WADA Athlete Passport Operating Manual; Ten Months Later

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced the development of a "Athlete Passport Operating Manual" to coordinate transportation, storage, and chain-of-custody of athlete urine and blood samples to conform to WADA code and International Standards for Laboratories (ISL) for the UCI Biological Passport Program.

Amazing. Imagine a WADA lab with a manual anywhere on the premises. As Dr. Paul Scott pointed out in the Floyd Landis case, Chatenay-Malabry, WADA, and the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) seem not to recognize that a operating guide is "critical" in making precise measurements. This arrogant disregard of ISL and WADA code by Chatenay-Malabry, WADA, and the AFLD did not matter to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) who dismissed the lack of an operating manual for the GC/C/IRMS as trivial. The French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) came to the same conclusion after consulting a phantom COFRAC accreditation audit. In a rational world lack of an operating manual for the IRMS would be considered a serious violation of WADA code, ISL and would serve as a basis to revoke the Chatenay-Malabry WADA accreditation. So, don't be surprised if and when WADA completes the "Athlete Passport Operating Manual" that one won't be found anywhere in sight.

The future accreditation auditors will face a dilemma.

Q:accreditation auditor: "Where is the Passport Operating Manual, Mr. DeCeaurriz?"
A:DeCeaurriz: "Not needed, we are WADA!"
Q:accreditation auditor: "Of course, I must report this violation to AFLD."
A:De Ceaurriz: "Nothing will be done to us, we are infallible!"

What to do? Call L'Equipe with a news scoop? Pretend nothing is happening? Call John Fahey? Write another Vrijman Report? Go fish?

When the defense lawyers are litigating the Adverse Analytical Finding generated from these laboratories, pour through thousands of pages of Lab Document Packages finding errors, and after testimony of hundreds of WADA lab personnel in arbitration hearings, costing millions of dollars to athlete and anti-doping agencies problems will emerge.

Example:

Q:defense lawyer: "What did you do at this step?"
A:lab tech a: "I did X."
Q:defense lawyer: "What did you do at this step?"
A:lab tech b: "I did Y."
Q:arbitrator: but the results are always the same, oui?"

Amazing. Even though the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced the biological passport program at the first of the year and many profile tests have been conducted there is still no standardization of lab procedures. Perhaps WADA was too busy denouncing the program, refusing to provide funding, and suing the UCI to think about quality lab tests. Back then knives were inserted into backs and accusations flew, but now that WADA and the UCI have given up the pissing contest and accepted a harmonious existence it is time to get down to serious work.

Yes precious time was wasted, but in the era of the "non-analytical positive" what use is there of quality lab tests? Find a witness who will testify to anything, and presto, problem solved. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) will triumphantly declare another victory based on circumstantial hear-say evidence. The CAS will be satisfied that a doping offense has occured, and everyone will save a ton of cash.