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WBC and VADA join forces in PED testing plan

Fighters Network
28
Aug
WBC-VADA banner
No body gets pinata’d in the boxing sphere more than the sanctioning bodies.

Sometimes, often, in fact, for good reason.

They often make up rules as they go along and their reasoning, when asked about iffy, controversial or seemingly ludicrous actions, is rife with holes of logic and conscience.

Ah, but so the same can be said of the sport of boxing, as a whole and, indeed, life.



Rarely do the sanctioning bodies get applause when they get it right, when they seem to be acting with a moral compass, for the betterment of the sport as a whole. I do think the WBC’s recent announcement that they are continuing to formulate what looks to be a decent PED testing plan of attack fell by the wayside because of the bad reputation enjoyed by alphabet groups across the board.

Here is the release the WBC sent out, on Aug. 23, touting the plan:

WBC/VADA CLEAN BOXING PROGRAM
August 23rd, 2015.

It is with great pleasure to announce that the WBC (World Boxing Council) has joined forces with VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) to initiate the WBC CLEAN BOXING PROGRAM first proposed by our late President Dr. Jose Sulaiman Ch. Now under the directive of our President Mauricio Sulaiman this program will be another WBC dream come true.

Along with the invaluable support and tireless efforts of VADA and President Dr. Margaret Goodman, the PROGRAM will start with our participation in the testing funding for the upcoming Super Lightweight Division World Championship between Viktor Postol (Ukr) and Lucas Matthysse (Arg) scheduled October the 3rd 2015 for the vacant WBC Superlightweight world championship.

The WBC-VADA program is quite ambitious, and its main goal aside from testing is to educate the athletes on the danger and disadvantages that doping can bring to their present and future wellbeing, along with the penalties in testing positive for prohibited substances, in or out of competition.

The WBC-VADA initiative tutorials as well as complete policies and procedures will be available to all through our WBC website. It is the WBC’s firm position to become a bastion of a drug free boxing profession.

The program has been planned, designed and developed with countless hours of hard work and dedication of many passionate members of the WBC and VADA. It is basically divided in 3 primary objectives :
-Awareness program to educate and prevent boxers about the dangers of substances and the tragic effects that they can lead to. This is done by tutorials, webinars , forums , materials , etc.
-Out of competition Random testing
-Voluntary enrollment by fighters.

The WBC and VADA will be continuously reporting progress of this historic venture and we are certain that the boxing community at large will endorse and participate to achieve the main goal which is protect our athletes and our sport.

Organization president Mauricio Sulaiman, offered RingTV.com the following comment:

“The WBC is determined to make the ‘Clean Boxing Program’ a great success,” he said. “It is our obligation to address the current problems in sports of today and many are related to substances which are harmful for the athlete and their rivals. The WBC/VADA venture has several specific actions but we will concentrate in education programs; we will try to reach as many as possible and change their lives and prevent future side effects and guarantee a clean sport.”

Looks to me like once the program is fully initiated, all WBC-rated fighters will be eligible for year-round testing or they can’t compete for the organization’s titles. This is really unprecedented; is it not? So whether or not fighters choose to be tested by another organization or are required to undergo testing with a commission, if they are WBC-rated, they have to agree to be eligible for the WBC/VADA Clean Boxing Program.

Progress, no?

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