Following yesterday’s news that Pat McQuaid’s term on WADA’s Foundation Board had ended a year earlier than scheduled, the Association of Summer International Olympic Associations (ASOIF) has said that practicality was behind the decision rather than any other reason.
Last year, McQuaid had both a place on that board and also on WADA’s Executive Committee, but in 2013 will not be involved in either. While WADA said yesterday that the Executive Committee post had concluded on December 31st as scheduled, the agency stated that the Foundation Board post had been due to run until the end of the current year.
Some of those who had noticed the end of McQuaid’s appointments had wondered if it could be related to tensions which were apparent between the UCI and WADA last year, in relation to the Lance Armstrong/US Postal Service investigation by USADA.
Last month WADA president John Fahey expressed concerns about the terms of reference laid out by the independent commission looking into the UCI, and suggested that the Agency might not cooperate with the investigation if changes to those terms were not made.
While the terms of reference are drawn up by the Commission members themselves, Fahey’s statement indicated that WADA was concerned that a fully thorough investigation into the UCI’s handling of doping matters during and after Armstrong’s career might not happen.
McQuaid has categorically denied all suggestions that the UCI shielded Armstrong during his career, contradicting at least two of the Texan’s former team-mates who said that Armstrong implied otherwise to them.
In August WADA director general David Howman had strong worlds about the UCI in relation to its contesting of USADA’s jurisdiction, saying that it was ‘sadly destroying the credibility it has slowly been regaining in the past years in the fight against doping.’
Following a federal court decision which denied Armstrong’s claims that USADA had no jurisdiction, the UCI subsequently accepted the agency’s handling of the case. In October it said that it would not appeal the sanctions handed down.
ASOIF comments on McQuaid’s term:
While relations between the UCI and WADA have been strained at times in the past year, ASOIF executive director Andrew Ryan has said that practical reasons lay behind McQuaid’s replacement by Urgur Erdener on the Foundation Board.
Erdener had succeeded McQuaid on the Executive Committee, starting January first.
“The main appointment for ASOIF is the WADA Executive Committee which meets normally three times per year and conducts the business of WADA between meetings,” he told VeloNation today. “The Foundation Board meets normally only twice per year on days immediately following WADA EC meetings.
“The ideal situation for our representatives is naturally to be on both for continuity, to ensure presentation of consistent messages and to avoid unnecessary travel and expense. We therefore try very hard to ensure that our EC representatives also are at the table the following day for FB meetings. This was the case for Pat and his predecessor - and will now be the case for his successor Urgur Erdener, President of World Archery.”
He said that the ASOIF would consider recommending that WADA review its procedures in order to synchronise the ending of terms on both the Executive Committee and Foundation Board. “Currently our desire for consistent sports movement representation leads to a lack of continuity, not least in the case of the ASOIF President who represents IOC at the WADA EC and then ASOIF at the FB meetings the following day.”
The ASOIF has one representative on the Executive Committee and three on the Foundation Board, which has more members.
“President (Professor) Erdener is increasingly working within the sports movement in the medical and anti-doping field, which is his professional area of expertise also, so he was the ideal candidate for the next term at WADA,” said Ryan.
There were indications yesterday that the UCI was surprised not to see McQuaid’s name on the list of Foundation Board members. The governing body clarified the situation today, with its spokesman saying that the Irishman had said in November that he would not continue on the board.