As an entrepreneur, executive and mother my days can become so hectic that I have no idea whether I have to come or go. Meetings get inserted unexpectedly every day; my boys sometimes forget to mention an extended activity at school which changes their pickup time. Ask me to pinpoint where I am going to be for an hour between the hours of 5:00 am to 11:00 pm and I would tell you that you’re crazy. Yes, there may be some days that I would be able to say where I’ll be; however, every day between a certain time for an hour? No, sah!

This is the difficult task that our athletes have to undertake in order to comply with the rules and regulations of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) and the World Anti-Doping Commission (WADA).

Most athletes shudder at the thought of providing their whereabouts information. And, like it or not, those athletes that have been selected to be in JADCO’s Registered Testing Pool (RTP) will have to. There are no exceptions to this rule. All athletes selected for the RTP must indicate their location at specific times.

Our top athletes might as well consider this as a part of their way of life. They cannot get around it and they cannot ignore it. Athletes are required to make a quarterly whereabouts filing that provides accurate and complete information about their whereabouts during the upcoming quarter. This includes identifying where he/she will be living, training and competing during that quarter so that he/she can be located for testing at any time during that quarter.

The rules to this game is detailed and tedious to follow along. Were I an athlete I would need someone designated to be my whereabouts officer to keep up with the demanding task.

In addition to identifying one 60-minute time slot between the hours of 5:00 am and 11:00 pm, including weekends and holidays, when they will be available at a specified location for testing, if they happened to realise that they won’t be in that specified place that was given, they must update their whereabouts filling prior to the given 60-minute time slot.

Now, at this point the athlete is already shaking their heads in frustration; but wait, there is a lot more to do. If the athlete will be staying at a hotel or temporary lodging and they are not the registered guest, the athlete has to give the room number where they will be staying or give sufficient information to enable the doping control officer to locate him/her. And again, any changes in the athlete’s place of residence must be updated on the whereabouts filing to provide full details of the new address upon leaving the existing address.

The athlete is required to state the name and address of the place where he/she will be training, working or conducting any other regular activities (for example, school) during the relevant quarter, including weekends and public holidays. The athlete is also required to provide the days and times of such regular activities.

God forbid if the athlete’s regular activities change, for example if he/she stops training in the mornings and trains in the afternoons instead, or if he/she trains at the gym on Mondays and Thursdays then moves to Tuesdays and Fridays, that athlete needs to remember that he/she must update the whereabouts filing to reflect that change.

And, as if that wasn’t complicated enough, athletes are also required to state the date(s) and venue(s) where they are scheduled to compete during the forthcoming quarter. In the event there is a change in the date(s) or venue(s) then they must immediately update their whereabouts information.

It’s not an easy job, but somebody has to do it. Athletes may have to assign a member of their team to monitor and update their whereabouts information. Being a top athlete isn’t an easy job on or off of the field. Some people may think the rules are ridiculous, and if the truth were to be told some kinda are; however, the moment an athlete decides to take his/her career to a senior level the realisation will come that one really needs to understand that this level is accompanied by great responsibilities.

Word to the wise athletes, don’t make your location be the reason for getting banned. Find a way to ensure that all the requirements are met, make sure it’s on time too. JADCO won’t take ignorance as an excuse!

Patrece Charles-Freeman is the former executive director of Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission.