02 Jun 2022

Athletes included in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) undergo strict requirements such as having one’s whereabouts known at all times.

RTP athletes must be prepared to answer the question ‘O letse kae’ (Where did you sleep).

This is because amongst the many World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) requirements, athletes are required to provide, amongst others, an address for overnight accommodations and a 60-minute time slot for each day, where they will be available and accessible for testing.

 Failure to comply can result in serious consequences for athletes. The requirement for athletes to state their whereabouts does not sit well with athletes, who say it infringes on their right to privacy.

Explaining the ‘o letse kae’ requirement, National Anti-doping Organisation (NADO) coordinator, Frederick Seno, said the ‘whereabouts’ was a system that allowed testing agencies to facilitate and conduct out-of-competition testing.

He said because the out-of-competition testing was unannounced, there was need to avail home address, email address and phone number as well as  regular activities. “We want to know where you are at any given point in time and it is not any fishing expedition, but we simply want to keep our sport clean,” Seno said, adding that there was a misconception that they wanted the whereabouts for other reasons.

 He denied that, saying athletes who were in the RTP for a long time understood and appreciated the arrangement. “It must be clear that our intention or interest is not whom the athlete slept with, but we want to protect the rights of all athletes to compete in clean sport,” he said. Seno said the athletes also had the responsibility to protect the integrity of sport. ENDS