Teqball players must now attend compulsory anti-doping webinars ©FITEQ

The International Federation of Teqball (FITEQ) has announced that players entering its competitions are now required to take part in anti-doping webinars and educational workshops.

The decision has been made by FITEQ's Executive Board as part of an "ongoing commitment to clean sport".

Athletes active between 2019 and this year must attend the webinars and workshops, which will be promoted on the FITEQ website, to be eligible for future events.

National Federations will also communicate with athletes to let them know how to register.

The new requirement applies to all athletes, including those already selected in the registered testing pool.

FITEQ's anti-doping work so far includes signing a long-term partnership with the International Testing Agency (ITA), while it was approved as a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code in September.

Cooperation with the ITA, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) led to the adoption of a new anti-doping framework last year.

"Educating our athletes on the importance of clean sport is an integral part of FITEQ's strategic direction for the future of teqball," said FITEQ sport director Matthew Curtain.

"We have developed a robust anti-doping programme together with the ITA, WADA and GAISF in recent years and we are now in the process of engaging with all stakeholders in the teqball family to ensure they fully understand their roles and responsibilities when it comes to anti-doping. 

"The webinars organised by the ITA, as well as the others that we will require athletes to attend, are incredibly useful. 

"More than anything, they benefit our athletes and we have taken this decision to support them in their sporting journeys."

The ITA will run the first series of webinars athletes will be required to attend, starting with "Introduction to anti-doping" on May 26.

"The doping control process" is the subject for June 2 before "Medications, supplements, prohibited list and TUEs" on June 9.

"Principles and values of clean sport" will take place on June 16 before "Out-of-competition testing" on June 23.

All of the webinars will last for an hour with translation from English into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish available. 

Certificates will be presented to athletes who attend all five webinars.