Government of Jamaica
Kingston, 20 January 2023 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says Jamaica will be hosting a delegation from the Trinidad and Tobago government who will conduct a study tour of our sports programme.
The Trinidad and Tobago delegation will be led by the Minister of Sports, the Honourable Shamfa Cudjoe.
As part of the study tour, they will visit a number of schools and institutions, including the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission, and participate in discussions with Minister Grange and officials in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.
Minster Grange said:
“They want to look at setting up a high school boys and girls champs like ours in Jamaica. They want to look at our athletes insurance plan because they want to establish an insurance plan as well. And they want to look at GC Foster [College of Physical Education and Sports] to see how we implement such an excellent sports programme in the various disciplines through that institution."
Jamaica will also be sharing its expertise with several other Caribbean countries next week when it hosts the World Anti-Doping Agency Forum for Ministers of Sports in the Caribbean from January 26 to 27, 2023 in Kingston.
“Jamaica is like a model. We have a model programme and WADA wants us to help in leading the charge in the region and to mobilise the ministers of sports. What we hope to achieve is to come up with an action plan for the region in anti- doping, because a number of the countries in the region do not have full fledged programmes; and because we have a full programme, we will be able to give the technical support that is required.”
According to Minister Grange, Jamaica is considered a leader in the fight against doping in sports.
“We are proud of what we have been able to do in the short time that we established the [Anti-Doping in Sport] Act and have been administering the programme. Because we are so well known across the world in track and field in particular, and other sports disciplines, we sometimes are seen as a country that has to be looked at very closely when it comes to anti-doping practices. And we are proud that we have been able to actually demonstrate that we support clean sports and actually live what we preach.”
Delegates from 19 Caribbean countries — including more than a dozen sports ministers — are confirmed for the Forum, which will be attended by the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Witold Bańka.
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Kingston, 11 April 2022 (JIS) - The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission will be implementing a paperless solution for the collection of doping control data.
The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, gave details while providing an update on the work of the Commission during a ceremony to hand over laptop computers to Guy’s Hill High School, at the Commission’s offices, on Ballater Avenue in St. Andrew, recently.
She said training has been provided by the World Anti-Doping Agency. “Additional users will receive training from JADCO during the first quarter of the financial year,” the Minister added.
Minister Grange noted that JADCO is now part of the CONCACAF project in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region. “As a result, the Commission will be increasing the testing of national and international footballers,” she said.
The Minister noted too that an impact study is being done on the programmes conducted by JADCO. She explained that the purpose of the impact study is to ascertain the effectiveness of the Commission’s programmes and to get recommendations from stakeholders on the ways the services can be improved. “As required by the international standard for education, the impact study will now be done annually,” Minister Grange said.
She added that the Commission has also started the consultation and implementation for ISO 9001 quality management system certification, to meet international requirements.
Minister Grange said this will demonstrate the Commission’s ability to consistently provide anti-doping services that meet international standards.
“The world can see that the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission continues to work assiduously to fulfil its mission and to foster a dope-free environment, promoting the ethics and spirit of sport through education, testing, advocacy and coordination of an effective anti-doping programme,” she added.
The Minister said the Commission has grown over the years and is now highly respected across the world for the work that it has done. “We have an organisation that is well respected…JADCO is ensuring that clean sports continue to be the hallmark of the Jamaican athletes,” she emphasised.
Meanwhile, she said the Ministry is pleased with the progress that the Commission continues to make. “We are committed to support the development of all sporting disciplines and to support JADCO in ensuring that while we excel in sports, we also ensure that we promote clean sports,” the Minister said.
She lauded JADCO for the acquisition of 25 laptops valued at approximately $4 million that will be presented to students. “This is part of JADCO’s continuing effort to partner with the Ministry of Education and Youth to include anti-doping information in the curriculum of schools,” Minister Grange said.
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Kingston, 9 June 2021 (JIS) - The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission is now fully compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
“What this means is that Jamaica’s credibility can no longer be questioned when it comes to doping in sports,” said Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange.
She was making her contribution to the 2021/22 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 8.
She also informed that the JADCO 2021 rules have been prepared, sent for gazetting and will soon come into effect.
