JADCO job fair to recruit doping control officers, chaperones - Sport Minister Grange denounces Enhanced Games

KINGSTON:

The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) will host a job fair today at its Ballater Avenue office, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Jamaica's anti-doping workforce.

The job fair will focus on recruiting doping control officers (DCOs) and chaperones to support JADCO's testing and education programmes islandwide. Both positions are part-time, and interviews will be conducted on-site during the job fair.

Interested applicants are required to present the following documents: Application letter and resume, original proof of qualifications, National Insurance Scheme card, and Taxpayer Registration Number.

QUALIFICATIONS

Applicants for the position of DCO must possess a first degree and be 25 years or older. Persons applying to become chaperones must have at least four CSEC subjects, including mathematics, and must be 21 years or older. Applicants must have a clean criminal record.

Speaking on the initiative, JADCO Executive Director June Spence Jarrett noted that the job fair represents an important opportunity to build capacity within the national anti-doping framework.

"Our doping control officers and chaperones play a critical role in protecting the integrity of sport in Jamaica. This job fair allows us to engage directly with prospective candidates who are committed to fairness, professionalism, and clean sport," Spence Jarrett said.

JADCO is encouraging suitably qualified and motivated individuals to attend the job fair and learn more about contributing to Jamaica's clean-sport mission.

CLEAN SPORT

Recently, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange reiterated at JADCO's annual symposium Jamaica's commitment to clean sport, noting that the country does not endorse the hosting of, or participation in, the Enhanced Games, which allow athletes to compete using performance-enhancing substances.

The Enhanced Games, she said, "is counter to everything we believe in and promote at JADCO, and as signatories to the International Convention Against Doping in Sport and the WADA Code".

She noted that the issue extends beyond rules and testing, framing clean sport as a reflection of Jamaica's national identity.

"All stakeholders must begin to see clean sport as more than a regulatory issue; we must begin to see it as a matter of character - in a sense, national character - and tied to our national development. Integrity, fairness, and discipline must be seen as central to who we are as a people, and must be reflected in every aspect of our sporting culture. We must agree as a nation that when we uphold clean sport, we are safeguarding our global reputation."

RISK REPUTATION

The minister's comments were supported by JADCO's Chairman, Mrs Debby-Ann Brown Salmon.

"Participation in events like the Enhanced Games undermines the principles we have worked very hard to uphold. Athletes who align with such organisations risk their reputations, future eligibility in mainstream sport, and most importantly, the trust of their communities and country, by far," Brown Salmon said.

"By stepping away from clean sport, they jeopardise not only their own legacy, but also Jamaica's sporting excellence and integrity on the world's stage."

The symposium's theme was 'Empowering Clean Sport: JADCO's Vision for Jamaica'.

More than 150 participants from over 30 sporting associations, federations, professional organisations, and educational institutions attended the event.