Late last month, representatives of the national anti-doping organisations of Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Croatia, the Maltese Olympic Committee as well as officials from the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations and the German Olympic Sports Confederation met in Adergas, Slovenia, for the kick-off meeting of prePLAY.

PrePLAY is a multi-national doping prevention project initiated by the Slovenian Anti-Doping Organisation (SLOADO) which is to be implemented in Slovenia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, and Croatia.

The main purpose of prePLAY is the creation of a transnational network of young athletes who have knowledge about anti-doping and act as anti-doping ambassadors.

The innovative aspects of this project are the focus on grassroots-level sport, the transfer of knowledge through anti-doping ambassadors, the peer-to-peer character of the project, the focus on education to prevent the use of doping, and the opportunity for retired athletes to spread the message.

PrePLAY is one of 20 sport projects that has successfully applied for funds from the EU’s Erasmus+ programme.

Major activities in 2015 will be the recruitment and initial training of the anti-doping ambassadors in each of the project countries as well as a joint education camp for all ambassadors in Slovenia in June.

In 2016, the focus will be on doping prevention and awareness-raising activities and the organisation of a Play True Day in each of the five participating countries.