Puello Herrera ponders on volleyball as a clean sport
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 24, 2014 – The
President of the FIVB Ethics Panel reflected on the importance
of the role played by the different Medical Commissions to keep
the sport clean of prohibited drugs.
Dr. Jose Joaquin Puello Herrera, member of the IOC Medical
Commission and President Ad Vitam of the Dominican Republic
Olympic Committee, was the special guest to the annual meeting
of the NORCECA Medical Commission which took place on Sunday.
“I want to congratulate the NORCECA Medical Commission for the
great effort their members do to prevent the consumption of
banned substances with the educational programs developed by
FIVB and the IOC,” Puello Herrera expressed. “We need to
duplicate those efforts to keep up the battle against the
attempts to taint the sport.”
Puello Herrera, who is a neurosurgeon, praised volleyball and
beach volleyball as role models of clean sports, and also
expressed concerns about the use of social drugs and the
eventual damage to the brain and the behavior of people in
society.
“The educational programs implemented by the international sport
organizations must include the prevention of the use of those
harmful drugs for the health of the individuals as we aim for
better societies,” Puello Herrera said.
Puello Herrera, former President of the Central American Sport
Organization (CACSO) who presided over the Organizing Committee
of the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, was invited to
participate in the meeting by NORCECA President Cristobal Marte
Hoffiz.
“I think we all can learn from the experience of a distinguished
professional like Dr. Puello Herrera, who has had a long and
successful career as medical doctor and sport leader,” Marte
Hoffiz said as he introduced of the graduated from Oxford
University, England.
During the meeting, Dr. Victor Figueroa, President of NORCECA
Medical Commission, made report on the updated prohibited list
of substances of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), prohibited
methods and the monitoring program.
He also presented a report on the education program carried out
during the U19 and U21 FIVB World Championships held in Mexico
and Turkey, respectively. In line with this program, now NORCECA
will conduct a similar one during the U20 and U21 Continental
Championships to be held in Guatemala and El Salvador,
respectively, later this year.
Dr. Figueroa touched bases on the regulations and procedures of
the Therapeutic Use Exemption and the importance of respecting
the periods of notification by those athletes who, to avoid
health problems, depends of those kind of drugs that do not
produce significant enhancement of performance.
Dr. Raul Medina, who is the Anti-Doping Test Coordinator, made a
report on all the test controls taken in 2013 and announced the
increase of the program in 2014 in both volleyball and beach
volleyball.
Nelson Ramirez, Director of the FIVB/NORCECA Regional
Development Center in Dominican Republic, commented about the
importance of the Course for Anti-Doping Officials which is
scheduled to be held in Santo Domingo on August 22-28.
One of the decisions adopted was to propose to the Board of
Administration to designate Dr. Juan Carlos Rodas of Guatemala
as new secretary of the commission. |