Acta Universitatis Carolinae Kinanthropologica (AUC Kinanthropologica) is an international peer reviewed journal for the publication of research outcomes in the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences, as applied to kinathropology. It is a multidisciplinary journal accepting only original unpublished articles in English in the various sub-disciplines and related fields of kinanthropology, such as Anthropology, Anthropomotorics, Sports Pedagogy, Sociology of Sport, Philosophy of Sport, History of Sport, Physiology of Sport And Exercise, Physical Education, Applied Physical Education, Physiotherapy, Human Biomechanics, Psychology of Sport, Sports Training and Coaching, Sport Management, etc. The journal also welcomes interdisciplinary articles. The journal also includes reports of relevant activities and reviews of relevant publications.
The journal is abstracted and indexed by CNKI, DOAJ, EBSCO, ERIH PLUS, SPOLIT, SPORTDiscus, and Ulrichsweb.
AUC KINANTHROPOLOGICA, Vol 61 No 1 (2025), 32–47
The CMAS code of ethics and the challenges of safeguarding athletes – the Vertical Blue Case
Matija Mato Škerbić, Nenad Dikić, Marija Andjelković, Sanja Žarković, Jim Parry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23366052.2025.7
zveřejněno: 08. 09. 2025
Abstract
In this paper, we examine the recent ‘Vertical Blue Case’ involving two Croatian free divers, Vitomir Maričić and Petar Klovar, in a competition in the Bahamas, and the decision to suspend and punish the athletes made by the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS), which solely relied on its Code of Ethics. After laying out all the relevant facts, we first critically analyze the CMAS’s Code of Ethics (the Code) and the articles used to justify the punishment. Secondly, we highlight many ethically questionable practices, unfair procedures, and anti-doping rule violations that heavily impact the particular case but were not considered in the decision made by CMAS. Thirdly, we demonstrate that several human rights violations were committed against the Croatian free divers. Fourthly, we reveal several problems with the Verdict itself. CMAS, for its part, defended its actions as necessary to safeguard the integrity of the sport, invoking its emergency powers under Article 10.2 to justify provisional measures in response to what it perceived as serious ethical concerns. Finally, we argue for the correction of the CMAS decision and propose practical solutions, including revising the Code and establishing clear boundaries for its use in resolving cases in sports, especially in relation to laws and rules in sports.
klíčová slova: doping case; ethically questionable practices; human rights violation; CMAS verdict
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The CMAS code of ethics and the challenges of safeguarding athletes – the Vertical Blue Case is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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ISSN: 1212-1428
E-ISSN: 2336-6052
