Fight against Doping, Good Governance, and Education: What are the Roles and Responsibilities of the Czech Olympic Committee?

Abstract

This paper researches the roles and responsibilities of National Olympic Committees (NOC), especially the Czech Olympic Committee (Czech NOC), in anti-doping education. Good governance is an increasingly important condition of the self-regulatory autonomy of anti-doping organizations (ADO) in the European Union (EU). Moreover, the principles of good governance identified by both, the EU bodies and institutions, and the IOC, cover education. In this context, the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) outlines the educational roles and responsibilities of NOCs. Nevertheless, concrete form and implementation of such roles and responsibilities remain vague and unclear, which may jeopardize NOC's good governance, integrity, and management in the fight against doping. Therefore, the research objective of this paper is to clarify and establish concrete roles, responsibilities, and strengths of NOCs, particularly the Czech NOC, in anti-doping education. This paper initially reviews the social science research and the existing knowledge on the concrete roles and responsibilities of NOCs. Consequently, it presents the conducted empirical research, employing three main data collection techniques: surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Finally, this paper formulates recommendations and an action plan on how the Czech NOC, and similarly all NOCs, should use their strengths to exercise their roles and responsibilities in anti-doping education effectively and sustainably. It simultaneously suggests how the Czech NOC and other NOCs should plan, implement, and evaluate their education programs to prevent doping in sports and strengthen their good governance in and beyond the EU.