From Inside the Games
The initial components for an Athlete Charter have been revealed by a steering committee set-up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission.
The Charter will aim to address and protect the fundamental rights and responsibilities of athletes around the world.
The current draft follows input from almost 200 athletes representing all continents, following a survey to establish themes and the types of rights and responsibilities which should be included in the document.
It comes at a time when the IOC have faced increasing pressure to reform their systems to provide more money to athletes.
An open letter written by the German Olympic Sports Confederation Athletes’ Commission, chaired by fencer Max Hartung and addressed to IOC President Bach, called on the IOC to revolutionise their funding model.
This included a call to grant 25 per cent of revenues directly to athletes and a further 10 per cent to the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Bach has invited critical German athletes to Lausanne so he can “discuss and explain” the ways in which they support and finance Olympians.
Five key topics have been highlighted for the Charter to address the most relevant issues athletes face today.
Integrity and clean sport has been listed as the first theme, followed by governance and communication and career and marketing.
Safeguarding is another theme, with sport competition listed as the fifth key topic.
The themes have been defined along with statements on athletes’ responsibilities.
Rights to compete in a fair and clean competition, transparency and fairness in all athlete issues and the right to due process were listed under integrity and clean sport.
Athletes’ responsibilities in this category are competing as a clean athlete at all times, to promote clean sport, to behave ethically and to actively engage and contribute to transparent processes.
Under governance and communication, the right to athlete representation in all athlete-related matters, the right to be informed with timely and clear communication and the right to access protected whistleblowing programmes are listed.
The right to gender equality and the right to data privacy – within the context of anti-doping rules – also fall under this category.
Responsibilities include reporting unethical behaviour, seeking information and being informed and educated, as well as complying with relevant data protection rules and regulations.
A right to a dual career, access to educational materials on athlete issues, and the right to use images as per the rules of the event have been stated under the career and marketing theme.
Compliance with the rules regarding the use of images was cited as the sole responsibility.
