Anti-Doping in Figure Skating: What Skaters, Parents and Coaches Need to Know
By Skating Today · Published · Official sources checked September 22, 2026
Anti-doping probably feels like something that only matters to Olympic athletes.
But if you are a competitive skater, the parent of a young skater, or a coach, it is worth understanding before you ever need to deal with it.
A young skater can be tested. Testing can happen at a competition or away from competition. An ordinary prescription medication can contain a prohibited substance. Supplements can create risks. And coaches and parents have an important role in helping young athletes understand their responsibilities.
The good news is that the system is not difficult to understand once someone explains it clearly.
So here is what everyone in figure skating should know.
First: what is anti-doping?
Anti-doping is the system used in sport to prevent and detect the use of prohibited substances and methods.
It is much broader than testing athletes for steroids.
The World Anti-Doping Agency, known as WADA, maintains the World Anti-Doping Code and publishes the Prohibited List.
The list identifies substances and methods that are prohibited in sport. Some are prohibited at all times. Others are prohibited only in competition.
The list is updated every year. The 2026 Prohibited List took effect on January 1, 2026.
For a skater, this means anti-doping can affect decisions about medication, supplements and medical treatment long before there is ever a doping test.
Who actually tests figure skaters?
There are several organizations involved, which can make the system sound more complicated than it is.
WADA establishes the global anti-doping framework and maintains the Prohibited List.
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating and short track speed skating.
The International Testing Agency (ITA) independently operates the ISU’s international anti-doping program.
National Anti-Doping Organizations can also have authority over athletes at national level.
For skaters competing internationally under the ISU system, the ITA manages areas including testing, Therapeutic Use Exemptions, the Athlete Biological Passport, results management, investigations and education.
How old do you have to be to be drug tested in figure skating?
This is particularly important for skating families.
There is not a universal age at which doping testing suddenly begins.
Being under 18 does not automatically prevent an athlete from being tested.
Anti-doping procedures specifically account for athletes who are minors, with additional protections around the testing process.
That matters in figure skating because athletes can reach high competitive levels at a young age.
A parent should therefore not assume:
My child is too young for us to need to understand this.
If a young skater is moving into higher levels of competition, learning about clean sport early makes sense.
When can a skater be tested?
Testing is not limited to someone winning a medal and being taken away for a test afterward.
Anti-doping testing can take place in competition or out of competition.
In-competition testing is connected to a competition.
Out-of-competition testing allows anti-doping authorities to test athletes away from competition when they have authority to do so.
Some higher-level athletes may also enter testing pools and have additional responsibilities, including providing whereabouts information so that they can be located for testing.
Not every competitive skater has whereabouts obligations.
If those requirements apply to an athlete, they will need to understand exactly what information they are required to provide.
Whereabouts requirements apply to athletes included in a testing pool. The responsible anti-doping organization sends a letter explaining the pool, requirements and dates. Follow that notice rather than assuming the same rules apply to every skater.
What happens if you are selected for a doping test?
Being selected for testing does not mean that anyone thinks the athlete has done something wrong.
Testing is a normal part of competitive sport.
An athlete is notified that they have been selected and then follows a controlled sample collection process.
Depending on the test, samples can include urine or blood.
Athletes have rights during this process. They can have a representative with them, and special procedures exist for athletes who are minors.
The ITA publishes dedicated guides explaining both the general testing process and doping control for athletes who are minors.
This is worth teaching young skaters before they are ever selected.
A doping control station should not be something a young athlete encounters for the first time without understanding why they are there or what is going to happen.
Ask to see the testing official’s identification and ask questions if anything is unclear. Once notified, follow the official’s instructions and remain under observation. Your representative can support you; their presence does not normally mean watching you provide a urine sample. Check the sample codes and information on the doping control form before signing.
What about normal medication?
This is where anti-doping becomes relevant to far more skaters than people might expect.
A medication can be medically legitimate and still contain a substance that is prohibited in sport.
