JEDDAH, 7 May 2007 — Eight Saudis are to receive their certificates as international licensed Doping Control Officer (DCO) in graduation ceremonies at the end of the Gulf States and Yemen Regional Anti-Doping Organization board meeting and DCO training workshop.
The meeting and workshop, being held jointly at the Riyadh Marriott Hotel in Riyadh under the auspices of Saudi Olympic Committee, started yesterday and end on Thursday. The graduates would bring to 12 the number of DCOs in the Kingdom, second only to Iran which has the largest DCOs in the Arab world.
As host Saudi Arabia earned the right to have eight officers to get their international licenses from the workshop while the rest of the GCC countries each has two officers.
The eight Saudis are Dr. Turki Al-Shareif and Haidar Abu Hanash from Jeddah, Abdullah Al-Shihri and Khalid Al-Shammari (Riyadh), Dr. Fahad Al-Mihayani (Taif), Ali Al-Gharouri (Hafr al-Batin), Yassir Al-Shammari (Dammam) and Mohammed Al-Mawai (Beishah).
The officers are to receive their certificates of accreditation from the World Anti-Doping agency (WADA) and under the supervision of the Regional Anti-Doping Organization (RADO). Armed with the certificates and licenses, they can use their expertise in any sporting event around the world.
Bader Al-Saeed, general secretary of the Saudi Arabian Anti-Doping Committee (SAADC) and in charge of the twin event in Riyadh, was the first to get the DCO license in 2003. Al-Saeed told Arab News in an interview from Riyadh he is glad “now we have 20 eligible Saudis who are fully prepared and well taught. This would also be for the country’s benefit to have eight of them with international licensed DCOs.”
