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Swim England backing Clean Sport Week

Swim England is backing UK Anti-Doping’s nationwide campaign to celebrate clean sport.

Clean Sport weekThe second Clean Sport Week takes place between 21-27 May and is being supported by a range of national governing bodies, organisations and sports stars.

Its aim is to celebrate clean athletes and their successes and promote the work of the anti-doping community in the fight for clean sport.

The campaign will have a strong focus on supplement use and image enhancing culture in the UK, with new research set to be revealed during the week to encourage a wider public debate.

Swim England offers training and guidance from grassroots level through to the athlete support pathway.

Raising awareness

Elite athletes who attended the Commonwealth Games as part of Team England were briefed about the importance of keeping it clean before travelling to the Gold Coast, while UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has also attended Swim England’s summer national championships.

A number of events will take place between 21-27 May to help raise awareness of clean sport and anti-doping programmes led by UKAD, national governing bodies and sporting bodies across the UK.

The campaign will also feature social media videos from a number of UK athletes showing their support for clean sport through a series called ‘Feat of Strength’.

Nicole Sapstead, UKAD’s chief executive, said: “Our education programme is a vital part of our prevention work at UKAD. We are committed to delivering a high-quality programme in collaboration with our partners.

“Clean Sport Week provides the perfect platform for sports in the UK to come together and showcase the fantastic work going on from grassroots to elite level.

“At the same time, we believe there is also a vital public debate that needs to take place around the growing supplement culture in the UK and this years campaign will aim to do this.

“This has the potential to be a serious public health issue impacting in wider society and we want this debate to look at where people are obtaining products, how aware they are of what is in them and the potential long-term effects of using them.”

Education plays key role

George Wood, Swim England’s sport development director, said: “We work closely with UKAD to ensure a legacy of clean Swim England athletes within future generations.

“Education plays a key role in achieving this. We fully support UKAD’s Clean Sport Week and will continue to ensure our athletes are given all the necessary information and advice to enable them to stay clean.”

UKAD and its partners are supporting athletes from grassroots to elite level through one of the world’s most extensive education and intelligence-led testing programmes.

It has 30 National Trainers who deliver clean sport education, more than 200 Doping Control Personnel, who work as part of the sample collection process, and more than 2,300 Accredited Advisers around the UK.

The organisation provides and supports a range of educational, anti-doping and clean sport sources to help athletes at all levels including its ‘100 per cent Me’ programme.

To find out more about Clean Sport Week, click here.

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