Definition - What does Registered Testing Pool mean?
A registered testing pool (RTP) is a list used in the athletic industry. It consists of top-level athletes from all sports selected by a national anti-doping organization and/or international federation of a particular sport representing the athlete in question. RTP participation requires athletes to supply whereabouts and contact information on a quarterly basis within a twelve-month period to ensure availability of testing at all times. Athletes who do not file and/or update their whereabouts status or neglect to appear for mandatory testing will be deemed a failed or missed test. Three or more whereabouts failures within a given year is considered an infraction, which disqualifies the athlete from competition.
SureHire explains Registered Testing Pool
A registered testing pool is designed to ensure that all athletes maintain a clean track record both in-and-out of competition. Athletes will receive written notice in advance about their inclusion in a list by national anti-doping organization and/or international federation of their sport. The whereabouts information requires athletes to complete person documentation with detailed accuracy making for easy verification at any time. The whereabouts clauses can entail a current mailing address, competition schedule, regular activity regimen, and a place of accommodation to meet with a designated doping control officer (DCO). However, there are certain variables that can disrupt a consistent schedule for athletes to report for testing at a specified location, for example, routine travel, or unexpected illness.
Generally, athletes provide a sixty-minute time window of their choosing to be available for daily testing between the hours of five a.m. and eleven p.m. If athletes are unable to appear for testing, they must update their whereabouts information prior to their appointed sixty-minute slot to prevent a missed test report. Registered testing pools maintain confidentiality for both individual athletes and entire sports teams. The whereabouts documentation is shared exclusively between the World Anti-Doping agency (WADA) and its affiliated anti-doping organizations. Athletes can be removed from a RTP due to repeat violations of failed/missed tests or by voluntary retirement. In both cases, an athlete will receive written notice that explains their removal from the RTP.
