Everybody wants the world to change, so how should anti-doping?

There are currently 7.7 billion people living on earth. At the time of the Rio Olympic Games, an estimated 47% of those people had some interest in sport. Moreover, a decent percentage of those sports enthusiasts have the luxury to actually think about the rules that govern sport, how they came about, and how they might be changed for the better. The crème de la crème of these sports thinkers are gathering in Aarhus every two years.

At such gatherings, however, one commonly will see two scholars with two totally different views on the future of sports and sport governance. Such collisions may seem to be counterproductive at first, but they can also be the start of something better.

Let me state my view on doping policies clearly: I support the core of the current anti-doping regulations. Four years ago at the INDR conference, I tried to explain why ‘Spirit of Sport’ may be a vague term, but at the same time the term represents the true essence of what we are trying to protect with these regulations. Sport is worthy of protection.

I have the privilege to work as the Chief Operating Officer with Doping Authority Netherlands, where I have the opportunity to put these values into practice. Drawing from this experience, with the occasional luxury to step aside from the day-to-day workload and rethink the current state of affairs in anti-doping, I will present my views on worthwhile changes in the current World Anti-Doping Programme and how these may be brought about. I will especially focus on the effectiveness of doping substances, the burdens associated with doping controls and the risks of unintentional anti-doping rule violations. I look forward to the unavoidable collisions that will follow so we can create better future policies.