Being prescribed something by a doctor does not automatically make it permitted under anti-doping rules.
Neither does buying something legally from a pharmacy.
The ISU specifically advises athletes to check their medications and understand where to verify whether they are permitted.
This is why competitive athletes should get into the habit of checking medications rather than guessing.
It is also important that doctors treating competitive athletes know that the patient is subject to anti-doping rules.
What if a skater genuinely needs a prohibited medication?
Athletes still have the right to receive necessary medical treatment.
This is where a Therapeutic Use Exemption, usually called a TUE, comes in.
If an athlete has a legitimate medical need for a substance or method that would otherwise be prohibited, they may be able to obtain authorization to use it if the required conditions are met.
TUE applications are medically assessed. For applications handled by the ITA, they are evaluated by a panel of physicians.
The important lesson is not to stop taking necessary medication without medical advice.
It is to understand the rules, check the medication, and determine whether a TUE is required.
Check the medication, tell the treating medical professional about the athlete’s anti-doping responsibilities, discuss permitted alternatives where relevant, and determine whether a TUE is required. The correct application or recognition route depends on the athlete’s level and jurisdiction. Use the ITA TUE guidance or the relevant national anti-doping organization. Do not delay emergency treatment to obtain anti-doping advice.
Do not stop medically necessary treatment because of this guide. Work with your treating medical professional and the anti-doping authority responsible for your level and jurisdiction.
What about supplements?
This deserves particular attention from skaters, coaches and parents.
Supplements are not automatically safe from an anti-doping perspective simply because they can be purchased legally.
The ITA warns that supplements are a leading cause of inadvertent doping and says that no guarantee can be given that a supplement is free from prohibited substances.
That matters because anti-doping operates on an important principle called strict liability.
In simple terms, athletes are responsible for prohibited substances found in their bodies, regardless of whether they intended to cheat.
That makes the casual use of supplements a much more serious decision for a competitive athlete than it may be for someone who does not compete under anti-doping rules.
Young skaters should not simply take supplements because another skater uses them, someone at the gym recommends them, or they saw them promoted online.
What is the Athlete Biological Passport?
Anti-doping is not only about looking for a prohibited substance in one test.
The Athlete Biological Passport monitors selected biological markers in an athlete over time.
This allows anti-doping authorities to look for changes that may indicate the effects of doping rather than relying only on detecting a particular substance in a particular sample.
The Athlete Biological Passport forms part of the international anti-doping system used in sport.
Do coaches and parents need to understand all of this?
Yes.
Especially when the athlete is a child.
A young skater cannot reasonably be expected to understand medication checks, supplement risks, TUEs, testing procedures and every other part of anti-doping alone.
Coaches are considered Athlete Support Personnel within the anti-doping system, and WADA’s education framework specifically recognizes the importance of educating coaches and the parents or guardians of minors.
The objective should not be to frighten young athletes about doping.
It should be to make clean sport normal.
If a skater understands the system before reaching the level where it affects them, there is far less uncertainty when it does.
Five things every competitive skating family should remember
- Do not assume a medication is permitted. Check it.
- Be careful with supplements. Legal to buy does not necessarily mean safe for an athlete subject to anti-doping rules.
- Tell medical professionals that the skater competes under anti-doping rules.
- Learn what a TUE is before you need one.
- Understand testing before the skater is ever selected.
The ISU’s own 2026 pre-season clean sport guidance highlights the same core areas: medications, TUEs, supplements, whereabouts responsibilities and understanding what happens during testing.
Why this matters
Most skaters will never deliberately dope.
But that does not mean they can ignore anti-doping.
The real-world questions are often much more ordinary:
Can I take this medication?
Is this supplement safe?
Does my child need a TUE?
Can my child be tested?
What happens if they are?
Why do I need to tell someone where I will be?
What should I do if I am selected for testing?
Those are questions worth understanding before the answer becomes urgent.
For coaches, parents and skaters, clean sport education is simply another part of being prepared for competitive sport.