ATHLETES who set Scottish national records and who are subsequently suspended for doping offences will have all their records annulled.
The move by the board of scottishathletics is part of a three-point plan to tackle the issue of doping and clean up the image of the sport, though there is no suggestion that Scottish athletes have resorted to cheating.
Scottishathletics said: “We propose to introduce what we see as a very significant step in terms of Scottish national records. As guardians for those, scottishathletics have the right to set parameters on Scottish national records and we will amend the criteria to ensure that – from this point onwards – any athlete who in the future receives a suspension for a serious doping offence (two years or more) will not be eligible to hold a Scottish national record.”
The annulment plan “applies across all age groups and sits against the name of the athlete who received a ban (of two years or more). That is; he or she would forfeit any records already held and would not be recognised as holding any Scottish records in athletics during the rest of their competitive career.”
The governing body added: “We will remind every member that entry to a Scottish National Championship event carries with it agreement to undertake anti-doping procedures on event day if requested. There is potential for these tests to happen, as an example, at the Scottish Seniors at the Emirates Arena on Saturday, January 30 or the National Cross Country Championships in Falkirk on February 27.
“We will once again issue guidelines to our athletes and remind them of the latest banned substance lists. These are available on our website and we have had staff in Birmingham only last week to discuss with UK Athletics more anti-doping education.”
Ian Beattie, chairman of scottishathletics, said: “Scottishathletics does not have direct jurisdiction over anti-doping matters – that falls to UK Athletics and the independent body UK Anti-Doping. But there are some steps we can and will take – as they are within our remit as governing body in Scotland.”
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