Education – Page 2 – Biathlon Integrity Unit

Category: Education

Meet our new Athlete Ambassador!

The BIU has just appointed two new athlete ambassadors. We spoke first to USA’s Chloe Levins about her motivation in becoming a BIU athlete ambassador, about the role of the athlete ambassador and what athlete ambassadors can do to help to ensure the integrity of biathlon.

Chloe discussed with us the importance of athletes using our hotline to report any wrongdoing (e.g., breaches of the safeguarding rules, doping and match-fixing), her research into the history of how performance-enhancing techniques were utilized in Olympic sports as leverage for political power and what golf can teach other sports about honesty and integrity.

Click here to listen to the interview – you don’t want to miss it!

BIU launches Summer of Respect

The BIU is launching Summer of Respect, a campaign aimed at helping to ensure the integrity of Biathlon by encouraging biathletes to show respect for the things that matter most in our sport.

Respect has been defined as: ‘Treating others as you would want to be treated. This reflects the qualities of being polite, kind, courteous and tolerant of others’ views, cultures and beliefs’ (https://www.i-value.eu/toolkit.html). It also includes respect for yourself and your body, for other people, for rules and regulations, for sport and the environment, according to the International Olympic Committee.

Through the Summer of Respect campaign, the BIU will raise awareness of what it means to show respect in the context of Biathlon’s integrity rules. The IBU’s Safeguarding policy says: “IBU recognises that every member of the Biathlon family […] requires, commands, deserves and has a right to respect, safety, dignity, welfare and protection.”

Athletes should respect:

The rules (as set out in the IBU Integrity Code and other rule books, including the World Anti-Doping Code)
Coaches
Teammates and opponents
Spectators
Officials
Themselves (self-respect)

The Summer of Respect campaign will comprise a range of initiatives, including regular social media posts and an athlete outreach stand at the Summer Biathlon World Championships in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia on 24-27 August.

Some great examples of respect in biathlon include:

During the COVID epidemic, positive tests in the Japanese coaching team and the quarantining of close contacts meant that Japanese athletes had no one to help them during the zeroing of a men’s relay race in Oberhof. US coach Armin Auchentaller stepped in to help by assisting Japanese athletes as well as US athletes, enabling them to compete to the best of their abilities, despite the absences.

Reflecting on the incident, Auchentaller said: “What I am most satisfied with is that from then on, we made new friendships across two teams. They really appreciated our willingness to help, but I have to say that we never had a doubt about it: such situations are really unforeseeable, and I would be just as happy as them if some other team would step up to help my guys and girls. But I think in biathlon, it would not be hard for that to happen and I believe that if we had not heard about the needs of the Japanese team in Oberhof, someone else would have surely done exactly the same as we did!

“I believe respect is the fundamental in sport. Obviously, everyone tries to do their utmost to come on top, but in biathlon, I believe everyone and every team, everyone in the biathlon family knows what respect is and how this comes before everything else. The fact that we can all count on each other is one of the biggest strengths of biathlon.”

During a women’s race, Austrian athlete Lisa Theresa Hauser was responsible for accidentally breaking the ski pole of German rival Vanessa Hinz. With no coach close by to replace the broken pole, Hauser gave her own pole to Hinz, enabling her to continue the race without handicap.

For more details, to report other examples of respect in Biathlon or to get involved in the Summer of Respect, contact:

Katharina Gatterer, Safeguarding and Education Officer

katharina.gatterer@biathlonintegrity.com

+43 662 85 50 50 16

Nutrition for the Off-Season

During the season, biathletes need to focus on their diets, as their overall athletic performance depends on how well they fuel their body. Biathletes should focus on the quality of food they eat and refuel when their body needs it. A good mixture of enough carbohydrates and proteins is crucial: carbohydrates give your body the energy it needs, and protein helps to repair and build muscle.

However, it’s important to find a balance between following a diet and allowing room for comfort eating: With the 2022-23 season having reached its conclusion, BIU Athlete Ambassadors for integrity matters Anastasiya Merkushyna (Ukraine) and Sebastian Samuelsson (Sweden) are encouraging athletes to drop the diets, eat healthily – and relax.

Sebastian said: “As a biathlete your body is what you work with. Therefore, it’s important what you eat. But I also like to relax a lot and spring is a time where you don’t have to think about dieting at all!”

The off season is also the time where you can do something for your mental health and wellbeing, and therefor Anastasia states: “We need good food to top up our energy levels, but in spring we also need to think about our mental health, and sometimes the easiest way to do that is just to eat food that is delicious without worrying about how much we eat.”

Anti-Doping Education at Youth and Junior World Championships

BIU stages athlete education activities at Youth and Junior World Championships

The BIU staged educational activities at the 2023 Youth and Junior World Championships, which took place in Shchuchinsk, Kazakhstan on 4 to 10 March.

Katharina Gatterer, the BIU’s Safeguarding and Education Officer, led the activities on-site, in collaboration with QAZ NADO, the local National Anti-Doping Organisation.

Anti-doping seminar

An anti-doping seminar for youth athletes was held on 6 March. The seminar was mainly targeted at youth athletes that were competing at a major event for the first time. The session comprised an introduction to anti-doping, including a discussion about fairness and the need for rules in sport, along with an explanation of the doping control procedure, finishing with a Kahoot quiz.

The seminar was well-attended, attracting about 90 athletes from 18 nations.

For many of the athletes, this was their first introduction to the anti-doping process; only a few already had experience of the doping control procedure.

Outreach booth

The BIU ran an outreach booth in the competition venue, together with QAZ NADO on 5 to 7 March.

