KNSB letter July 2018

KNSB

To: Athletes Association Top athletes

Utrecht, 10 July 2018

Subject: Medication without medical necessity

Dear athlete,

On behalf of the KNSB I inform you about the following.

The KNSB stands for a clean, fair and therefore doping-free sport. Lately, signals have been received that athletes within the skating world are prescribed medication that, while not on the WADA's Doping List, could be a risk to your health if used without medical necessity.

We would like to expressly warn you: do not use these resources if there is no medical need for you. Within the medical world there is a lot of discussion on this subject and for some specific medicines the Dutch Doping Authority calls on the WADA to place it on the Doping List.

For the sake of good order, we also want to inform the athletes about the following. If a doctor prescribes a medication without medical necessity, it will act in violation of the (sports) medical guidelines. This concerns a violation of the Code of Conduct for doctors (KNMG 2013), as well as the Guidelines for sport-medical practice (VSG, 2015). If you encounter such a situation, you can submit a complaint about the attending doctor at the Medical Disciplinary Court.

We will also include an additional provision in the new licensing agreements of the Top Teams for the 2018-19 season. The old agreement already states that doctors must submit to the doping regulations. It will soon be added that they can not prescribe any substances if there is no medical indication for this.

For you as an athlete, this means an extra reason not to have such medications prescribed or administered. If you wish further information, you can always contact the Doping Authority. Of course you can also turn to me for questions: r.dewit@knsb.nl.

Sincerely,

Remy de Wit 

Technical Director KNSB