The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) released a new education course entitled ‘Privacy and Information Security Awareness for Athletes’, available on the Agency’s Anti-Doping Education and Learning Platform (ADEL).

In line with WADA’s athlete-centered approach and existing education programs available on ADEL, the ‘Privacy and Information Security Awareness for Athletes’ education course was created to help athletes understand personal information and ways to protect their data. The education course was developed with input from WADA Athlete Committee member and former Olympic sport shooter Gaby Ahrens (Namibia), as well as other stakeholders with experience providing information security training to athletes and sports organizations.

Ms. Ahrens said: “The ‘Privacy and Information Security Awareness for Athletes’ education course is another important step towards equipping athletes with the knowledge they need to understand how their personal information is used for anti-doping purposes and their rights with regards to privacy and data protection. The course also covers vital practices athletes should apply in their day-to-day to stay safe online.”

WADA Director of Education, Amanda Hudson, said: “Advancing athlete education is a key priority for WADA and our aim with this course is to increase athlete awareness as to how and why their data is used, and what rights and protections they have within the anti-doping system. Considering the personal information athletes need to provide as part of the anti-doping system and the prevalence of digital processes in the protection of clean sport, it is imperative to provide athletes with the proper tools to keep this information secure. This new learning opportunity adds another layer to the foundation WADA has built to protect athlete data and their privacy.”

This course includes topics such as:

• What privacy, information security and data protection mean;
• How anti-doping organizations protect athletes’ personal information;
• What athletes’ rights are;
• Best practices to stay safe online; and
• Key online threats and how to protect against them.

While the course is currently available in English, the French and Spanish versions will be made available on ADEL in the coming months.

Anti-Doping Organizations who would like to keep track of new education solutions on ADEL are invited to visit the ADEL Roadmap. For any questions regarding the ‘Privacy and Information Security Awareness for Athletes’ education course, or to provide feedback on any of the courses and education programs on ADEL, please contact the Education Department at: ADEL@wada-ama.org.