Sport Integrity

The Curling anti-doping policy is the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy, effective from 1 January 2021, and found here on the Sport Integrity Australia website. All members, participants and non-participants in the sport of Curling are bound by these rules.

What is Sport Integrity

Sport is an Australian way of life. It brings people together, transcending differences in language, ability, culture and beliefs, and provides physical, social and economic benefits.

Threats to sports integrity include competition-manipulation, doping, and behaviours that impact people’s positive experience of sport, such as discrimination or abuse.

Integrity in sport means that athletes, supporters and fans can participate and celebrate sport, confident in the knowledge that they are part of a safe, ethical and inclusive environment.

The Australian Curling Federation takes integrity seriously.

All our members and participants have an obligation to protect and maintain the integrity of sport, as well as the health and wellbeing of our athletes.

We work closely with Sport Integrity Australia, the federal agency established to prevent and deal with integrity threats in sport. For more information visit the Sport Integrity Australia website.

Reporting Integrity Issues

Knowledge of, or concerns regarding integrity-related matters can be reported in several ways:

  • Matters relating to harassment (including sexual harassment), discrimination, child protection, or any other form of misconduct should be raised with us in the first instance by contacting:

ACF President, Kim Forge, at australiancurling@gmail.com

  • Matters relating to doping, corruption, fraud, match-fixing should be reported to Sport Integrity Australia through one of these methods:

Our Integrity Rules

We take sport integrity seriously and have the following policies in place:

Anti-doping (click to be taken to the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy)

Member Protection

Child Safeguarding and South Australian Addendum

Illicit Drug

Code of Conduct

All Australian Curling Federation policies and guidelines can be found here.

Education, Resources and Awareness

When it comes to sport integrity, it is critical that our athletes and support personnel are aware of their rights and responsibilities. There are a range of tools and resources available to help keep participants informed.

Integrity eLearning

Sport Integrity Australia eLearning offers a number of online courses relating to sport integrity, including doping, match fixing, illicit drugs and ethical decision making courses. Specific anti-doping courses are also available for coaches, support persons, medical practitioners and parents.

Athletes who compete at state level or above are likely to be required to complete some education. The graphs below show the required and recommended online education for each level.

Below is an easy-to-follow poster to visually show what courses are required and recommended specific to the Australian Curling Federation and its State Member Associations:

Sport Integrity app

The Sport Integrity app is a one-stop shop for all sport integrity needs, designed with athletes in mind.

The app allows users to check whether their medications are banned in sport, find low risk supplements to reduce their change of testing positive accidentally, and check whether they need a Therapeutic Use Exemption. The app is also a tool to raise concerns about things like doping, match-fixing, harassment or illicit drug use. It also features further information on eLearning modules, whereabouts and testing information and gives users the opportunity to provide feedback to Sport Integrity Australia.

The app is free and can be downloaded from the Apple and Android app stores.

Prohibited List of substances and methods

The Prohibited List outlines the substances and methods that are prohibited in sport. It is updated annually by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Remember that individual products or brands are not named on the Prohibited List. Athletes should check the status of all medications before they use them on GlobalDRO.

Checking your substances

Global DRO allows users to check whether the most commonly prescribed and over-the-counter medicines in Australia are permitted or prohibited in sport.

Play by the Rules

Play by the Rules provides information, resources, tools and free online training to administrators, coaches, officials, players, parents and spectators to assist them in preventing and dealing with discrimination, harassment, child safety, inclusion and integrity issues in sport.

Stay up to date on social media

Keep up to date with all that is happening in sport integrity by following Sport Integrity Australia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or listen to On Side, the official podcast of Sport Integrity Australia.

Anti-Doping

Anti-doping rules apply to all participants of our sport from elite down to grassroots. All members must be aware of, and have a basic understanding of their obligations in regards to anti-doping. The Sport Integrity Australia website has a range of information and resources to assist, including:

Competition Manipulation and Sports Gambling

Manipulating sports competitions, commonly known as ‘match-fixing’ is when someone alters a sporting competition to remove the unpredictable nature of the competition to obtain an undue advantage, or benefit. 

A common example is when an athlete places bets on a pre-arranged outcome, such as deliberately losing a match, and profits from the winnings. Another is when a team or athlete withdraws from an event or competition before or during an event and benefits financially to do so.  In most Australian states and territories, the manipulation of sporting competitions can result in a criminal conviction and up to ten years in jail. Participants of a sport involved in manipulating competitions will also likely face a long ban from sport. More information can be found on the Sport Integrity Australia website.

Safeguarding

Participation in sport should be safe for all. We are committed to ensuring that people in sport, including children, are treated with respect dignity and are protected from bullying, discrimination, harassment or abuse.

The following policies highlight the important legal and governance responsibilities in relation to child safety and member protection. 

Breaches of Integrity Policies

All breaches in relation to integrity policies (except for Anti-Doping and Protected Disclosures under the Whistle blower Policy), will be managed using the Complaints, Disputes and Discipline Policy.

Complaints, Disputes and Discipline Policy

Our Complaints, Disputes and Discipline Policy sets out the framework for resolving complaints, disputes and disciplinary action arising from a grievance, or an individual or organisation breaching an eligible policy of the sport. It works in combination with our other National Integrity Framework policies that set out the required behaviour, or prohibit unacceptable behaviour. 

The policy provides a number of options to resolve:

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Minor Breach Procedure
  • Breach Offer or Hearing Tribunal (internal or via the National Sports Tribunal). 

To report a grievance or breach of an integrity policy:

Send an email to the attention of the “Grievance Officer” to australiancurling@gmail.com