Anti-Doping Agency Moves to Montreal

The World Anti-Doping Agency voted Tuesday to establish its permanent headquarters in Montreal, drawn to the Canadian city by government tax breaks and, perhaps, the opportunity to physically distance itself from the International Olympic Committee. Since its inception in 1999, WADA has been housed in Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the IOC.

Legally, WADA is a Swiss foundation that was set up to coordinate international attempts to stop the use of drugs and other banned substances in sports. Its 34-member Foundation Board comes from representatives of the IOC, international sports foundations and national Olympic committees, as well as government representatives.

Montreal, which offered WADA tax incentives of about $18 million over 10 years, beat out Lausanne, 17-15, on the fourth ballot at the Foundation Board’s meeting in Tallinn, Estonia. Bonn, Stockholm, Lausanne and Vienna were the other candidates.

WADA’s chairman, Dick Pound, is Canadian and lives in Montreal. However, he said his ties to the city had not influenced the decision, and he did not vote.

Pound cautioned against reading too much into the relocation, especially against interpreting it as a consolation prize for him or Canada for their Olympic defeats. Pound lost his race for the presidency of the IOC to Jacques Rogge of Belgium in July, three days after Toronto was beaten by Beijing in the competition to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.

“I don’t think the decision to move is an attempt to show WADA is independent. That’s evident,” he said during a conference call with reporters. “The selection of Montreal shows the fight [against drugs] must go on, on every continent.”

Pound also said WADA’s Medical Health and Research Committee has been working on a single test to detect EPO, a banned hormone that boosts endurance. Current testing protocol requires both blood and urine tests, leading to more chances for slip-ups in the handling of samples or procedures.