drugs policy is set to be passed into law.

National sports groups will tomorrow meet to discuss and, in all likelihood, endorse documents on procedures and penalties, paving the way for targeted and random drug testing on virtually every Island athlete and coach.

Not since the integration of blacks and whites in the 1960s has Bermuda sports witnessed such an important moment, said Anthony Roberts, director of the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Recreation, a facilitator in the policy's development.

Informal surveys by the Ministry and The Royal Gazette show overwhelming support for the two documents. Roberts wouldn't go so far as to call it a foregone conclusion but said "at this point I see no reason why it shouldn't be ratified on Saturday.'' But what if it's not? "Quite frankly, that question is a non-issue,'' said Casey Wade, who heads the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports and whose office has acted as a consultant for the Bermudian policy over the past two years.

Sparked by then Sports Minister -- and now Premier -- Pamela Gordon in the wake of the Miami Seven Affair, the documents were written in the past six months by the Bermuda Council on Drug-Free Sport, an interim committee made up of ten representatives of Island sports bodies. A standing council to oversee all testing and results will also be announced tomorrow.

Wade has seen the final draft and said it "should be held up as a model'' for other nations to follow.

"For all of Bermuda, people should stand up and be proud of the actions they're taking.'' What separates this policy from others is that it: a) encompasses not only performance-enhancing drugs, but also illicit drugs and alcohol and, b) was produced, and will be administered, by sports bodies themselves, Wade said.

This "collective agreement'' approach features a "buy-in'' right from the start and brings together all elements of sports, Wade said. It also removes inconsistencies, inexperience and any real or perceived conflict of interest.

Of the punishments, which range from one-year ineligibility for a first offence to a lifetime ban from sports for a third infraction, Wade said they "deal in a responsible and caring for way athletes.'' He noted that, in addition to testing, rehabilitation is a key component of the policy, which is being bankrolled by the National Drug Commission.

Wade scoffed at suggestions the policy was an invasion of privacy or, in the case of targeted testing, a "witch hunt.'' All testing does, he said, is ensure people play by the rules and, in fact, "protects the rights of athletes by ensuring that they will be not be exposed to drugs.

"The goal is not to catch athletes; that's not a measure of success ... We go in under the assumption that everyone is drug free.'' The one area where Wade disagrees with the Bermuda policy is in confidentiality.

Under the proposed policy, names of all athletes who test positive and their respective punishments, will be withheld. Wade feels the decision-making process should be "transparent'' and "as accountable to the public as can be.'' Roberts said yesterday the Bermuda Council was now reconsidering its stand on public disclosure.

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