ASP activates anti-doping policy for ASP World Tour and ASP Women’s World Tour
Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) has released its Anti-Doping Policy for the ASP World Tour and ASP Women’s World Tour.
The surfing governing body will be administering drug testing on the professional surfers as per the new policy, which involves standards prescribed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code and Prohibited List, the same standards which are followed in
other sports.
According to the Anti-Doping policy, the ASP Top 34 and ASP Top 17 will have to undergo drug testing. The event wildcard entries that eventually constitute the final event field will not be exempt from anti-dope test either.
The penalty for a positive dope test will result in strict penalties. The first violation will result in one year ineligibility, along with disqualification of the surfer’s individual results obtained in all relevant events. The surfer will have to bear
the consequences, which includes forfeiture of all the medals, points and prizes earned in those events.
The ASP surfers are in full support of the Anti-Doping Policy that has been initiated by ASP. Talking about the ASP-administered drug testing that has been activated, the 29-year-old Adrian Buchan of Australia said that while he does not believe that taking
drugs has no real effect on a surfer’s performance, he is satisfied with the WADA-approved policy introduced by ASP as it will play a crucial role in legitimising professional surfing as a proper professional sport.
The new ASP Women’s World Tour Manager Jessi Miley-Dyer also supported the surfing governing body’s decision to test the surfers for drugs, stating, “As the sport of surfing continues to grow its audience every year, so grow the responsibilities of our athletes.
The activation of the ASP's Anti-Doping Policy is a logical step in the organization's continued pursuit of professionalism and has the full support of the women.”
While the International Surfing Association (ISA) has a WADA-approved Anti-Doping Policy in place for the last 20 years, this is the first year for ASP to adopt a strict stance against drugs.
The 2012 ASP World Tour will kick off with Quiksilver Pro, while the 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour will kick off with Roxy Pro in Australia on February 25.
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