Clean Sport

Scottish Gymnastics has a set of anti-doping rules in place that all athletes, coaches and support personnel must abide by, regardless of their level of participation in the sport.

The Scottish Gymnastics anti-doping rules are the same rules as those published by UK Anti-Doping Limited. These are consistent with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code (the code), which governs anti-doping internationally.

Read the UK Anti-Doping Rules

It is the personal responsibility of each athlete and athlete support person to understand and comply with Scottish Gymnastics Clean Sport policy.

Gymnasts and their support team (coaches/parents) are required to prevent and protect from doping and education plays a key role in achieving this. Scottish Gymnastics aims to do this by installing a culture of a doping-free sport by ensuring that all athletes understand and practice the values of clean sport.

100% Me is UKAD’s education programme for athletes, designed to provide information resources, education sessions and general advice to athletes throughout their sporting careers. The 100% me philosophy is about being successful, confident and retaining the values of clean, fair competition. The 100% Me app is available for free through all app stores.

The UKAD website also provides excellent free information and resources to help clubs and gymnasts protect themselves from substances that can harm their health or career.

You can access and download resources and tools from UKAD Resources and UKAD Learning Zone.

The focus of the clean sport education programme for Scottish Gymnastics is to:

• Educate Scottish Gymnastics performance pathway athletes and staff to protect them from inadvertent doping and to outline the procedures and consequences directed by WADA
• Maintain and report on the status of testing within the Scottish Gymnastics programmes
• Promote Scottish Gymnastics as a clean sport with anti-doping embedded in our culture

There are three pillars to our 2019-2023 strategy for clean sport:

3.1 Education

Scottish Gymnastics is committed to ensuring that all gymnasts (and their coaches and parents/carers) within our performance pathway activity (14 years+) will be given an education opportunity led by a UKAD trained tutor to explain the anti-doping rules, your rights and responsibilities, Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) but also the testing procedures both in and out of competition. More information on the education can be found on our website.

3.2 Test Administration

In addition to education training, Scottish Gymnastics will also work closely with UKAD to comply with in and out of competition testing procedures.
Scottish Gymnastics will allocate a staff member (team manager) (for representative events/Scottish Gymnastics organised events camps) to attend tests with athletes and include guidelines for post-test administration in staff/volunteers’ roles and responsibilities.
Scottish Gymnastics will maintain records of tests for each athlete electronically and safely stored in line with GDPR guidelines. It will be clear for all performance pathway athletes the process for sharing their personal testing paperwork to Scottish Gymnastics.
Scottish Gymnastics members need to be aware that UKAD may have immediate and unobstructed access to sports venues (including club/national training facilities) in order to carry out ‘No Notice’ testing in accordance with the International Standard for Testing and Investigations: this includes testing of minors in line with WADA rules. Consent is deemed given (by a parent/carer/responsible adult) on behalf of a minor (under 18) by competing in our sport.

3.3 Promotion

Scottish Gymnastics will actively communicate across multiple platforms promoting the clean sport culture in Scottish Gymnastics. We will also engage with relevant UKAD campaigns and promotionals and respond to general enquiries regarding anti-doping in a timely manner. For any questions reagrading our clean sport communications plan, you can email communications@scottishgymnastics.org

Athletes who are part of the registered testing pool (international registered testing pool, national registered testing pool and domestic testing pool) must provide whereabouts via ADAMs. British Gymnastics will provide information advice and support to squad gymnasts to enable them to comply.

Any information received will be shared with UKAD and it is expected that all members will comply with all investigations undertaken by Scottish Gymnastics (or British Gymnastics) and UKAD. It will be a disciplinary offence for any person under our jurisdiction to fail or refuse (without compelling justification) to cooperate with any code-compliant anti-doping investigation or proceedings.

Scottish Gymnastics reserves the right to follow disciplinary procedures in cases where the remit of anti-doping rules does not reach an anti-doping violation. If credible allegations are made to Scottish Gymnastics, they will be dealt with in line with our Conduct in Sport procedures.

Scottish Gymnastics will inform and advise all our members (and their parents/carers) at all levels and in all forms of gymnastics on the regulations and risks of using banned substances deliberately or accidentally.

If credible allegations are made to Scottish Gymnastics on the use of prohibited substances, methods or illegal drugs they will be investigated in line with our Conduct in Sport procedures which could result in action being taken under the Conduct in Sport code. The investigation may require a member to take a drug test and relevant information may be passed to the appropriate parties (see Section 5.0).

The Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) process is a means by which a gymnast can obtain approval to use a prescribed prohibited substance or method for the treatment of a legitimate medical condition.

A TUE is required in advance of being selected for doping control at the following levels of competition:

• Athletes in UKAD’s national registered testing pool
• British Gymnastics senior national squads (artistic, rhythmic, acrobatics, trampolining and tumbling)

A retroactive TUE is required for athletes not listed under the categories described above.
Details of TUE process can be how to apply are further down this page.

