In the 15 years since the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), few would dispute that anti-doping efforts have changed sport. Many of these changes, such as increased testing and anti-doping education, were intended and their effects have, for the most part, been examined and evaluated. However, what have received less attention are the many unintended effects of anti-doping. Athletes now live with the stress of managing the whereabouts system and worrying about contaminated supplements and food. Journalists report on events, but are aware that it could be months or years until we know who was declared the actual victor. Governments enact laws that criminalise doping and investigate athletes for sporting infractions.

Hence this conference aims to investigate, evaluate, and understand the many ways that anti-doping efforts have unintentionally changed sport. Have athletes benefited from anti-doping efforts or are their lives worse? Are sporting competitions fairer or healthier or have we simply drove athletes to more dangerous substances? What has happened to the athletes that were caught by the system? Have we compromised certain ethical principles in order to prevent doping? In many ways, we still scarcely understand anti-doping’s far reaching impact. The conference will examine how, why and in what ways anti-doping efforts have changed sport and the culture of sport?

Key questions include:

• What have been the unintended consequences for athletes?
• How have ideas of anti-doping changed?
• How has anti-doping changed the culture of sport?
• Are blood passports, whereabouts reporting, and anti-doping testing helping?
• What have the consequences been for athletes who have tested positive under the new regime?
• What social, ethical, historical, and legal implications have been realised through anti-doping?