In our ongoing efforts to ensure solid international partnerships and regional support, a delegation from the Oceania Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (ORADO) visited Sport Integrity Australia last week to chat about their work, share ideas, gain insight from our subject matter experts and compare challenges and lessons learned for continual improvement across our region.
The ORADO delegation included:
- Dr Lawrence Teariki Puni – Chair
- Alister Stevic – CEO
- Siniva Marsters – National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) Relations and Services Manager
The delegation was in Australia to attend the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) Annual General Assembly, Step Up Oceania Conference and various other forums/workshops over the course of the week. They included a day trip to the Sport Integrity Australia office where we met their new CEO.
“Australia has been good friends, colleagues and supporters of ORADO for many years and it’s important to us to continue this relationship as we tackle sport integrity issues within the region,” said Chris Butler, Director of Anti-Doping Policy and International Engagement at Sport Integrity Australia.
The ORADO delegation met key Sport Integrity Australia staff including representatives from the Anti-Doping Policy and International Engagement, Anti-Doping Testing, Education, Science and Medicine, and Legal teams.
“A key issue for discussion included the upcoming Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands and how we can work together with ORADO and our colleagues from Drug Free Sport New Zealand, to make it a successfully run event,” said Chris. “Discussions also focussed on how we can work together to increase engagement across the Pacific on anti-doping and broader sport integrity threats.”
Chris agrees that partnerships such as this are important as ORADO is central to capacity building in the region. This will be more important with the upcoming 2026 Commonwealth Games and 2032 Olympics and Paralympics, which are Games for the whole Oceania region, not just Australia.
“Many Pacific region athletes train and compete in Australia, so improving integrity education and compliance within the region will contribute to a fairer playing field in Australian sport,” said Chris.
“There are also opportunities for Australian athletes to compete in the Pacific Games, so if we can support ORADO in making the event run smoothly, particularly from an anti-doping perspective, Australian athletes can have confidence in participating in these events.
“We look forward to gaining a greater understanding of the challenges facing ORADO and the Pacific, and look forward to opportunities where we can assist and continue learning from each other.”
