Relive Clean Sport Week 2020: ‘Clean in Quarantine’

UK Anti-Doping’s (UKAD) Clean Sport Week 2020 was a roaring success. From promoting UKAD’s Coach Clean, the free online education programme, to sharing videos featuring elite athletes and coaches, and hosting an anti-doping webinar, the ‘Clean in Quarantine’ campaign focused on online events and activities amidst the Covid-19 lockdown.

Clean Sport Week is a partnership campaign between UKAD, UK National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and the wider British sporting family, which provides a platform to celebrate clean sport. The lockdown didn’t stop the sporting community and athletes from celebrating at home.

To kick off the week, UKAD released the results of its elite athlete survey, which found that only half (56%) took daily steps to reduce the risk of breaking anti-doping rules. UKAD Chief Executive, Nicole Sapstead called for athletes to incorporate anti-doping practices into their regular routines.

Additionally, the results showed that one in 10 (12%) elite athletes admitted that their coaches had never discussed anti-doping measures with them. With these results in mind, UKAD offered Coach Clean as a free resource for coaches to brush up on their anti-doping education with the aims of closing the gap.

To discuss these findings, UKAD gathered athletes and coaches for a special ‘Clean in Quarantine’ webinar, ‘Is it taboo? Coaches, athletes and anti-doping’. The esteemed panel included British Canoeing’s Matthew Lawrence, paracanoe head coach; British Rowing’s Darren Whiter, high performance coach; British 400m Individual Medley swimming champion, Max Litchfield; and British Weightlifting champion and UKAD Athlete Commission member, Jo Calvino. 

Online, the conversation was buzzing around Clean Sport Week. Using #CleanInQuarantine, the wider sporting community was flying the flag for clean sport. Athletes including Sam Ward, Laura Deas, Claire Maxwell, James Hudson, Shona McCallin and Emma Wiggs were just a few of those who shared videos to show their support as well. To capture the amazing content produced and shared during Clean Sport Week, UKAD relaunched its video hub for those looking to relive the week – www.ukad.org.uk/videos.

UKAD also announced the appointment of Bristol City Women’s Football Club (BCWFC) goalkeeper, Sophie Baggaley and marathon runner, Hayley Carruthers to its Athlete Commission. The two new members from football and athletics brings the group to 11 athletes from a wide range of Olympic, Paralympic and professional sports.

Olympic bronze medallist and UKAD athlete commission member, Laura Deas featured in the newly launched classroom video lesson, ‘Inspired by…’. Deas shared her medal-winning sporting experience and discussed how two of the Olympic and Paralympic Values of ‘Respect and Determination’ can play a part in young people’s lives, as well as her own. ‘Inspired by…’, available on the UKAD video hub, promotes the extensive Get Set resources which are available free to teachers and for home schooling.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President, Witold Bańka said: “UKAD’s Clean Sport Week is a fantastic initiative to raise awareness of anti-doping among athletes and the wider sporting community. It is a great opportunity to remind athletes of the daily steps they can take to reduce the risk of breaking anti-doping rules and making a mistake that could ruin everything they have worked so hard to achieve in sport.

On behalf of WADA, I would like to thank UKAD for ensuring Clean Sport Week 2020 was such a success and for doing everything they can, throughout the year, to equip athletes with the tools they need to make the right choices and compete clean at all stages of their careers.”

We are already counting down to Clean Sport Week next year in May 2021.

To watch the videos from Clean Sport Week and more, visit www.ukad.org.uk/videos