The National Anti-Doping Strategy for 2007-2012 of the National Anti-Doping Agency has been elaborated aiming to focus the activities and resources more efficiently in the next 6 years. The strategy complies with the World Anti-Doping Code and outlines the key-objectives of the National Anti-Doping Agency, the key strategies, the programs and performance indicators necessary to direct and evaluate the efficiency of National Anti-Doping Agency’s activity.

Doping in sport is the result of a combination of individual, cultural, social and psychological factors. Preventing doping in sport must be based on the clear understanding of the complex nature of this problem as well as on the complete combination of the strategies of all the authorities involved in sport activity in order to eradicate doping in sport. Doping in sport is acknowledged as a serious problem which damages the basic principles of sport.

The National Anti-Doping Agency acknowledges this problem and establishes the strategy and the objectives in compliance with the provisions of the Anti-Doping Convention of Council of Europe, ratified by Romania by Law no. 171/1998 and World Anti-Doping Code, assumed by the Romanian Government by signing the Copenhagen Memorandum on 3 – 5 March 2003.

The two main purposes of World Anti-Doping Code are:

• to protect athletes’ fundamental right to participate in doping-free sport and thus promote health, fairness and equality for athletes worldwide;

• to ensure harmonized, coordinated and effective anti-doping programs at the international and national level with regard to detection, deterrence and prevention of doping.

Admitting that doping is against the spirit of sport represents the starting point of this strategy that follows to protect athletes’ health and sport ethic by deterring the use of prohibited substances and/or methods and keeping a fair and equitable sport environment.

The strategy aims to re-shape some mentalities within the actual system, instruct and train the qualified personnel as well as ensuring the necessary resources to implement the program.

The basic principle on which the strategy of National Anti-Doping Agency is structured may be summarized by the sintagm: information-education-prevention-testing-research for a clean sport.

The scope of this strategy is to prevent and fight against the use of prohibited substances and/or methods by the athletes.

The anti-doping strategy aims to implement the essential values of sport, namely: correctness, equality of chances, fair-play and honesty.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established in November 1999, and became operational in March 2000. WADA is the outcome of the reaction of the Olympic Movement, Governments and Public Authorities from all over the world regarding the promotion and coordination of fight against doping in sport, both at the national and international level.

The initial strategic plan of WADA was elaborated in 2001. The revised strategic plan is outlined by WADA in order to better concentrate the activities and resources for the next five (5) years.

The plan is based on the World Anti-Doping Code and underlines the key-objectives of WADA, the main strategies, programs and performance indicators necessary to direct and evaluate the efficiency of organization’s activity.