Athlete Newsletter
Welcome to WADA’s first Athlete Newsletter
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Athletes are at the heart of everything we do. That is a simple fact–without athletes, there is no anti-doping. But WADA’s commitment to being athlete centered is a choice we make to ensure that our work is guided by that fact. To honor this commitment, today, we are launching the first of what will be our quarterly athlete newsletter
This newsletter is a space where we (WADA) share information directly with you (athletes). We recognize that the anti-doping system can be difficult to navigate, so we're committing to making anti-doping easier to understand and more athlete-friendly by providing clear and accessible content about anti-doping rules, processes, and initiatives that affect your sporting experience and your career. This newsletter is for you—we’ll keep you informed on what you need to know and ask you about what matters to you to make sure we’re communicating on those issues too. To get started, and to make sure this feels like your newsletter from the beginning, we think it’s best if you get to name it. Make sure to check out the Feedback Center later on in the newsletter to vote for your top choice, or send in your own idea.
What you'll find here:
- WADA updates – Tailored explanations of anti-doping policy changes and updates on WADA programs and projects that impact you
- Behind the scenes – Short videos that break down different aspects of anti-doping
- Highlights from around the world – Athlete-focused progress and achievements in the global anti-doping community
- Upcoming events and initiatives – Athlete-centered calendar
- Feedback Center – Surveys and feedback channels, with results published in the following issue
- Athlete Council updates – Updates on your WADA representatives' work
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2027 World Anti-Doping Code (Code) and International Standards
The new Code and Standards have been approved at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in December 2025 and will take effect in January 2027. Over the course of 2026, we’ll be dedicating space in each newsletter to break down some of the upcoming changes, so stay tuned! In the meantime, we invite you to consult the Implementation Guide where you can find a specific section on athlete engagement (Section IV) and an explanation for any change made to the Code or Standards that did not receive a majority of athlete support (based on the Athlete-Centered Consultation).
We also want to thank all the athletes who contributed to the Athlete-Centered Consultation by sharing feedback on some of the proposed changes to the Code and International Standards (or in some cases, on current issues affecting athletes). Your voices informed the final drafts of these essential anti-doping documents. If you have not seen the outcomes of this consultation, you can view them here.
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The Athlete Anti-Doping Experience Project
We're conducting research to understand the athlete experience within the anti-doping system. This project maps the athlete journey from education and testing through results management, identifying what works well and what needs improvement.
Your participation matters. Through interviews and surveys, you can share your experiences: the processes you think are clear, the areas that create confusion, and the moments that have shaped your experiences with anti-doping. This feedback will inform our work and how we communicate with athletes.
How to participate: Use this form to sign up for surveys or interviews and workshops. If you’re not ready to sign up right now, there will be more opportunities shared through our social media channels, website, and in future newsletter issues.
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We believe that understanding the system's structure and decision-making processes will help you navigate it more effectively. So, in each newsletter, this section will tackle a different aspect of anti-doping, with a short video that breaks down how it operates and why.
We’ll have our first video for you in our next newsletter, where we’ll dig into the Prohibited List—how it gets reviewed and updated, who is consulted, and how it ties into protecting athletes and clean sport. From that point on, the topics we cover will be based on your feedback. What would you like to learn more about? What questions would you like answered? Let us know in the Feedback Center!
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This section is where we’ll shine a light on progress being made in the global anti-doping community: new Anti-Doping Organization (ADO) Athlete Committees, new athlete engagement processes, and innovative initiatives from ADOs worldwide. If there is a highlight you think we should feature here, let us know through the form in the Feedback Center!
Our first highlight goes to a few ADOs in Latin America and the Caribbean who have recently taken steps to improve their athlete representation. Congratulations to:
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Dominican Republic NADO and Argentina (Comisión Antidopaje Interina) for establishing their first Athlete Commissions
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The following two ADOs for appointing an athlete representative to their board:
- Bahamas National Anti-Doping Commission
- Peru (Comisión Nacional Antidopaje del Perú)
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This section covers major anti-doping events, registration deadlines, and important dates in the anti-doping calendar. We'll also include key milestones in anti-doping history that provide context for current initiatives.
Recent:
World Conference on Anti-Doping in Sport – Week of 1-5 December 2025, Busan, South Korea
The World Conference happens once every six years and is a forum for discussion and debate amongst the anti-doping community on the World Anti-Doping Program. This year, the focus was on approving the 2027 Code and Standards.
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Upcoming:
WADA’s 2026 Regional Symposiums – In 2026, WADA will be hosting four Regional Symposiums in order to address the unique needs and challenges of anti-doping stakeholders in different regions as they prepare for the 2027 Code and Standards.
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Europe: Baku, Azerbaijan on 18-19 March
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Africa: Cairo, Egypt on 28-29 April
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Asia and Oceania: Beijing, China on 2-3 June
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Americas: Lima, Peru on 1-2 July
Registration for the European Regional Symposium will open in mid-December 2025. Registration for the other 2026 Regional Symposiums will open in early 2026. Keep an eye out for the registration links on our social media.
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African Youth Games – 10-20 December 2025, in Angola
If you’re attending, come see us! You can speak with athlete leaders from Africa at our engagement booth.
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FEEDBACK CENTER
Your input is essential. Each newsletter will feature surveys on anti-doping issues, upcoming topics, and what matters most to you as an athlete, and in turn, your responses will inform the newsletter content.
We want to work on proactively integrating the athlete perspective into everything we do. Your insights help us address issues that are affecting athletes, keep our initiatives athlete-centered, and continue to build a system that works for the people it's designed to protect.
The first question you’ll see in the short survey below is about the name of the newsletter. We are hoping to find something that represents the goals of these communications: making sure you’re in the know, helping you get clarity on complicated issues, and getting your input on important issues, so we can build trust and increase transparency. So let us know what name you want to see when this newsletter lands in your inbox.
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WADA’s Athlete Council consists of 20 athletes who either currently compete or have competed at the international level. Our job is to represent your interests in WADA’s decision-making processes, advocating for athlete perspectives on policies that affect your career and rights.
This section provides updates on the Council's current priorities, recent achievements, and ongoing initiatives. You'll see what issues we’re addressing, what changes we’ve secured, and how we’re working to improve the anti-doping system for athletes.
In 2025, the Athlete Council had a couple of big wins:
- We worked hard to ensure that WADA collected as much athlete feedback as possible for the Code and Standards update process and that the feedback was thoroughly considered for the drafts.
- We also took on the task of updating the Athletes’ Anti-Doping Rights Act, with three goals in mind:
- making sure the document is aligned with the changes in the Code and Standards;
- making the language more accessible and athlete-friendly; and
- including guidelines for best practices and framework for treatment of athletes.
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What’s the plan for 2026?
One area we plan to invest our time in next year is to continue building up the communication strategy and growing the link with athletes and athlete bodies. We laid a great foundation in 2025 and are developing a solid road map for 2026. More on that in an upcoming issue!
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE
This newsletter represents our commitment to increasing athlete engagement and transparency in anti-doping. You deserve to understand the system that you're a part of and have meaningful input in our decision-making processes.
Thank you for reading and sharing your feedback. We look forward to continuing this conversation in future issues.
If you have questions or need assistance, contact us at athlete@wada-ama.org or visit www.wada-ama.org.
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