The world’s leading authority on anti-doping in sport will meet for the first time in Scotland this week, supported by VisitScotland Business Events and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will hold its Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow on Saturday, 19 November and Sunday, 20 November.
It will be the first time in WADA’s 17-year history that the agency’s 12-member Executive Committee (policy making body) and 38-member Foundation Board (decision-making body) – which are represented equally by the Olympic Movement and Government – will meet in Scotland.
More than 100 delegates are expected to attend the two-day event in Glasgow, which is supported by VisitScotland’s National Conference Bid Fund and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.
WADA was established in 1999 as an international independent agency composed and funded equally by the sport movement and governments of the world.
Its key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, investigations and monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code – the document harmonising anti-doping policies in all sports and all countries.
Neil Brownlee, Head of Business Events at VisitScotland, said:“We are delighted to welcome such a high-profile organisation as the World Anti-Doping Agency to Scotland for the first time.The decision by WADA to hold its meetings in Glasgow is a reflection of Scotland’s world-wide reputation as the deliverer of successful major business events and conferences.”
Aileen Crawford, Head of Conventions at Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: “The World Anti-Doping Agency is one of the most important bodies in sport globally and it is a privilege to be welcoming Sir Craig Reedie, who was instrumental in Glasgow’s delivery of the best ever Commonwealth Games, and the members of the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board to the SECC this weekend.
“Glasgow enjoys an international reputation as a world-class conventions centre and we’re also one of the world’s top five sporting cities. Just last week we were also named as the world’s top destination at the Global Sport Tourism Awards, so it’s altogether fitting that WADA has chosen Glasgow for its first-ever visit to Scotland.”
Sir Craig Reedie, WADA President said: “The World Anti-Doping Agency is delighted to be hosting its Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings in Glasgow this weekend.
“I have been involved in the anti-doping movement for many years, and President of WADA for the past three, however this weekend will mark the first occasion the Agency has held its meetings in what is my home country, and indeed so close to where I live. It is a pleasure to be bringing the important discussions we now face in the anti-doping movement to Scotland this weekend, at what is a crucial time for the future of clean sport.”
