You will recall that it is the responsibility of every athlete to ensure that he has not taken anything that is in breach of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code.   The WADA code accepts that there are some conditions for which there is no reasonable alternative medication than a substance that is on the banned list.  However, in order for an athlete to be able to use such a substance he MUST have a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption certificate (a TUE).

A common example of a substance that needs a TUE are asthma inhalers.

It would appear that there may be a significant number of athletes using substances that need a TUE (especially asthma inhalers) who have not got a TUE. 

An athlete who uses a banned substance where he needs and could have obtained a TUE but has not done so will be liable to the full suspension for the use of the substance. There is no defence that "I forgot to get a TUE" or "I did not know I needed one".

Details of how to get a TUE and the forms needed are available on the UKA website.

It only costs a stamp - but without it, it could cost your athlete their career.

Please therefore check that all your athletes who need a TUE have one before the start of the season.