OCA/OS Forum: Safety Delivery - We are right on top

Safety, generality and rights of the athlete are of paramount importance in today’s sport. This was the key message that the OCA/OS intended to drive at the Athletes Forum in Thailand last week. 

Representing the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka were Reshika Udugampola and Chamara Dharmawardena. 

GoodSport requested Reshika to explain the real anatomy of the forum and what it meant to the athletes as a whole – in short, “How does “Inclusiveness” work?”. 

She explained, “OCA/OS is working together and their aim is to empower the Athletes Commission working with the NOCs; to develop us as the Athletes Commission and do their roles in the Athletes Commission – in short, to be the voice; to make sure the Athletes are heard, they are being given right the knowledge, how it is done and educate them on serious matters like the athletes’ rights and what the resources are out there. It’s more like prioritizing and safeguarding the athlete. That is one of the main roles of the Athletes Commission.”

She explained that they have to bridge in between the athlete and the NOC and carry the responsibility to be the voice. “During this conference, to get the athletes wheeling together – all Asian Countries together, ran through their upcoming plans in terms of the OCA, also the International Olympic Committee, and we also ran through the activities the Athletic Commissions can do. I am happy to say that they considered the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka one of the best out of the NOC’s that they had listed. They were impressed to see a lot of work that the NOC Sri Lanka has accomplished to educate the athlete. They were one of the ‘Key’ items in educating the athlete which is their core as well. I am happy to say that we are on the top, doing a lot of work and leaving a footprint at the OCA sessions – the amount of work that we have really put together.

“We also must highlight the effort of the other NOCs, I think without them, we wouldn’t have been doing this currently. They are educating the athletes on certain topics that are important currently – SafeGuard, and Competition Manipulation (a segment which is just being introduced), but, I am happy to say that we have explained Competition Manipulation for what it is and we are trying to do the Education around it to the athlete.”

Thereafter it was the Career Development for the athlete and it was taken very seriously. The reason is that there are a lot of resources out there, but the athletes are not aware of them. “There are resources out there, there is support out there and as a matter of fact, we speak to the Athletic Commission or the NOC and give them the support. The OCA and the NOC will create a lot of career guidance for athletes who are looking at retirement or are already retired - there are a lot of options out there. 

“Another important topic that we discussed was Anti-Doping and they are doing a lot in that regard at present. We are doing a lot of sessions - for instance, we educated them on how the dates keep changing with regard to the ins and outs of drugs every calendar year and it is January 1. However, some athletes are oblivious to that fact. We should take time and educate the athletes on such instances. They discussed how important collaboration with the respective local anti-doping agencies is.”

“The other was the regulation of reporting – the whole process of anti-doping and how things have changed over time. It has drastically changed; the methods, but, not every athlete is aware of the process properly. It is the responsibility of us to educate the athlete in that area. When you go through the local competition and the international competition, you have a chance of going through such things. Then when it comes to testing, there are certain regulations that we need to follow and you need to be aware.” 

We quizzed as to how the process is going to work practically.

Reshika replied, “What we can do is keep educating the athlete, based on the resources we have. At this point, we have a lot of support coming from the IOC, and the NOCA. It is all about how we put together a plan and do the activation locally. The OCA suggestion was to sit down with the NOC and work on a plan and apply for the funding, and through them, get it activated locally. But, we must make sure that everyone is included - it should be done without any discrimination. Based on what we have done, we are on a certain path.  But, what we can do is improve the ways of delivery. 

“Once again I must reiterate that so far we have done really well in this sphere and I think at present we are on top”