Changing of the DCO guard in Tasmania
Anti-doping testing has been part of the Australian sporting landscape for more than 30 years. The work done in this space is critical in keeping Australian sport safe, clean and fair at all levels, for all participants.
A wealth of experience has been built over the last three decades, from the Australian Sports Drug Agency in the 1990s, to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) established in 2006, to the current Sport Integrity Australia.
Key to our operations is a casual workforce across the country of experienced Doping Control Officers (DCOs) and chaperones.
DCOs coordinate and manage anti-doping sample collection sessions with athletes at events or in the Out-of-Competition setting.
DCOs are responsible for carrying out drug testing on athletes, adhering strictly to regulatory provisions, and briefing athletes on the testing procedure.
A chaperone is trained to assist a DCO, which may mean helping to notify an athlete, observing a collection, or keeping an athlete within eyesight until they are able to provide a sample.
This year, two stalwarts in the DCO space have put away the beakers for the last time, entering retirement.
Keith Price and Kate Flakemore have been in the anti-doping space for almost as long as the history of its regulation in Australia.
Keith and Kate were long-term DCOs in Tasmania. As the only two DCOs for the apple isle, Keith largely looked after the north while Kate covered the south.
The pair, both former physical education teachers, who started their testing journeys only a few months apart, will remain lifelong friends following their retirement this year.
Keith Price
Keith was an acquaintance of anti-doping pioneer Nicki Vance. It was this friendship that saw him also become involved in the space.
Keith’s first time on the job was the 1990 Rowing Championships at Lake Barrington in Tasmania.
“Sport was just a big part of my life – coaching and participating,” he said.
“So, it was that interest in sport that was my segue into drug testing.”
And it was a segway that led to a 34-year involvement in working to keep sport clean.
Keith has seen a great deal in that time and his role allowed him to travel, meet new people and attend events that are some of the most memorable in his life.
“The Sydney Olympic games was the standard; I’ll never forget that. I’ve also done three Commonwealth Games – Kuala Lumpur, then Melbourne, then the Gold Coast, and I’ve done lots of world championships.”
When asked what his fondest memory as a DCO of 34 years was, Keith said the home visits stood out.
Keith would often leave home at 3am for testing required at 5am, and while there are clear mandates around not accepting gifts as a DCO, Keith was partial to the offer of a “cuppa” when arriving at a home in the early morning hours.
“The home visits were always quite unique but could also be quite challenging. I don’t think sufficient credit is given to the field staff as to some of the challenges faced,” he said.
“When you do an Out-of-Competition test, you’re given the name of the athlete and the address, you knock on the door and you just don’t know what you’re going to find.”
The life of a DCO is a privilege but can also feel intrusive at times.
“When you go into those situations, you’re right in the family hub. You’re in the kitchen and the family is eating tea or kids are being put to bed at the end of a long day or, on the other hand, you’re knocking on the door waking them up at 5am,” he said.
Keith said there are a number of skills required to do the job in a respectful way: patience, understanding and empathy.
“If you’ve been in the world of sport yourself, then you understand the challenges that you’re putting them through. At 5am many of them are trying to get out the door to training, so you need to be patient and actually ‘slow’ things down to achieve getting a sample."
"Young athletes can fall into the trap of rushing the process and wanting to produce a sample too soon…they want to get it over and done with, understandably.”
At the time of interviewing Keith he was in the process of finalising his paperwork, bringing to an end his time as a DCO (and in the last two years a chaperone).
He reflected how it felt signing off on his role.
“I will miss it. Being in Tasmania the role wasn’t as busy as the metropolitan states, so when I went to do a test, it was always exciting,” Keith said.
“It wasn’t something I was doing every day. There might be a month between tests…so it was a special occasion.”
He also notes the progress that has occurred in three decades.
“The changes that have taken place are incredible, it’s much tighter now … we’ve had 30 years to mature.
“The attitude from athletes in the main is good, particularly elite athletes, they see it as part of their day-to-day living.
“And young, untried athletes, they get all excited when tested, because it makes them feel important.”
Keith believes one of the greatest advents in the drug testing space was the appointment of chaperones.
“That first World Rowing Championships event that I did they used Army Reserve officers – they would go to an athlete and then literally march by their side as they brought them back to the doping control centre,” he said.
