Our team of academic and practical experts approaches this project with a pragmatic and collaborative mindset considering the needs of the community and its individual stakeholders. Aiming to develop new knowledge that is useful and practically relevant to the whole sports community, we are committed to actively involve (sanctioned) athletes and other stakeholders of the anti-doping community in every aspect of the project. Following this philosophy, we are not doing research on sanctioned athletes but are working with them. We do not judge sanctioned athletes but listen to them to understand and help . We do not tell clean athletes what they should feel and do when sharing training space with or compete against an athlete who returned to sport after a doping suspension. We want to explore how these situations can be managed differently.
Being an athlete sanctioned for an anti-doping rule violation is often coupled with being vilified, socially crucified, often abused, or labelled as a cheat. This can have a ripple effect on personal relationships, other professional obligations, work, education and wellbeing in general. Scenarios and life stories of athletes that lead to doping are multi-faceted, and consequential sanctions like multi-year of even lifetime bans can bring sudden changes to athletes’ lives. In many cases, the life of these athletes can be turned upside down – Which is symbolised by the upside-down A in the logo of TALE – What about Us?
The University of Innsbruck is building bridges to the future since 1669! Founded over 350 years ago, the University of Innsbruck today is the most important research and educational institution in western Austria, offering a wide range of programs across all disciplines. Located in the heart of the Alps, it offers 28,000 students and 5,500 employees the best conditions.
The Department of Sport Science at the University of Innsbruck is an internationally recognized research institution comprising a multidisciplinary team of experts from the social and natural sciences. Findings from the different research areas are implemented for the design of sport and exercise activities aiming at improving health, performance and well-being in a variety of settings. The focus is set on the research areas of active mobility, alpine sports epidemiology, biomechanics, performance physiology and prevention, neurophysiology of movement, training science, sports pedagogy and sports didactics, sports medicine, sports economics and sports psychology ensure that our students have access to the latest developments in research during their studies.
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Cornelia Blank is a senior scientist at the Department of Sport Science at the University of Innsbruck. She is an internationally published and cited researcher with experiences in several international doping-related projects. She acts as lead contact of the TALE project.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cornelia-Blank
cornelia.blank@uibk.ac.at
Daniela Lux, MSc. holds a master’s degree in sport science and works on the project as a PhD student at the Department of Sport Science at the University of Innsbruck. After successfully coordinating the pilot-project “Life after Doping”, her research focusses on the life experiences and health impacts of sanctioned athletes.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniela-Lux-2
daniela.lux@uibk.ac.at
daniela.lux@umit-tirol.at
Hannah Kuske, MA, MSc, is a clinical psychologist with a background in peace and conflict studies. She is specialised in emergency psychology with a focus on international humanitarian and military settings. Her areas of expertise include the design, coordination and management of projects. She supports TALE in a project management capacity.
hannah.kuske@uibk.ac.at
The University of Münster, is a public university located in the city of Münster, North-Rhine Westphalia, in Germany. Currently the university has over 44,000 domestic and foreign students and more than 5,000 researchers from all over the world, which makes the University of Münster one of the biggest, and through its establishment in 1780 also one of the oldest, universities in Germany. By having developed a strong research profile in the areas of humanities, social science, mathematics, natural sciences as well as law and economics, the university can be considered as one of the foremost centers of German intellectual life. The University of Münster is also a member of the ‘partner university of top-level sports’ initiative to support students to combine academic education and participation in top-level sports by the establishment of more flexible and secured study conditions.
Dr. Daniel Westmattelmann is an Assistant Professor of Management and Digitalization at the University of Münster (Germany). His work on the effectiveness of the anti-doping system has been published in different international journals and he has received various grants (e.g., WADA). Alongside his academic career, he was active as a professional road cyclist for 12 years, competing in elite world championships and winning international races.
https://www.wiwi.uni-muenster.de/orga/en/team/daniel-westmattelmann
Daniel.Westmattelmann@wiwi.uni-muenster.de
Founded in 1635, Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE) in Budapest is one of the oldest, largest, and most prestigious university in Hungary, with eight faculties and 118 PhD programs offered in 17 doctoral schools. ELTE is ranked #701-750, being the second-best ranking Hungarian institution in QS World University Rankings 2023. In the spirit of the University's mission, the Faculty of Education and Psychology (https://www.ppk.elte.hu/en/) is a home to a creative community of researchers, educators and students, that continues to pass on the idea of universitas scientiarum in its teaching and research activities. ELTE PPK was ranked 176-200 in Psychology. With the integration of sport and health sciences ten years ago, the Faculty has become a truly holistic faculty encompassing disciplines with a focus on human physical and psychological wellbeing and benefitting from the synergy between the cognate research areas. The Faculty teaches, research and promote disciplines for a life-long awareness towards learning, education, wellbeing, and personal development. Within the Faculty, the Institute of Health Promotion and Sport Sciences is a dynamic new department with commitment to establish and nurture research areas new to the Faculty, such as doping and anti-doping.
