UKAD Chief Executive Rumble: Sporting world must unite around trailblazing Clean Sport Week

Chief Executive of UK Anti-Doping, Jane Rumble, is urging the sporting world to come together to show its support for Clean Sport Week, writes Jonny Bray.

The week-long celebration of clean sport is a chance for athletes, fans and teams to get behind the values of fair play.

It comes after a survey conducted on behalf of UKAD showed that 55% of Brits said seeing news about doping in sport makes them think twice about how they engage with sport.

Rumble joined UKAD in March 2022, bringing a wealth of regulatory experience to the organisation, having spent eight years as director at the UK's communications regulator, Ofcom.

And ahead of celebrating her first Clean Sport Week at the organisation, she called on every corner of the sporting world to help make a change.

“Clean Sport Week is first and foremost a positive national celebration of clean sport,” said Rumble at the start of the week, which runs from the 23rd to the 27th of May.

“What we really want is everyone to come together, so we are calling on athletes, coaches, parents and sporting bodies which play such an important part to show our support for clean sport.

“So, throughout the week, thanks to the team, there will be many different activities celebrating clean sport.

“But at the heart of it, one of the key points is to raise awareness of the Clean Sports Hub.

“It is a relatively new hub, and it has new courses on it, and they're available to anyone who is interested, and it's free.”

Rumble's belief in the principle of fair play inspired her to move from Ofcom to UKAD, with doping ranked as the second most damaging issue to the integrity of sport in the UK (41%) after racism (42%) according to the same survey.

She added: “It is vitally important that everyone understands the rules and understands anti-doping.

“Athletes need to know their responsibilities, but they need to make sure people around them are supporting them as well.

“You've got the risks to competitions themselves, but you've also got that much wider impact on the general public.

“It could be that someone is put off watching a live sports event or taking part in sport, but for me, one of the most worrying findings is that parents may not encourage their children to get involved in sport and enjoy sport.

“That's why this is a call to action to everyone in sport to come together, stand up, and support clean sport.”
Clean Sport Week, which runs from 23-27 May, is UK Anti-Doping’s (UKAD’s) national awareness week, championing clean sport, education, and anti-doping initiatives with sports across the UK.