The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport will dramatically increase the frequency of competitor drug testing following a Federal Government grant.
The CAMS Illicit Drugs in Sport program will receive $110,000 from the government under an agreement announced by CAMS this morning.
Drugs in sport has been a particularly hot topic both nationally and internationally this year, with the most high profile indiscretions involving AFL clubs and American cycling legend Lance Armstrong.
CAMS says it will use the funding to engage the services of an accredited testing agency to carry out as many as 100 random tests of competitors and officials in 2013 and 200 in 2014.
The confederation has undertaken less than 400 tests over the past 13 years.
CAMS CEO Eugene Arocca said that the funding will also be used to educate the motorsport community about the dangers of illicit drugs.
“We have no doubt that all in Australian motor sport compete in the true spirit of sportsmanship, but CAMS wants to ensure the best efforts are made to maintain the standard that fans have come to expect throughout the history of this great sport” said Arocca.
“We are particularly grateful for the support that we receive from the Federal Government. Support that allows us to maintain safety and fairness at all levels of the sport.”
Today’s announcement comes CAMS missed out on funding from the Federal Government’s $120 million Winning Edge program which allocated monies to a host of sporting bodies in order to boost Australia’s global sporting prowess.
