NORCECA conducts anti-doping educational program

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 28, 2014 – An Anti-doping educational program is being conducted by NORCECA Medical Commission with emphasis on the age-group continental championships held this year.

The program is addressed to athletes, coaches, trainers and support personnel of teams that took part in the Girls’ U18, Boys’ U10 and Women’s U20 held in San Jose, Costa Rica, Tulsa, United States and Guatemala City, Guatemala, respectively.

The next NORCECA age-group event is the Men’s U21 that kicks off on Tuesday in San Salvador, El Salvador.

“This is a continuous educational program to prevent the usage of banned substances by our players,” Medical Commission president Dr. Victor Figueroa said during one of the sessions with the teams in Guatemala. “The purpose of it is to alert the players about the risks that come with the use of these drugs and also to promote the fair play.”

“The objective of generating this type of educational anti-doping is to address the doping issue in a comprehensive manner and from the point of view of prevention,” Dr. Figueroa added.

Members of the Medical Commission have been appointed as part of the Control Committee at the different tournaments and they are delivering lectures and distributing brochures containing information on different methods and the most common banned substances and its harmful effects on the body.

Dr. Figueroa said that players and coaches must contact members of the Medical Commission attending the events in case of any doubts or access the NORCECA website for more information on this matter.

“We are the only confederation of FIVB conducting this educational program as we continue the battle for a clean sport as a way to guarantee competitions free of drugs and teams and athletes participating following the ethics principles,” Dr. Figueroa concluded.