Over 60 participants joined the second FAI Anti-Doping webinar of 2025: “Social Drugs and Air Sports: Make Sure You Fly Clean”. It was hosted by the FAI Anti-Doping Team and an expert panel bringing both medical and athletic point of view into the discussion.

Through this webinar, the air sports community were informed of the impact social drugs can have on their athletic careers and the lives of those around them. Participants were also provided with practical tools and skills to help them navigate the anti-doping rules and practice clean sport values.

Many air sports athletes and pilots have encountered social drugs in their personal life one way or another. However, not all understand the doping risks and consequences it may come with. The FAI is committed to maintaining a clean sport culture by equipping athletes, coaches, clubs, and members with the knowledge needed to uphold clean sport values, even in complex social settings.

The FAI Anti-Doping Team welcomed three anti-doping experts who shared their insights:

Thomas DREKONJA, MD – FAI Medico-Physiological Commission (CIMP) President, Orthopaedic Surgeon and Flight Surgeon/AME with various other respected titles

Jacques BERLO – FAI Companion of Honour and Vice-President of the FAI Medico-Physiological Commission (CIMP) with decades of experience with pharmaceutical industry

Kamila CHOMANICOVA – Doctor of Pharmacy, International Doping Control Officer, Education Manager at the Slovak Anti-Doping Agency (SADA), and member of the T-DO Education Working Group, Council of Europe (bio)

Additionally, real life cases were also explored to help participants understand the implications of an anti-doping rule violation and general use of social drugs.

For those who were unable to attend, the webinar recording (with the Q&A session removed for data protection reasons) is now available:

Key Points Covered

Understand what social drugs can affect doping

Learn why some substances found in social drugs are prohibited

Learn how they are being tested

Discover the types of doping consequences

Discover the possible TUEs related to social drugs

Obtain access to reliable anti-doping information

Next webinar

The next FAI webinar will be announced soon.

FAI AND THE WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY (WADA)

FAI became a WADA signatory in 2011. This implies commitments for in-competition testing, out of competition testing and education, which are all included within FAI’s Fly Clean Programme.

FAI’s anti-doping rules are based on the WADA template ‘Model Rules for International Federations’. Our compliance is audited annually and non-compliance has serious consequences.