Minors

Minors are classified as athletes who are under 18 years of age; New Zealand Law has strict rules for athletes who are under 16 years of age. The DFSNZ approach to testing minors is to consider the needs of these younger athletes while maintaining the integrity of the testing process.

Testing athletes who are under 18

• We will notify athletes under the age of 18 of their rights and responsibilities regarding the testing process and will endeavour to do so in the presence of an adult; Athletes under the age of 16 must be notified of their rights and responsibilities in the presence of an adult;
• We encourage athletes under the age of 18 to have an adult representative with them throughout the testing process; athletes under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult representative during the process;
• While a representative cannot directly observe the athlete providing their urine sample, the representative does have the option to observe the doping control official observing the sample provision;
• The representative will have the opportunity to raise any concerns they may have with the testing process and will be asked to sign the Doping Control Form (as well as the athlete) to verify the details provided on the form.

Testing athletes who are under 16

For athletes under 16, DFSNZ requires parental consent prior to testing. Where consent is not already in place prior to notifying an athlete, we endeavour to obtain consent. Where parental consent is not given, testing is not proceeded with at that time. When testing athletes under the age of 16, an adult is required be present during notification and throughout the testing process.