The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) recently welcomed educators and leaders from anti-doping organizations around the world for an annual summit that produces practical solutions and materials to support clean sport education worldwide.
Meeting since 2017, the Penrose Education Experts and Resource Sharing (PEERS) Group united representatives from Austria, Australia, the Caribbean, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“This meeting continues to be one of the world’s most regionally diverse gatherings of international anti-doping educators, and with our commitment to resource sharing, this collaboration benefits far more than the participating organizations and their athletes,” said USADA Director of Education, Tammy Hanson. “The open discussions and thoughtful analysis that take place each year are absolutely vital to ensuring that we are collaboratively combining data and best practice to generate education strategies that serve athletes worldwide.”
This year, the group explored a wide range of topics developed by the participants, starting with a report on outcomes of WADA-funded studies that examined how global anti-doping education delivery has changed following the introduction of the International Standard of Education in 2021. Attendees also shared how they are implementing evaluation and monitoring strategies into their programs to ensure they are meeting their education program objectives. This resource sharing helped generate progressive ideas around how the group can collect and share evaluation metrics globally to better compare athletes from country to country and adapt programs based on feedback, while also demonstrating the importance of collaboration with the National Olympic Committees.
“What truly is important is the commitment to putting athletes at the heart of every conversation,” said Michael Behr, Head of Prevention at NADA Germany. “There needs to be a shared drive, not just to meet WADA standards, but to breathe life into them with purpose and action, always in service of clean sport. We had a collective spirit that believes every effort to empower and educate athletes is not only worthwhile—it’s essential.”
With the 2026 Winter Games fast approaching, the group also discussed collaborative approaches to Games education, including an activity-based model, to reduce the duplication of education materials. Similarly, participants expressed an interest in shared education reporting tools and explored possible solutions. In alignment with its mission to facilitate resource sharing, the group also discussed ways to reach more members of the anti-doping education community and identified that sharing key outcomes with iNADO for its monthly newsletter could be one way to reach global anti-doping partners
“This group fosters a unique kind of collaboration—one built on trust, openness, and a shared mission,” noted Annemarie Haahr Kristensen, Senior Education Manager at Anti Doping Denmark. “By working together, we’re not just exchanging ideas, but building a stronger, more connected anti-doping education system that better serves and protects athletes everywhere.”
In addition to the in-person summit, the PEERS Group communicates about emerging anti-doping challenges and solutions, as well as opportunities to share resources with the global anti-doping education community. The efforts of the group also align with the ISE’s mandate that World Anti-Doping Code signatories collaborate to minimize duplication of efforts and maximize the effectiveness of their education programs.
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