World Rowing is working with the International Olympic Committee as part of its educational campaign “Believe in Sport” to raise awareness about Competition Manipulation – what it is, why people manipulate competitions, what the rules are, and what the sanctions are for those involved in competition manipulation.
What is Competition Manipulation in Sport?
Competition manipulation happens when a participant (an athlete, athlete support personnel, coach, official, referee, judge, etc.) deliberately makes wrongful decisions affecting the result or course of a competition (e.g seeking to underperform or not to perform to the best of his/her ability in any race or Competition in rowing). The reason behind such an action would be either to gain a sporting advantage or to gain a financial benefit, most notably linked to sports betting.
Competition manipulation removes the unpredictability of a competition, kills the spirit of sport, is not fair play and is dishonest.
E-learning course on prevention of competition manipulation
All athletes, officials and support personnel should be aware of the Code of Conduct of the Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions in order to protect themselves and their sport from threats linked to competition manipulation.
Athletes and their entourage attending the Tokyo Games should complete the short (15 minutes) e-learning course by Monday 19th July 2021.
The e-learning course is available in 6 languages and can be accessed here: https://www.olympic.org/athlete365/courses/preventing-competition-manipulation