“When I was first appointed a DCO it was up to me to find my own chaperone. Invariably they were family or friends and there was virtually no training.
“So, to have trained chaperones in the current day is one of the best changes that has occurred.”
When asked what he hopes is the legacy he leaves after 34 years, Keith simply responds “relationships”.
“Relationships with both the athlete and, in particular, the chaperones,” he said.
“As a DCO, I’m going to spend hours with a chaperone; I’ve got to trust them totally.
“They go into the toilet with the athlete…you’re putting your faith in them.”
Keith retired as a DCO a few years back but has been assisting as a chaperone in his final years in sports doping control.
With his good friend Kate also now retired, it is a changing of the guard in Tasmania.
Keith is an advocate of the chaperone role being seen as a career path to DCO and he’s thankful this has been the case for Tasmania.
Kate Flakemore
Like Keith, Kate attended the World Rowing Championships in Tasmania in 1990. She recalls in those early days of drug testing regulation there wasn’t any formal advertising of positions, it was about being in the right place at the right time in terms of working in that space.
It was the connection to Keith and his recommendation to friend Nicki – who was looking for staff to commence in Tasmania – that saw Kate land the role that she would continue in for more than 30 years.
From that point on Keith and Kate worked closely together in the anti-doping space and are well known to athletes in Tasmania.
When asked what kept her coming back year after year in the role, Kate said the work was never boring.
“I am a lover of sport and was also a physical education teacher,” she said.
“Being able to engage with athletes and be up close and personal at events was something I enjoyed. It was an area where there was diversity and constant change.”
At the top of the career highlights for Kate was the Sydney 2000 Olympics, along with the Melbourne and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
“Being involved in those big events was always a privilege. Being around top-level sport and athletes was always really interesting," she said.
“It was also an opportunity to work with new colleagues; in Tasmania we were on our own a little, but being at those big events with other testers from around the country and socialising with them was always a highlight.”
Having been in and around hundreds of athletes over the years we asked Kate if she had a favourite athlete that she engaged with.
“There’s so many of them,” she laughed.
“I don’t know if I can say a favourite athlete, but we had one young boy up in country Tasmania, a para athlete, that I used to love to go and visit.
“Out-of-Competition home visits, out in the country, animals all around, it was just always a nice home to visit.
“Most athletes are great to work with, but you also remember the difficult ones. There were some you’d dread; you knew you were going to have a difficult time, but that was all part of the challenge sometimes…but you just had to get on with the job.”
Kate, like Keith has seen a lot of change and growth over the past three decades in the role of a DCO.
“In the early days we used to ring up the athletes that were being tested out of competition and give them 24 hours' notice of their test.
“We’d notify them what venue they needed to come to and at what time. So we knew that our athletes would be there at that time and there was no chasing around.
“This changed, we then had to show up to athletes’ homes or training venues, hoping to locate them.
“This could be challenging; they weren’t always there, and you didn’t know what to expect, particularly on home visits,” she said.
Kate also noted improvements in processes over the years.
“Records now are all computer based compared to paperwork, which means more accuracy and the process is more efficient.”
While Kate is proud of the role she has played in building a culture of clean sport she said she laments that the role is needed in the first place.
“I feel a little sad that we have to spend so much money, time and effort on testing.
“You would hope that everyone would do the right thing. The role we play is very important to make sure that athletes feel they are competing on an even playing field.
“I’d like to think that the athletes appreciate what we’re doing and know that it’s an important part of sport these days…"
At the time of interviewing Kate, retirement was well and truly underway. We caught her via satellite phone in Western Australia travelling around Australia with her husband.
When asked what the next chapter holds for Kate, she said life will be different when she returns to Tasmania.
“I will probably miss it for the first few years. But it’ll free me up now to travel any time of year.
“I’ll do more gardening, visiting friends and spend more time with my husband.”
And at sporting events in the future, Kate will now enjoy being a spectator.
“Getting up close and personal to the actual event, the buzz, and experiencing the highs and lows of athletes and coaches, I will miss those occasions for sure.”
Kate had a final word for anyone thinking of taking on a role as a DCO or a chaperone.
“Go for it, for sure. It’s very interesting and rewarding work.”
Article first published in Issue 18 of Sport Integrity Matters magazine, available on our website.
