specified by the Prohibited List, for health reasons. The anti-doping rules therefore stipulate therapeutic use exemptions (TUE).

Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)

The anti-doping rules apply to all athletes who are license-holders or members of an association or federation affiliated to Swiss Olympic. The same applies to those participating in competitions run by such organizations. This applies irrespective of their level within their sport, their age, or their nationality. Numerous rules also apply to the support personnel.

Swiss Olympic Doping Statute

Any violations of the Swiss Olympic Doping Statute may be punishable by disqualification, fines, and/or a suspension from sport. The Swiss Federal Sports Promotion Act also includes penalty clauses, which can result in prison sentences in the case of certain offenses.

Disciplinary Proceedings

The legal foundations for clean sport are laid down in federal-level laws (Federal Act on the Promotion of Sport and Exercise), on the one hand, and in the rules of sport under private law (Doping Statute of Swiss Olympic), on the other.

Legal Basis

The “Prohibited List” is a list of prohibited substances and methods, which is usually published on an annual basis.

Prohibited List

The Federal Act on the Promotion of Sport and Exercise (SpoPA) prohibits the importation of doping substances. This law applies to all persons staying in Switzerland, regardless of their sporting activities, i.e. it also covers non-athletes.

Import Ban

Antidoping Switzerland is a foundation under Swiss law and is financed by the Swiss federal government and Swiss Olympic.

Organization

In Switzerland, the first “Instructions on Combatting Doping”' were issued between 1963 and 1967. At the same time, a doping laboratory was set up at the Federal Office of Sport (FOSPO) research laboratory in Magglingen.

History in Switzerland

Find out about the current vacancies. Antidoping Switzerland is a fair and attractive employer offering a variety of challenging roles in the midst of competitive sport.

Career

Antidoping Switzerland is the independent center of excellence for fighting doping in Switzerland. The tasks include in particular testing, investigations, prevention work, applied research, and national and international collaboration.

Aims and Objectives

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) establishes the anti-doping rules for all countries and sports (World Anti-Doping Program). It monitors their implementation by the National Anti-Doping Organizations (e.g. Antidoping Switzerland), International Sports Federations, and certain sports organizers (e.g. the IOC).

Partners