Grange to introduce anti-doping education at all levels of school system
KINGSTON, Jamaica— Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange on Thursday shared that she will be having discussions with the Ministry of Education and Youth about the introduction of Anti-Doping Education at all levels of the school system.
Minister Grange made the announcement as she opened the 8th Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) Annual Symposium.
Grange was responding to a question about whether Jamaica could start to educate student-athletes from the basic school level on anti-doping in sports.
“I will be instructing the technical team at the Ministry to commence the drafting of a Memorandum of Understanding between the relevant parties to ensure that this is done in an expeditious way,” the minister said.
Continuing, she stated: “As Minister, I am committed to ensuring that we support the work of JADCO to ensure that all our student athletes are exposed to anti-doping education.
“With the Institute of Sports (INSPORT) working with basic and primary schools, we will start the public education on anti-doping in sports at all levels.
“The government of Jamaica supports the work of JADCO by providing all the resources it needs to educate the populace as it carries out its mission to prevent doping in Jamaica.
“Government provides JADCO with over two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) from the central budget each year for its operations as well as contributing to the budget of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) to help with the global fight against doping in sport. This year that contribution was more than one million Jamaican dollars.
“Jamaica created history as for the first time a president of WADA was addressing a national anti-doping organisation in the Caribbean.”
WADA President, Witold Banka, gave the keynote address at the symposium, titled, ‘Reporting Doping: See Something, Say Something.’
“Reporting Doping: See Something, Say Something, is encouragement; a call to action for all of us. We must see it as our duty to report doping whenever we have credible information. I am pleased to see that there are over 200 participants on the platform, representing the various sporting disciplines, associations and federations,” Grange noted.