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Raymond Jaravaza
IT costs a minimum of $450 to do an anti-doping test on one athlete, resulting in very few athletes in all sporting disciplines played in the country being tested for the use of illegal substances, B-Metro Sport has established.
It is understood that $450 is just the standard cost.
The costs can balloon depending on when the results are required.
a�?If for instance the results are required in a time frame of between 24 to 48 hours, the cost of an anti-doping test can skyrocket to about $800 per athlete. I do not have the exact figures but the costs for urgent results are around that figure,a�? said Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC) board member Stephen Mudawarima.
Mudawarima is a trained anti-doping officer certified by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
Doping is generally defined as when an athlete takes illegal substances to improve his or her performance.
Because of financial constraints ZOC last year tested less than 50 athletes from over 32 paid up sports associations that fall under ZOC.
Sports associations that fall under ZOC have thousands of athletes per sporting discipline ranging from soccer, rugby, cricket, athletics, golf and boxing among dozens of other codes.
a�?We are mandated to test a minimum of 100 soccer players in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) every season but because of lack of resources we cannot do that,a�? said Mudawarima.
International standards also dictate that schools, colleges and lower league athletes in all sporting codes should be tested.
Zimbabwean figures of less than 50 athletes across all sporting disciplines are a drop in the ocean.
In 2015 Canada tested 500 football players in schools and colleges up to the elite league.
Figures for other sports codes vary depending on availability of funds in that country.
Canadian authorities recommend that 30 percent of athletes across all sporting disciplines are tested annually.
The suspension of the only drug-testing laboratory in Africa has worsened the already dire situation.
In 2016 the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) suspended an accredited drug-testing laboratory in South Africa for failing to meet its strict standards.
Many African countries used to send doping test samples to the lab based in the city of Bloemfontein but are now forced to use overseas facilities after Wada pulled the plug on the South African lab.
Wada will carry out inspection visits during the suspension of the South African lab to ensure improvements are made.
a�?In our case we send samples to Qatar, Belgium or Germany after the South African lab was suspended two years ago,a�? said Mudawarima.
ZOC uses two methods of testing.
Random testing is when names, for instance, of football players of a particular team are placed in a pool and randomly picked and subjected to doping tests.
a�?And then we have what is called intelligence testing where we conduct tests based on information suggesting that a particular athletea��s performance is suspected to have suddenly improved and there is suspicion of use of performance enhancing or illegal drugs,a�? he added.
Funding from international sports federations makes the difference between an athlete being tested and an offender walking scot free.
a�?For example the Rugby International Board can avail funds for anti-doping tests when there is a schools rugby festival in Zimbabwe and we are able to do tests on schoolboys. Funds permitting ZOC would conduct tests often because we take doping in sports very seriously,a�? he added.
Zimbabwe doesna��t have laws that criminalise doping. . .
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derick.khumalo