Anti-Doping Policy

Policy Statement

The Irish Aikido Federation (IrAF) fully supports the anti-doping (AD) policies as described by the International Aikido Federation and the World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA). Within Ireland the Irish Sports Council is responsible for applying the WADA rules. Instructors should inform their members about the IrAF AD policy and its consequences. Below is some more information about AD and links to relevant information. Any questions relating to AD should be directed to Adam Ralph adamanddetta@eircom.net.

Consequences of the AD Policy

Aikido is not a sport and has no competitions. However, some of the AD policies are applicable: possession, trafficking and administration of banned drugs are violations of the anti-doping code.

Most regulations concern athletes in competition or elite level athletes but the anti-doping rules also cover athletes in training. There are a number of banned substances that are banned as part of training/practice. The reason these are banned is because they are detrimental to health. The type of substances include pharmacological substances not approved for human use, anabolic agents, peptide hormones and growth factors, beta-2 agonists, hormone and metabolic modulators and diuretics and other masking agents. A full list can be obtained from WADA which is updated annually.

It is most unlikely that the Irish Sports Council would conduct AD testing at an IrAF club or event but it is not impossible. Practitioners should be aware of this fact, as it is also a violation of the rules to refuse testing. A short video of the testing process can be found at http://www.irishsportscouncil.ie/Anti-Doping/Testing/What_happens_in_a_drug_test_/. If traveling to courses abroad or IAF run events, then there maybe a greater chance that AD tests will be carried out. All the IAF member Federations have AD policies similar to ours.

Other Issues

Dietary Supplements

Supplements are not required for aikido practitioners, a normal balanced diet is completely sufficient and encouraged. The reason they are included in AD policies is that elite athletes may use them. Also some sports supplements give exaggerated claims about what they can deliver and may contain substances that are harmful to health. For more information see Institute of Sport.

Therapeutic Use Exception (TUE)

Some prescription medications can generate false positives on AD tests. If such a situation arises then a TUE can be applied for after the AD test, see www.irishsportscouncil.ie. The form needs to be signed in conjunction with our GP.