Aruba and the British Virgin Islands are now members of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization (RADO). The Board reviewed and approved applications for membership from both territories at the annual Board meeting in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The meeting was held from Feb. 11-12, 2012 under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth, Empowerment and Sports in collaboration with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, The Minister of Sports, the Hon. Glenn Philip and the President of the St. Kitts and Nevis Olympic Committee, Mr. Alphonzo Bridgewater, expressed their unswerving support for the mandate of WADA and for the RADO.

At the meeting, Board members were reminded of the need to enhance Board engagement for accelerating the anti-doping agenda, to increase communication with all sport-related stakeholders, and most importantly to urge member countries to pay their annual fee to the RADO, to ensure sustainability of the organization. This is critical to ensure that athletes in the region play fair, compete clean, and make their countries proud, especially in this Olympic year.

The main facilitators included RADO Chairman, Dr. Adrian Lorde, as well as WADA staff members, Mr. Tom May, Senior Manager, Programme Development and Mrs. Maria Pesce Cutri, Regional Director for Latin America. Mrs Tessa Chaderton-Shaw, Executive Director of the RADO in Barbados also made several presentations to Board Members.

Board members attending the meeting included representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Caribbean RADO was formed in 2005 to ensure that member countries comply with the provisions in the World Anti-Doping Code and implement anti-doping education and doping control among the sport fraternity