What is Informed Sport? You may have seen this logo on all Science In Sport products, but what is it and what does it represent? This logo is the Informed Sport logo and it signifies that all of our products are rigorously tested under a global testing and certification programme for sports and nutritional supplements. You can find out more about Informed Sport here. Did you know that as many as one in ten sport supplements on the market could be contaminated with ingredients that are prohibited in sport? The Informed Sport certification was developed to ensure you can trust your nutrition partners in taking their product development as seriously as you do your performance. When you see this logo on our products, not only can you feel assured that your product is safe from any contamination and banned substances but also know that once certification has been awarded, informed sport continues to blind test samples so testing is always ongoing and every batch is examined carefully. Check out the certification for SIS products here! WADA and UKAD So Informed Sport test for banned substances but who decides which ingredients/supplements are banned in sport? This comes down to the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA for short. WADA was established in 1999 to lead a collaborative movement in doping-free sport on a global scale. Their primary goal is to coordinate anti-doping rules and policies across all sports and countries, they also investigate doping cases and monitor compliance across the world. If you ever want to check if a substance is banned in your sport, you can do this on the WADA website on the Prohibited list, this is updated annually and released in January each year. UK Anti Doping, or UKAD for short, is an active part of the global movement against doping in sport. This is who is the national body responsible for creating a UK-wide environment of confidence in clean sport. On their website you can manage supplements, check your medication, have a look through the prohibited list, have a look at the anti-doping rules, read through testing procedures and find out about the 100% me education and information programme. Do people really get tested? Yes, lots of athletes will get tested. This is done at random and can be during competition, during training or even at an athletes home. Testing is often done with a ‘no advance notice’ approach and as an athlete, you should always undertake the test, refusing a test can lead to a four-year ban! In short testing starts with selection and notification, then you would be chaperoned to the designated doping control station where your samples would be collected. You can request to delay a test under certain circumstances though, if you’re interested in finding out more about the testing procedures you can find out here. Although it is mostly done on an elite level, you don’t have to be elite to be approached, a good example of this is at the Ironman World Championships where it is very common for Age-Group athletes to be selected for testing at random as well as the elite competitors. Is this really relevant for me? You might be thinking, but I’m not an elite athlete and I don’t really compete, is this really relevant to me? The answer is yes, as someone who participates in sport, it’s important we all hold the moral values of creating a UK-wide clean sport environment. But don’t worry you don’t have to do much as essentially, if you’re already using Science in Sport products you are already using nutritional supplements that are free from banned substances as they are all tested by the Informed Sport programme! However, if you do want to do more, there are some free educational courses available on the clean sport hub from UKAD. There is an introduction to Clean Sport course and a Complete Clean + course, you can find information about these courses here. Take home messages All Science In Sport products are Informed Sport tested meaning they are safe to use and free from contamination or banned substances. WADA is the global movement for doping-free sport and UKAD is the UK’s national body responsible for creating the UK-wide clean sport environment. Be part of the UK’s clean sport movement by educating yourself on what clean sport means using the resources on the Informed Sport, WADA and UKAD websites. Written By Dr Emily Jevons - PhD in Exercise Physiology & Nutrition, Clean Sport Advisor Emily has worked with Science in Sport since 2021. With a PhD in Exercise Physiology & Nutrition, she currently provides nutritional advice for endurance athletes. Emily not only understands the science behind performance nutrition solutions, but also the physiological and psychological demands of sport after competing competitively in swimming and triathlon for a number of years.