“I urge athletes and their coaches to get familiar with the new rules, as they most certainly will get familiar with JADCO’s new mobile unit, which is one of only two mobile anti-doping testing facilities in the world. The unit has been put to use at athletics meets taking place at the National Stadium,” Minster Grange said.
Meanwhile, the Minister informed that the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS), has prepared Annual Reports covering the periods 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20.
“Pending an audit, I expect to table the reports in the House once approved by Cabinet,” Minister Grange said.
In addition, despite the pandemic, INSPORTS is still fulfilling its mandate of developing sports at the grassroots.
The Minister said that last year, the entity staged its popular summer sports programme in small groups across the island featuring netball, football, cricket, tennis, golf, surfing and other disciplines and will do so again this year.
“INSPORTS is also developing a virtual Physical Education Programme to be broadcast on air and online,” Ms. Grange told the House.
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Kingston, 30 September 2020 – The Minister of Culture, Gender Entertainment & Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has unveiled Jamaica’s first ever national anti-doping mobile unit.
Minister Grange officially handed over the especially retrofitted bus to the Chairman of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission, Alexander Williams, and the Executive Director of the Commission, June Spence Jarrett, during a special ceremony this afternoon (Wednesday).
“It is retrofitted to facilitate able-bodied athletes, athletes with disabilities, and paralympians — so we cover the wide spectrum of the constituents that we have to serve,” said Minister Grange. She said the unit would boost JADCO’s ‘clean sports’ mission.
Also present for the unveiling were the Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Alando Terrelonge; Permanent Secretary, Denzil Thorpe; and Olympic Sprint Hurdler, Megan Tapper.
Minister Grange said the JADCO mobile unit is the second in the world to be operated by a national anti-doping organisation.
Minister Grange said:
“The only other national anti-doping organisation in the world that has a similar unit is the Japan anti-doping organisation. So we’re very proud to be one of two.
“This very important mobile unit has now been made available through the efforts of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission and the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.
“This has been a dream for us and today our dream is a reality.
“We will continue to introduce new innovations in the interest of our mandate which is to fight doping in sports.”
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Kingston, 5 September 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has named members of the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel for the next three years.
Minister Grange said the appointment of the Panel is in keeping with the Anti-Doping in Sport Act and the World Anti-Doping Code.
Attorney-at-Law, Kent Gammon, is returned as Chairman.
The two Vice Chairmen are Hugh Faulkner and Georgia Gibson-Henlin, both Attorneys-at-Law.
The other members of the Panel are:
- Dr. Donovan Calder, Medical Practitioner
- Dr. Marjorie Vassell, Medical Practitioner
- Dr. Japheth Ford, Medical Practitioner
- Dean Martin, former Vice President of the Jamaica Paraplegic Sports and Social Club
- Heron Dale, former President of the Jamaica Football Federation
- Denise Forrest, former President of the Jamaica Women’s Hockey Association
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Kingston, January 24 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced that Jamaica will establish a National Anti-Doping Compliance Committee as part of measures to enhance the national programme to keep sports clean.
The Committee will ensure that Jamaica conforms to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code and UNESCO’s International Convention against Doping in Sport.
“We want to ensure that our athletes are playing clean and fair,” said Minister Grange who made the announcement at a symposium organised by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission, an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport at the Jamaica Conference Centre on Thursday (January 24).
According to the Minister, the establishment of the Committee will among other things “improve information sharing, promote planning, design and delivery of joint initiatives and enhance the anti-doping programme’s impact and effectiveness.”
She said that the Committee will also ensure a more comprehensive response to the national compliance report to be submitted to UNESCO.
“I am confident that Jamaica will be ranked compliant, however, in order for Jamaica to be successful, there has to be the collaborative effort of all entities and stakeholders in the fight against doping in sport,”
Minister Grange said.
Under the International Convention against Doping in Sport Jamaica has a responsibility to report bi-annually on its efforts for a doping free environment in the country.
The National Anti-Doping Compliance Committee will include representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the private sector, tertiary institutions, law enforcement and health.
Sport Minister the Honourable Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, today, disclosed that the appointment of all boards in the Government’s sports sector has now been completed with Cabinet’s approval of the new Board of Directors for the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) on Monday, June 13, 2016.