In view of the need to remove the possible grey area in interpreting Article 5.6.2 of the HKADC Anti-Doping Rules (the Rules), the regulations related to retired athletes returning to international competition has been modified with immediate effect.

Article 5.6.2 of the Rules and similar regulations from other anti-doping organizations require any retired athlete to notify relevant authorities in advance (ranging from 3 to 12 months) before returning to competition. This is to avoid any athlete trying to cheat the anti-doping system by announcing retirement to avoid testing. The briefly ‘retired’ athlete could then return to competition with an advantage over his/her opponents who are constantly monitored by doping control.

In short, after modification of the Rules any retired athletes returning to international competition will need to notify the relevant authorities in advance. If an athlete is bound by any regulation(s) of IF and has retired from the testing pool of HKADC at the same time, the athlete must comply with the IF or HKADC related regulations and whereabouts submission period requirement, whichever is more stringent. If an athlete is not bound by any regulation(s) of IF but has retired from HKADC’s Testing Pool, the athlete must comply with HKADC’s related regulations and whereabouts submission period of three (3) months.

Download  Anti-Doping Rules of HKADC (2018)