Cayman has agreed to host a workshop in June next year that will assist in tackling the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports.
Sports Minister Isaac Rankine signed a letter of intent recently with the World Anti-Doping Agency to hold the Global Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Network initiative workshop here.
According to a press release from the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, the project, which is led by the agency’s Intelligence and Investigations Department, is a global initiative to enhance “cooperation, intelligence-sharing and investigative capabilities among Anti-Doping Organizations and law enforcement authorities worldwide”.
It builds on earlier projects that were launched in Europe and Asia/Oceania.
The agency’s director of intelligence and investigations, Günter Younger, said in the release that Cayman had been a strong partner to WADA “and continues to show strong commitment to the development and protection of clean sport in the Caribbean”.
He added that WADA looked forward to beginning its expansion of the Global Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Network into the Americas at the end of 2026, “and we are confident that the workshops will have a significant impact on the development of [intelligence and investigations] capacity and capability in the region in the short and long terms”.
The release noted that since its inception, the anti-doping network has supported more than 250 operations, contributed to the seizure of more than 90 tonnes of performance-enhancing drugs, and the dismantling of more than 80 illicit laboratories, “effectively demonstrating what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies and National Anti-Doping Organizations work collaboratively”.
In March 2026, WADA visited Cayman to gauge interest in hosting an anti-doping workshop. At that time, it also formalised an agreement with Jamaica’s government and the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission to host a workshop in September 2027. The workshops in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica will follow those already scheduled for November 2026 in Peru and March 2027 in Ecuador, which were announced last year.
The agency said the workshops would be tailored to the needs of the region and “focus on intelligence functions and investigative techniques, confidential source management, open-source research, and analytical and interviewing methods”.
The Compass has reached out to Minister Rankine for more details on the initiative.
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