At the opening of the The third World Conference on Doping in sport held in Madrid, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge, warned that doping is threatening to epand from professional to youth and children recreational sport. Rogge said that the use of illicit substances is "biggest threat to the Olympic Movement". "Doping threatens to endanger healt of the people in general. It is not the problem that it became everyday phenomenon in professional sport, but this 'evil' got into the youth, children and recreational sport", stressed Rogge. First man of the IOC called for governments and sport federations of all coutries to iv=nvolve as soon as possible in fight against doping, since it has gor, as he claims, "epidemic dimensions". "Doping became world's health problem", concluded Rogge and called representatives from all countries who have not yet signed Anti Doping Code to da it as soon as possible. Rogge believes that it risks drying out the recruitment of sport, as, one day, parents might refuse to send their children to sports clubs. " The fight against doping involves however much more than elite sport alone. It is not only about testing and sanctioning well-known athletes, it is about the health and future of our population. It is therefore a public health problem. Recent studies indicate the same dynamics that exist in professional sports are emerging in high school and university sport programmes around the world. These studies indicate that hundreds of thousands of teenagers and even pre-teenagers are in danger. – said the President of the IOC. Rogge repeated his recent statement that doping at the Olympic Games in Beijing won't be tolerated at all. Next year in Beijing, the plan is to conduct 4,500 in- and out-of-competition tests. This is roughly 25 per cent more than carried out during the 2004 Games in Athens, and 90 per cent more than the number of tests carried out in Sydney in 2000. " We have also recently proposed a series of measures to strengthen our zero tolerance policy. These measures include the denial of participation in the next Olympic Games for athletes and their entourage who have been sanctioned for more than six months." Rogge announced stronger financial penalties for National Olympic Committees. World Antidoping Conference started on Thursday in Madrid. It is expected that new President of the World Antidoping Agency (WADA) will be elcted. Canadian Richard Pound won't be leading this organisation anymore, after being on its top for eight years. Only candidate for his position is former Australian Ministaer of Finance, John Feihi. Key proposal for new WADA Code is four year sanction for seriour doping offences in case this is the first case of doping use (so far it was two years), and more flexibility in sanctions and possibility of slighter punishments for athletes willing to cooperate with authorities. More than 1.600 delegates from international sport federations, Olympic Movement and government agencies gathered in Madrid on Conference which will last until tomorrow. First antidopnig conference was held in Lausanne in 1999. and the second one in Copenhagen in 2003.