The booth offered athletes the chance to complete WADA’s anti-doping quiz, while information handouts on anti-doping were also distributed. Katharina and two members from QAZ NADo were on hand to answer questions from athletes and team members.Good attendances were also recorded at the outreach booth, with 126 athletes and coaches from 30 different nations.

A link to the WADA quiz (available in 47 languages) can be found here.

Speaking of integrity

How should athletes and others in the biathlon family handle difficult interview questions on integrity topics?

Jon Tibbs, chairman of JTA, the international communications agency that helps its clients achieve their objectives in international sport, has many years of experience of advising organisations and individuals how to navigate difficult and sensitive interviews.

In this, the latest BIU podcast interview, Jon gives some general principles to bear in mind when facing potentially hostile questioning from the media, and recommends a ‘3×3 matrix’ to get your message across that looks like this:

Get your message accross

To find out more, listen to the podcast interview here.

BIU Outreach at the IBU World Cup in Antholz

The BIU held an outreach session at the IBU World Cup in Antholz-Anterselva on 20 January, 2023.

The aim of the Outreach was to interact with athletes and inform them about the day-to-day work of the BIU, including anti-doping, safeguarding, match-fixing, whistleblowing and investigations.

Katharina Gatterer, the BIU’s Safeguarding and Education Officer was on hand to answer the athletes’ and coaches’ questions.

Many athletes stopped by the Outreach stand, and signed a board with the message: ‘Remain true to yourself’.

The BIU aims to hold similar interactions with athletes in all biathlon competition series (Junior Cup, IBU Cup, World Cup and World Championships).

Safeguarding education at Junior Cup and IBU Cup

The BIU held successful and well-attended educational sessions via Zoom during the Junior Cup in Obertilliach, Austria (14-17 December 2022) and the IBU Cup in Ridnaun, Italy (15-18 December 2022).

The sessions, comprising a webinar on Safeguarding, were attended by over 70 athletes from 15 different nations.

This was a new topic for athletes, so the sessions began with a short informational presentation, before the athletes broke out into small groups to discuss case studies.

Athletes were engaged and interested, and the presentation and case studies led to lively discussion afterwards with the whole group.

The aim of the sessions was to inform athletes about their right to practise their sport in a safe environment and their responsibility to speak up if they witness or experience something that doesn’t look right.

After the session, an athlete commented: “I believe that safeguarding is crucial in our sport, and it is really important for us to know what our rights and roles are. Keep biathlon fun and safe!”

The day after the sessions, Katharina Gatterer, BIU’s Safeguarding and Education Officer, and Nita Gjikolli, BIU’s Anti-Doping Coordinator, were available at an outreach booth for follow-up questions from athletes and staff members.

One of the BIU’s top priorities is to educate all athletes on Safeguarding issues, with the aim of keeping them safe from harassment and abuse.

IBU-IOC development camp

The BIU contributed another theoretical training session for athletes at a winter IBU-IOC development camp, held in Martell, Italy on 29 November to 3 December.

The session was a follow-up to one delivered at an IBU-IOC development camp in Antholz, Italy on 14 October.

The training camps are held for National Federations each year by the IBU, in conjunction with the IOC, with the aim of supporting them with both practical and theoretical knowledge and training.

A total of 19 male and 18 female athletes, representing 19 national federations, participated in the session at the training camp in Martell on 29 November.

The session focused on safeguarding, and comprised a basic introduction to the topic, followed by group work in which athletes discussed a series of case studies.

The aim of the session was to inform athletes about their right to practise their sport in a safe environment and their responsibility to speak up if they witness or experience something that doesn’t look right.

Several coaches joined the session, showing that they understand the importance of the topic.

Dominik Windisch, a recently retired top athlete and now coach of youth athletes, concluded the session by giving some insights about the importance of establishing a good coach-athlete relationship and displaying respect for each other. He said: “As a coach, I try to have a good relationship with my athletes, but I also try to keep a certain distance and keep it always on the sport and don’t get too private. But I talk a lot to my athletes and try to build trust and a positive emotion within the team.”

The BIU plans to continue the collaboration with the IBU and IOC by delivering further education sessions at future development camps.

Medication and Supplements

It’s that time of year again. You begin to feel unwell, and then you go down with flu-like symptoms.

To get back to training, you decide to take some flu medication.

WAIT!

Stop right there…

As an athlete, you can’t just take any medication prescribed by a doctor or bought over the counter.

It could contain prohibited substances.

And it’s your responsibility to check the medication before you use it:

You can ask your National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) for help or use their drug database (https://www.globaldro.com/home/other-countries);
Or you can use GlobalDro (https://www.globaldro.com/Home), but this is mainly applicable to medication used in English speaking countries, Switzerland and Japan).

Be careful: medication bought abroad might contain different substances from those bought in your home country, even if the name/label is the same!

Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)

If you have a medical condition and you need to take a medication or use a method that is on the prohibited list, you need to apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), ideally with the help of your team doctor.

TUEs have to be applied for in advance and can take some time to be processed. So, make sure to do so 30 days before you need to take the medication or use the method (exceptions apply, e.g., in case of an emergency).

Also, TUEs have an expiry date. Make sure to check it before using the medication!

Find out more about how and where to apply for a TUE here.

The Athlete Biological Passport

A podcast interview with Lasse Vestli Bækken of the Norwegian Doping Control Laboratory.

What is the Athlete Biological Passport – or ABP – and how does it work?

We spoke to Lasse Baekken of the Norwegian Doping Control Laboratory, who has been working with the athlete biological passport in anti-doping since 2015.

Lasse is responsible for the daily operations of the Nordic APMU and the hematological module of the Athlete Biological Passport. He’s also involved in the analysis of whole blood samples (hematological ABP module) and EPO analysis.

This makes him the perfect guide to the ABP for athletes and their support personnel.

Click here to listen to the interview.

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