ESL announced their first steps to enforcing and determining guidelines and rules surrounding the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). The eSports organisation will partner with NADA (the Nationale Anti Doping Agentur, based in Bonn, Germany) in order to create an “anti-PED policy that is fair, feasible and conclusive while also respecting the privacy of players”. ESL will also partner with WADA (the World Anti Doping Agency, based in Montreal, Canada) in order to bring the same policy to other regions such as the US, Asia and Australia.
The first PED skin test will be administered at ESL One Cologne this August with the intention of performing the test at all the events hosted by ESL, once an official policy is established. The timing of this initiative comes right as allegations arise that eSports team Cloud9 members used Adderall (a drug used in ADHD patients to help increase their attention spans) at ESL One Katowice.
“The expertise of NADA and WADA will help ESL to produce a PED prevention program that will encompass all players participating in competitions organized, hosted or produced by ESL. This program will help ensure that all players are provided with the information and structural support they need to help them manage the physical and emotional pressure of professional gaming.” reads the ESL statement.
Source: ESL