JADCO shares anti-doping expertise with Cayman Islands

The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) is sharing its expertise with the Cayman Islands as they move to establish their own National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO). A delegation led by Minister of Sport Isaac Rankine visited JADCO’s offices on Friday.

JADCO Chairman Debby-Ann Brown Salmon told The Gleaner the visit fulfilled a commitment made to regional partners who view Jamaica as a model for anti-doping governance.

“What JADCO is trying to achieve today is to commit to a promise that we made to our regional brothers and sisters in the Caribbean. Since JADCO is considered the regional leader – we’re voted number one in terms of anti-doping agencies – everybody looks up to Jamaica,” Brown Salmon said.

Minister Rankine said establishing an independent, legislatively backed NADO was now a priority for the Cayman Islands.

“We have to move our anti-doping testing forward. And that means we have to establish an independent NADO legislatively,” Rankine told The Gleaner, pointing to JADCO’s ISO certification as evidence of Jamaica’s groundwork.

“That didn’t just come yesterday. That’s because of all the work that the chairman and her team have put in to establish JADCO as a forefront and leading anti-drug testing agency in the Caribbean,” added Rankine, who was born in Jamaica.

Brown Salmon noted the outreach followed a recent conference in Peru, hosted by the regional director for the Americas, where Jamaica presented JADCO’s framework on behalf of the Government. The presentation, delivered by Salmon and executive director June Spence Jarrett, drew strong interest from other countries.

“Based on what we presented, we showed the framework of JADCO and what we have here, and they were so impressed that we had different countries coming up to us afterwards,” Brown Salmon said, adding that those nations requested assistance in replicating Jamaica’s model.

Rankine said his team held discussions throughout the day aimed at leveraging JADCO’s policies to help the Cayman Islands build its own independent framework. He acknowledged that the territory’s smaller athlete pool does not lessen its responsibility to ensure fair play.

“That doesn’t just mean athletes, it means the administration of those policies as well,” he said, adding that while ISO certification may not come immediately, it remains the ultimate goal. Rankine also revealed plans to deepen sporting ties between the two countries, including possible athlete exchanges.

The Jamaican Government passed the Anti-Doping in Sport Act on July 25, 2008, establishing JADCO alongside three independent bodies: the Therapeutic Use Exemption Committee, the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel, and the Anti-Doping Appeals Tribunal. This followed Jamaica’s adoption of the World Anti-Doping Code in 2003 and its signing of the Copenhagen Declaration in 2004.