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The Green Puck campaign started in Gelsenkirchen just before Team USA and host nation Germany opened the 2010 IIHF World Championship in front of a then-world record crowd of 77,803 fans.
For the 2011 IIHF World Championship it will be used for the warm-ups of all 56 games in Bratislava and Kosice.
The messages of the campaign are simple and clear. “Doping is not hockey” and “doping is offside” are the slogans written on the green pucks that are used for the warm-up and that are supported by prominent players, coaches, referees and other hockey personalities from around the globe that can be seen on the video below this text.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) believes in the true spirit of sports and rejects any use of doping and drugs. This message is underlined in the campaign in co-operation with the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).
Personalities including Zdeno Chara, Peter Forsberg, Wayne Gretzky, Sergei Kostitsyn, Jari Kurri, Kim Martin, Mark Streit, Hayley Wickenheiser and Henrik Zetterberg bring their messages to the future of hockey in different languages to encourage players to stay away from performance-enhancing drugs.
An e-learning tool where you can earn a certificate was launched with the campaign and the Green Puck leaflet is available for download in nine different languages: Croatian, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Romanian, Russian, Spanish.
“The IIHF was one of the first international federations to be WADA Code compliant,” IIHF President René Fasel said. “Although doping is a rarity in international ice hockey, we realize that we are not immune to people who want to cheat by taking banned substances. This is why the IIHF, together with WADA, has launched the Green Puck campaign. Our main goal is to create awareness about the risks of doping.”
The IIHF is the first international sport organization to use the concept of green sport equipment for such a campaign together with WADA. Other federations are also being encouraged to adopt the idea to promote the spirit of sport without doping.
The opening game in May 2010 was the first time in IIHF history that pucks of another colour than black have been used.
Since the premiere the green pucks have been used in all events of the 2011 IIHF World Championship program to bring over the strong message against doping, and the campaign continues in Slovakia.
The Green Puck Video