BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE St. Kitts-Nevis Football Association’s (SKNFA) Anti-Doping Month has been endorsed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The SKNFA declared the month of November as Anti-Doping Month to increase the awareness among young athletes, and their parents, coaches and peers about the adverse effects of alcohol, drugs and doping in sports.
SKNFA’s President Anthony Johnson indicated that this declaration is very timely, given the recent development locally and globally in sports; thus the SKNFA has put in place a full programme to educate the young athletes about ethical sports and the consequences of doping, so that they could make informed decisions and to promote and encourage the implementation of drug prevention initiatives in sport organisations involving young athletes.
He further stated that the SKNFA saw this as an important issue and thus sought the support of UNESCO to access the fund for anti-doping in sports for which they positively responded.
Minister of Sports Glen Phillip indicated that he is very supportive of the initiative by the SKNFA, as St. Kitts and Nevis has signed on to the convention for anti-doping in sports and he is happy to see a local sports organisation taking an active role to promote such an important issue.
The initiative will be launched on Saturday (Nov. 10) at 9:30 a.m. at the St. Kitts Marriot Resort.
Tessa Chadderton-Shaw, the Executive Director of Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) will be the featured speaker, who will be ably supported by local experts in anti-doping and Ministers of Health, Sport and Education.
Other events slated for the Anti-Doping Month include a Church Service on Sunday (Nov. 10) 9:30 a.m. at the Zion Moravian Church, a Coach’s Seminar on the weekend of 17-18 November, and an Educational Talk to the U-14 League.
The month will climax with a March and Rally on November 30, where it is hoped that the entire nation would join forces to encourage the nation’s youth.
Technical Director Lenny Lake indicated that the SKNFA would also carry out actual drug testing at selected games during this period in order to get players accustomed to the procedure that is carried out, and to increase the awareness of actual drug testing.
Lake recognises that this would not be a one-time event, but a process which would continue, and he anticipates that the programme would develop with time to be a permanent fixture as part of the SKNFA’s operations.