Prof Petróczi is a Research Professor at Kingston University London. She is a Senior Research Fellow at ELTE (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary), and also holds a visiting position at ‘Foro Italico’ University of Rome (Italy) and at the Willibald Gebhardt Institute, University of Münster (Germany). She is a founding member of the Clean Sport Alliance and WADA’s Doping Prevalence Working Group since 2017.
Prof Petróczi is an internationally recognised anti-doping expert with background in psychology, management & marketing, and journalism. Dating back to the turn of the millennium, she is among the founding researchers for social science and behavioural research in doping. Her current research covers several anti-doping topics with present focus on doping prevalence; the meaning of ‘clean’ in sport, in performance enhancement and in anti-doping; the impact of anti-doping on clean athletes; athlete vulnerability, and the role of values and personal integrity in anti-doping education.
https://www.kingston.ac.uk/staff/profile/professor-andrea-petroczi-183/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrea-Petroczi-3
petroczi.andrea@ppk.elte.hu
a.petroczi@kingston.ac.uk
The Slovenian anti–doping organization is an independent national anti–doping organization (NADO) established on 25th of September 2013 by the Olympic Committee of Slovenia – Association of Sport Federations. With the vision to protect fundamental rights of athletes to train and compete in doping–free environment, the organization’s programs are comprehensive, including in and out of competition, results management, therapeutic use exemption process, educational and outreach programs and all other activities that are defined by the UNESCO Convention against doping in sport.
A five members Management Board, composed of two representatives of national sport federations, representative of Foundation for financing sport organization, representative of Ministry for education, science and sport and representative of NOC of Slovenia’s Athletes Commission, governs SLOADO. The Director of SLOADO is a management body and implementation of the anti–doping program is under the supervision of the Expert Council. The educational coordinator is responsible for all educational, prevention and awareness–raising activities. Through an annual program of sport, SLOADO is funded by the Republic of Slovenia, Foundation for financing sport organizations and Olympic Committee of Slovenia – Association of sport federations. To a smaller extent, SLOADO obtains funds from other resources that are set out in the Organization establishment act.
Dr. Nina Makuc is an education coordinator at Slovenian Anti-Doping Organisation since 2011, responsible for developing and implementing national clean sport education plan and program. Since 2022 she is a member of WADA Education Committee. Nina holds a master degree in physical education and a doctoral degree in kinesiology.
nina.makuc@sloado.si
The “Nationale Anti-Doping Agentur GmbH” (NADA Austria) was established on 1st of July 2008 as a limited liability company with its head office in Vienna and is a non-profit, independent anti-doping organization. Currently there are 14 employees and 100 external personnel (80 doping control officers, 15 educators).
The Anti-Doping Federal Act passed on 29th of June 2007 (Anti-Doping-Bundesgesetz, Federal Law Gazette I no. 30/2007) established NADA Austria as an independent anti-doping organization mandated with antidoping-work in sport by means of doping control and prevention in accordance with international agreements.
The control functions include planning, conducting and monitoring doping control processes, instituting disciplinary actions, deciding on applications for therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs), and reporting on compliance with anti-doping rules. The field of prevention comprises providing information and education and raising awareness about doping in sport at the top and professional levels and in popular sport. Target groups of preventive measures include athletes as well as persons in the athletes' environment, in particular coaches, support personnel, medical staff, pharmacists, officials, parents and teachers.
NADA Austria's key mission is to act against doping in sports with an efficient, state-of-the-art doping control system, intelligence and investigation as well as prevention through education, information and awareness-raising programs.
NADA Austria
• is an independent service institution for clean sports in Austria;
• stands for the true value of sport, the spirit of sport, ethics, fair play, honesty, health, character, teamwork, rules and laws and respect.
• regards doping as fraud and as a severe hazard to athletes' health;
• delivers the World Anti-Doping Program based on the World Anti-Doping Code in Austria;
• stands for fair competitions for the future of our youth and our country;
• relies especially on young people's insight, so that fewer doping incidents will occur in the future;
• stands for the athletes' fundamental right to participate in doping-free sports, in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code;
Dr. David Müller is the head of the ‘Information and Education’ department of the National Anti-Doping Agency Austria GmbH (NADA Austria) since 2008. He is also head of the ‘Medical’ department and NADA Austria´s quality manager since 2009. David holds a master degree in education and a doctoral degree in sport science.
David Senft is employed as ‘Information and Education’ manager at the National Anti-Doping Agency Austria GmbH (NADA Austria) since 2016. He is also working in the ‘Medical’ department and responsible for Athlete support at NADA Austria. David Senft holds a master’s degree in communication, a bachelor’s degree in sport science and a bachelor’s degree in business consulting.
d.senft@nada.at
Central European Anti-Doping Agency (CEADO), which comprises NADOs from nine countries: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia (Austria and Slovenia are Consortium partners)
TALE® - 2024 • Parts of the project are co-funded by WADA