8.1 Disciplinary Procedure
For all members, allegations of the use of banned substances contrary to our policy will be considered in line with our Conduct in Sport procedures regardless of any separate investigation or sanction imposed by UKAD or British Gymnastics. Scottish Gymnastics is duty bound to pass on any alleged anti-doping violation to UKAD intelligence team (this applies for athlete and coach violations) for investigation. The investigation may require a member to take a drug test.

8.2 Sanctions
For all members, allegations of the use of banned substances contrary to our policy will be considered in line with our Conduct in Sport procedures regardless of any separate investigation or sanction imposed by UKAD or British Gymnastics. Scottish Gymnastics is duty bound to pass on any alleged anti-doping violation to UKAD intelligence team (this applies for athlete and coach violations) for investigation. The investigation may require a member to take a drug test.

If you have any doping concerns, please see details further down the page on how you can speak out confidentially, or search ‘Protect Your Sport’

UK Anti-Doping has released a new easy to follow e-learning course in 2022 for coaches who want to know more about clean sport and understand their own responsibilities with regards to anti-doping.
You can head to the UKAD Clean Sport Hub for more information, and enrol in the course for free! 
Coach Clean E Learning

From 1 January each year, a new version of the WADA code comes into effect and it’s important that all athletes and athlete support personnel are aware of how this impacts them. For more information, please visit the links below. 

WADA 2024 prohibited items list
WADA 2024 prohibited items list – explanation and changes
WADA 2024 prohibited items list – monitoring programme

The Athletes’ Anti-Doping Rights Act promotes athlete rights within anti-doping and ensures they are clearly outlined, accessible, and universally applicable e.g. an athlete has the right to receive anti-doping education.

What that means for you:
You need to take anti-doping seriously and fully understand the principle of strict liability.
Strict liability means that you are solely responsible for any banned substance you use, attempt to use, or is found in your system, regardless of how it got there or whether there was any intention to cheat.
In anti-doping, not knowing is not an excuse!

Read more about athletes’ rights and responsibilities

Coaches play a crucial role in the development of athletes and can have a direct impact on whether athletes choose to train and compete clean. The World Anti-Doping (WAD) code acknowledges that athlete support personnel have a responsibility to positively influence the athletes they work with. Coaches are mandated by the WAD code to council and advise athletes on anti-doping matters. The Anti-Doping Rules apply to you.
What coaches need to know about clean sport

Breaking the anti-doping rules can result in a ban from all sport. The code outlines the anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs). Athletes and athlete support personnel need to make sure they are fully aware of these violations, and the consequences of breaking them.
More information and what this means for individuals
UKAD’s sanction page has information on individuals serving a ban from sport

All prohibited substances and methods in code-compliant sports are outlined in the prohibited list. The prohibited list is managed and coordinated by WADA, found on the WADA website. The list is updated each year and comes into effect on 1 January. It is possible for WADA to make changes to the List more than once a year, but they must communicate such changes three months before they come into effect. As this list is updated annually, athletes and athlete support personnel should make sure they check it ahead of it coming into effect.
WADA Prohibited list

Before taking any medication whether from a doctor or bought over the counter, athletes must check to make sure it doesn’t contain any prohibited substances. Medications (ingredients or brand name) can be checked online at Global DRO. It is important to note that medications bought in one country may contain different ingredients to the same branded medication in another country.

Global Drug Reference Online (DRO)
UKAD information on checking medications

Check out the video below from UKAD’s Athlete Commission member and British Paralympic powerlifter, Ali Jawad, on using Global DRO.

Watch Video here

UKAD always advises a food first approach to nutrition, as there are no guarantees that any supplement product is free from prohibited substances. Athletes can support their training and progress towards their targets by eating and enjoying nutritious food. With a bit of planning, it is possible to eat a delicious and healthy diet made up of a variety of food types at the right time, and in the right quantities.
Athletes should assess the need, the risks and the consequences before deciding to take a supplement, and if they need to use one.
Visit the Informed Sport Website to check whether supplements have been batch-tested.
More advice on managing supplement risks can be found on UKAD’s supplement hub.

The Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) process is a means by which a gymnast can obtain approval to use a prescribed prohibited substance or method for the treatment of a legitimate medical condition. This is only accepted if there are no other suitable permitted medications or treatments that can be used, and there is a strict, detailed process to determine this.

A TUE is required in advance of being selected for doping control at the following levels of competition:
• athletes in UKAD’s national registered testing pool
• British Gymnastics senior national squads (artistic, rhythmic, acrobatics, trampolining and tumbling)

A retroactive TUE is required for athletes not listed under the categories described above.

Athletes can find out more information about the TUE process on the UKAD website and use the TUE Wizard to find out whether they need to apply for a TUE and who to submit their application to.

TUE Process
TUE Wizard

Athletes should feel prepared and know their rights and responsibilities when they are notified to be tested by a chaperone or doping control officer. Check out this video below on the testing process from start to finish.

Watch video here

Find out more in UKAD’s Introduction to Testing