Montreal, 16 June 2020Dear Colleagues,
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to publish the final versions of the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code (Code) and International Standards (Standards), which will come into force on 1 January 2021. These final versions include limited changes from those that WADA published on
26 November 2019, which were the versions that were approved by the Agency’s Foundation Board (Board) and Executive Committee (ExCo), respectively, on
7 November 2019, during the Agency’s World Conference on Doping in Sport that was held in Katowice, Poland.
In the interest of full transparency, unless otherwise noted as an exception, the
table belowprovides the following links for the Code and the relevant Standards:
- The final 2021 versions (in English and French, WADA’s two official languages).
- Summary documents (in English only) outlining the limited changes that were made from the 26 November 2019 versions to the final versions being published today.
It is important to note that none of these limited changes affect in any way the sense, meaning or interpretation of the versions approved in Katowice. Rather, they were required to:
- adapt and align clauses to changes approved in other clauses;
- remove inconsistencies;
- correct references to other Code or International Standards articles; and
- make grammatical and formatting modifications.
- A redline version outlining all the changes from the current versions in force to the final versions being published today (in English and French).
Final 2021 Versions
[In English and French] | Summary documents outlining the limited changes from the 26 November 2019 versions to the final versions published today
[In English Only] | Redline version outlining all changes from the current versions in force to the final versions published today
[In English and French] | Exceptions |
| World Anti-Doping Code | Link | Link | |
| International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories (ISCCS) | Link | Link | |
| International Standard for Education (ISE) (New) | Link | N/A as is a new Standard | |
| International Standard for Laboratories (ISL) | N/A – see exception column | N/A | As communicated in November 2019, the ISL followed a different path than the other Standards.
A revised version 10.0 of the ISL — which was reviewed in order to reflect and incorporate relevant changes and to update the document in line with new technical, scientific and regulatory developments — was approved by the ExCo in May 2019; and, became effective on 1 November 2019. Subsequently, a revised version 11.0 of the ISL was drafted to ensure consistency with the 2021 Code and the other Standards. The amended draft 11.0 was circulated for stakeholder consultation from 10 December 2019 to 4 March 2020. Further to stakeholder feedback, the final draft is being finalized and will be presented for ExCo approval in September 2020. |
| International Standard for the Protection of Privacy and Personal Information (ISPPPI) | N/A | N/A | On 2 June 2020, WADA launched a Limited Supplementary Stakeholder Consultation Phase, which closes on 30 June. Stakeholders have until 2 July 2020 to provide feedback; after which, the final version of the ISPPPI will be published. |
| International Standard for Results Management (ISRM) (New) | Link | N/A as is a new Standard | |
| International Standard for Testing and Investigations (ISTI) | Link | Link | |
| International Standard for Therapeutic Use Exemptions (ISTUE) | Link | Link | |
International Standard for the List of Prohibited Substances and Methods (Prohibited List)
As it relates to the Prohibited List, it is reviewed annually via a separate stakeholder process, which is underway.
Obtaining printed copies of the Code
In keeping with WADA’s sustainability efforts, in recent years the Agency has minimized print in favor of making its publications available digitally. However, given the importance of the Code, which will live for a number of years and be used on a daily basis by the Agency’s stakeholders, in the coming months, we will be:
- Mailing out a limited quantity of printed English or French copies to Code Signatories;
- Making English and French print-ready versions available on our website for stakeholders to print locally; and
- Putting a mechanism in place for stakeholders and others that may wish to purchase printed copies in English and/or French.
Code Implementation Support Program
In closing, WADA wishes to draw your attention once again to the Agency’s Code Implementation Support Program (CISP), which went live on 4 May 2020. This program was developed to prepare Signatories for implementation of the Code and Standards that come into effect on 1 January 2021. The CISP includes:
- resources that are available via the Agency’s Anti-Doping eLearning platform (ADeL); and
- a series of live webinars, hosted by WADA personnel and external experts, to support Code/Standard implementation efforts for targeted audiences and/or regions. The Agency is also hosting live webinars in place of some sessions that would have otherwise been delivered during the Agency’s Annual Symposium, which was due to be held in March 2020 but was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Should you have questions or feedback regarding the Code and Standards, please contact code@wada-ama.org; or, questions or feedback related to the CISP, please contact 2021CISP@wada-ama.org.
Best regards,
World Anti-Doping Agency
