The International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) and the Japan Hockey Association (JHA) successfully organised a comprehensive clean sport education session at the FIH Women’s Series Finals event in Hiroshima, Japan, 17 June 2019.

The programme was delivered on one of the rest days during this FIH Women’s Series Finals event. Team members from the eight participating countries, including the coaches, physiotherapists or doctors, visited the clean sport education booth and tried out as a team the advanced Anti-Doping Quiz which was mainly composed of case study scenarios. The participants worked in their teams to reach a collective answer. This approach led the athletes to reflect upon their knowledge and how it can be applied to their behaviour and decisionmaking. 

Another highlight of the programme was the interaction among athletes, young athletes, and spectators. Camila Caram (FIH Athlete Committee) and Yuka Yoshikawa (Coca-Cola Red Sparks team) both of whom are all hockey role models to the next generation as well as Juri Takayama (JADA Athlete Committee, who represented Japan both in softball and skeleton) wrote their “TRUTH” messages at the education booth. These messages included what they believe are sporting values or what they have learnt through sport that they wish to pass on to the next generation. Camila wrote: “Have a courage to risk it all!”, while Juri echoed as: “Never give up, keep going and face any challenges”. 

The athletes’ TRUTH messages are displayed at the competition venue during the FIH Series Finals in Hiroshima to encourage spectators to broaden their own perspectives in sport.

As a further, exciting element of the initiative, a “Real Champion” session was held. Young athletes, their parents and coaches, from the local Buena Vista Hockey Club based in Hiroshima, were invited to listen to the personal stories and the true values of sport as outlined by the champion athletes. After hearing from these role models, the youngsters from the local hockey club voted on the best message that had been written in the booth by the eight team captains. 

The partnership between FIH and JADA started in 2016 with “PLAY TRUE Relay”. FIH Athlete Committee Chair at the time, Marsha Cox from South Africa, was interviewed for one of the Tokyo 2020’s legacy projects led by JADA. Given FIH’s education programme is still developing, JADA was consulted to help develop and jointly deliver the education programme. The programme’s aim is to increase the anti-doping knowledge and its application and, more importantly, to help athletes understand and support hockey’s status as a clean and fair sport.

The partnership between the FIH, JADA and JHA in Hiroshima brought a positive outcome, with particular focus on increasing the athletes’ engagement in maintaining the integrity of the sport as well as achieving the FIH’s mission – a global game that inspires the next generation.

Initiatives for protecting and developing a clean sport and for fostering the future generation through sporting values will be continued by the FIH and its Member Associations as Tokyo 2020 approaches and beyond.

“PLAY TRUE 2020” – JADA’s Tokyo 2020 government-led legacy project, will continue to engage more clean athletes through extending the partnership with the international sport federations and through the “PLAY TRUE Relay” project (see more: https://www.playtrue2020-sp4t.jp/ptrelay/).

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