French speaking athletes’ experience and perception regarding the whereabouts reporting system and therapeutic use exemptions.

The introduction of two anti-doping measures by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) directly affects athletes lives: obligatory whereabouts reporting with the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS), and recorded applications for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). French-speaking elite athletes ( N = 69) from France, Belgium and Switzerland responded to a web-based questionnaire about their perceptions and experiences under these two measures. The results showed a strong ambivalence towards the whereabouts system. Though 94% considered it necessary, and accepted it as part of an athlete's duties, 34% considered that it infringed too much on their private life, 54% felt that it reduced the pleasure of being an athlete, 74% felt to be under surveillance, 54% found it too time-consuming, 57% encountered technical hurdles, and 58% perceived its application between different countries and sports as unequal and unfair. Many athletes did not like the testing procedures and more than half felt that it causes anxiety. Trust in the system's capacity to detect doping in athletes was partial (83% of athletes under the whereabouts system trusted it, and 60% of athletes not under the system trusted it). Concerning the management of TUEs, 49% of athletes had low trust in their management by authorities, 47% suspected abuse by fellow athletes and 46% had refrained from medically justified treatment. Our findings suggest considerable dissatisfaction with the whereabouts system and TUE among French-speaking athletes. We conclude that there is a need to improve on the above aspects in order to increase athletes’ satisfaction and adherence to WADA's anti-doping policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]