Anti Doping

ANTI DOPING
WADA Code observer since 2014

IRF Position on Doping in Sport

The IRF is unequivocally opposed, on ethical and medical grounds, to the practice of doping in sport and fully supports the position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the use of banned substances and methods.

The use, possession and/or trafficking of banned substances, methods, or the encouragement or counseling to use banned substances, or methods, and/or taking measures to mask the use of banned substances, or methods by any participant in competitions over which the IRF has jurisdiction is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

IRF Anti Doping History

in 2009, in support of the IRF Position on Doping in Sport, the IRF Anti Doping programme was initiated by the IRF Sport and Competition Committee. Doping tests were proposed for major international rafting competition events.

From 2011 forward, and in 2014, the IRF Board of Directors approved race rules which required World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) Code compliant doping tests mandatory for all Category A (World Championship) level events. The first Code compliant tests were conducted in 2014 at the IRF European Rafting Championship in Slovakia and again later that year at the World Rafting Championship in Brazil. 

In October 2019, after attaining Observer Status with the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) the IRF became eligible to apply for WADA Code signature status, further solidifying the IRF commitment to the anti-doping and clean sports movement. 

In October 2021, after satisfying all of the WADA signature requirements, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) officially accepted the IRF as a signatory of the WADA Code. The IRF implements a strict adherence to the Code as a way to ensure a clean, healthy and fair sporting atmosphere for all athletes.

What is Doping?

Doping is not just a positive test showing the presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete’s urine sample. Doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the 11 Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) outlined in the World Anti-Doping Code and Anti-Doping Rules. These are:

  1. Presence of a prohibited substance, its metabolites or markers in an athlete’s sample
  2. Use or attempted use of a prohibited substance or method by an athlete
  3. Refusing, evading or failing to submit to sample collection by an athlete
  4. Failure to file whereabouts information and/or missed tests by an athlete
  5. Tampering or attempted tampering with the doping control process by an athlete or other person
  6. Possession of a prohibited substance or method by an athlete or athlete support personnel
  7. Trafficking or attempted trafficking of a prohibited substance or method by an athlete or other person
  8. Administering or attempting to administer a prohibited substance or method to an athlete
  9. Complicity or attempted complicity in an ADRV by an athlete or other person
  10. Prohibited Association by an athlete or other person with a sanctioned athlete support personnel
  11. Acts to discourage or retaliate against reporting to authorities

The WADA Code

The WADA Code is the core document that harmonises anti-doping policies, rules and regulations within sport organisations and among public authorities around the world.

It works in conjunction with six international standards which describe how the various technical aspects of anti-doping work have to be performed.

As an athlete, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that any medication you take or use is not on the prohibited list of substances

If you take any kind of medication, you will need to check the list of substances within the medication to see if any substance is on the prohibited list. Your doctor may be able to help you if they have prescribed the drug for you.

If you have any medication that is on the prohibited list you must have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) prior to any doping control. If you can not show the doping control officer a TUE during the doping control you might receive a positive doping test.

Recent Anti Doping news

Rafter tests positive at WRC 2015
Anti Doping

Rafter tests positive at WRC 2015

Paul Roozendaal, who is captain of the New Zealand Open Men’s team, tested positive for substances that are listed on the WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) prohibited list after the Downriver discipline during the 2015 World Rafting Championships in Indonesia. It was found that he had levels of Pseudoephedrine and Cathine in his urine that

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First positive doping test in IRF history
Anti Doping

First positive doping test in IRF history

By Michael Lindberg, Head of IRF’s Anti-Doping Committee The result of a doping sample carried out on the 17th of May 2015 during the National Rafting Championships in Serbia was an adverse analytical finding showing the presence of a prohibited substance. The doping sample belonged to the 19-year old Serbian athlete, Bogdan Ribaric, who was tested

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