IBU Executive Board: Code of Ethics Adopted amid Final Preparations for Congress

Salzburg, August 5, 2018: The Executive Board of the International Biathlon Union held its 138th meeting in Salzburg, Austria this weekend with good governance review and final preparations for the 13th Regular IBU Congress in Porec, Croatia (September 5-9, 2018) high on the agenda.

The Executive Board adopted the amended IBU Code of Ethics as presented by the IBU Legal Committee. The enhanced Code of Ethics includes the establishment of a new IBU Ethics Commission which would consist of three external members, one member of the IBU Legal Committee and one IBU Elected Auditor. Moreover, an independent IBU Ethics and Compliance Officer would be installed. The Code will now be presented to the Congress for adoption. Further good governance documents reviewed included the whistleblower policy and regulations governing bid committee conduct.

The Executive Board further discussed a joint proposal by the German Ski Federation, the Ski Association of Slovenia and the Czech Biathlon Union and their respective bidding committees of Oberhof, Pokljuka and Nové Město na Moravě, to not only award the IBU World Championship for the years 2021 and 2023 but also for 2024 at the upcoming Congress. With referral to the current IBU rules, the Executive Board decided not to take any action but pointed out that National Federations can make motions from the floor during Congress.

A proposal made by the IBU Athletes Committee to adapt the distribution of prize money was approved. Starting from the winter season 2019/2020 the first twenty athletes in races of the BMW IBU World Cup will be awarded prize money. The distribution for the upcoming season remains unchanged.

The Executive Board received an update from the Independent Working Group, which investigates data from the McLaren reports and the information from the Laboratory Information Management System database, revealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Acting Secretary-General Martin Kuchenmeister also informed the Executive Board about the main points from the iNADO audit, whose report will be presented at the Congress. The Executive Board also discussed future cooperation with the International Testing Agency (ITA).

IBU Sports Director Felix Bitterling informed the Executive Board about the progress formulating a new Olympic quota system following the recent IOC decision on biathlon quota reductions. This new system, which will be discussed with National Federations at a Congress workshop, emphasizes the importance of universal participation and elite competition. Bitterling also announced the updates to the advertising rules for the new season which have been developed based on feedback from stakeholders. The final document will be distributed in September.

Eventually, Acting Secretary-General Martin Kuchenmeister reported on the final preparations for the upcoming IBU Congress, where the next Executive Board meeting will be held on September 6, 2018.