School sports: Anti-doping focus for July's Asean University Games in Singapore

MOU signing between the 18th Asean University Games Organising committee and the South East Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organisation. PHOTO: ASEAN UNIVERSITY GAMES 2016

University athletes and their supporting team of physiotherapists and doctors will be able to attend a series of educational workshops during July's 18th Asean University Games (AUG) in Singapore to learn more about anti-doping rules.

The workshops will be conducted by the South-east Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (Searado) at the AUG.

Two full-day workshops, one for athletes and one for officials, will be organised during the July 10-19 event.

They are part of Searado's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed yesterday with the AUG Organising Committee (Augoc) at the Singapore Management University.

Searado's chairman Patrick Goh said: "This MOU provides the framework for Searado to assist the Augoc, in ensuring that the Asean University Games' anti-doping programme and practices are consistent with standards contained in the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code and International Standards."

In the light of recent high-profile doping incidents such as Russia's athletics doping scandal, the agreement is the first time that an anti-doping MOU has been adopted for the AUG.

Augoc chairman Tan Eng Liang said: "This partnership will ensure that we instill the right values in our athletes not just in sports but in life.

"There is no legal short cut or quick fix to getting ahead in sports... it is our responsibility to educate our students so that they will do the right thing in any given situation."

In line with AUG and Searado's efforts to encourage a culture of clean sports in the region, Anti-Doping Singapore applied for and received a Unesco fund of $20,000 for outreach purposes, which include the running of an outreach booth on anti-doping during the AUG.

About 1,600 student athletes from 11 South-east Asian countries will compete in 16 sports over 10 days. The AUG began in 1981 and Singapore previously hosted the biennial event in 1986 and 1994.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 23, 2016, with the headline School sports: Anti-doping focus for July's Asean University Games in Singapore. Subscribe