Doping in Sport; Lauren, Camilla and Sam PDF

Preview

Summary

Seminar notes on doping in sport...

Description

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/34775038 --> Anti doping video (60 seconds) 1.) Why Oppose Doping Argument 1: 'Why is doping unfair?' 



 

Unfair advantage which is also unnatural. For example those who are taller would have a longer stride length, a bigger reach but equally are more likely to have balance which isn't as good. Height would be beneficial for sports such as netball and long distance running but not so advantageous in a sport such as gymnastics. If an athlete wanted to increase the amount oxygen they are able to carry in their blood then they could change their training to be at altitude. The athletes that do this are increasing training intensity and inputting more effort. The athletes who use EPO gain the same effect as those who train at altitude without all the effort, so to claim this was cheating surely wouldn't be wrong as they are cutting corners. If all athletes used drugs then would it be unfair? Its down to opinion. Surely all athletes would begin doing it, but you do not always know what you are putting into your body. Although athletes would all be using different drugs, they would be able to strengthen the parts of their game they feel least confident with... rugby player feels that they are weakest in team so begins taking anabolic steroids- helps team to get promoted due to increased performance.

Argument 2: 'Doping is Bad for an Athlete's Health' -There is limited research as to the long term impact of drugs on health plus it is hard to test their drug use in clinical settings. -In some sports competing with an injury is normal (football and the use of painkillers) -Could it be argued that it is the same risk to play injured and take drugs -Training regimes are punishing enough for athletes , could equally be harming their health -Some sports have a high risk of death I.e. adrenaline sports such as mountain biking, skiing, grand prix -Could lead to many obtaining their drugs illegally, if a ban on drugs were to be put in place, thereby the quality and purity of the drugs would be hindered and possibly damaging their health further  Ultimately it is the choice of the athlete to the take the risk of drug use, is it the role of society to interfere?  How many people do you know that have played whilst injured?  Which sports do you think could risk death/serious injury to the athlete?

Argument 3: 'Doping Undermines The Integrity In Sport' 

 



Sport is believed to have a set core values that are undermined by drug use. Meaning that if no one used drugs in sport there would be more respect in the games because the participants would have to train vigorously to keep up with each other. The rules of each sport are made to make for 'good competition'. Therefore, if someone was to use drugs in sport they would be undermining the essential challenge of the sport. It is suggested that 'competition in athletes is best thought of a mutual quest for excellence', an opponent is not an obstacle to winning, to be overcome by whatever mean, but someone who is helping to push you further. There is argument that avoiding the use of certain drugs in sport is an important rule of the game that should be respected, however sports participants are only being watched while playing their sport, therefore what they do behind closed doors is out of our control. o Along these lines, it's thought that instead of being penalised for drug use the participant should be disqualified because they are not playing that sport as described in the rule book.

Establishing an Effective Anti-doping Policy -Initially, for most federations the idea of drugs (1960s-1970s) was that it was ignored in the hope that it would go away, as it was convenient to ignore. -In the Olympic movement, to investigate the allegations of doping would imply a great cost, potential damage to the image of sport and lastly because they were unsure whether an effective and affordable response would be available.  How do you think this impacted sport at the time? -Doping policy began to be formulated within self-contained conferences, this sparked the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to start in competition testing. -International events led to athletes adopting training that required little time within their home country, this led to a greater global cooperation towards the regulations and the widespread abandonment of amateurism.  Definition of amateurism: When athletes are unpaid -Eventually, it became clear that out of competition testing was not doing enough to support the antidoping policy, as many athletes used steroids and other substances during training, therefore out of competition testing was implemented. KEY DATES:  Mid 1960s: Union Cycliste International (UCI) introduce drug-testing  1964: IOC introduces a definition of doping  1971: IOC produces first list of banned substances  Late 1980s: series of trials reveal the corruption of state-organised doping in East Germany  1999: WADA formed

2012: Lance Armstrong admits doping for most of his professional career, by major stars and players of events revealing their scandals has led to further efforts towards anti-doping. ULTIMATELY IT IS HAS BEEN A SLOW AND INCOHERENT PROCESS WHICH IS STILL ON GOING TODAY 

The development of International Co-operation 





   

1980s- Trying to remove doping problems discretely wasn't working. Decided everyone had to support this movement. It was also important that the IOC and other international federations were all chipping in because otherwise this would have been a costly program. 1970/80s- Many governments were on the fence about donating resources (especially eastern Europe). It was also found that those not contributing were more likely to be ignoring the fact that their athletes were using performance enhancing drugs. The end of the cold war made a big difference. (Cold war capitalists and communists at war). Capitalists- could no longer give excuses for their lack of participation in the new organisation of anti- doping. Communists- "wanted to rebuild democracy- sport were an important part and distance themselves from the tainted reputation of previous leaders". They wanted to do something good for society. Early 1990s- Emerging global infrastructure of the issues to do with doping 1989- convention in which standards and objectives linked to anti- doping were set. Allowed non- member states to have input, who then joined. Permanent world conferences on doping- was used to create discussion on doping at a government level. Mid 1990s- To begin with it there were quite a few limitations. I.e. Ben Johnson had been tested 15 times while using steroids before he tested positive at Seoul. (Inaccuracy). If the federation lost a case then they feared bankruptcy. There was growing evidence that certain drugs could not be detected with their current testing methods (I.e. EPO and human growth hormone).

The 1998 Tour de France and The Establishment of WADA A number of factors combined to force a renewed effort to increase the momentum behind anti-doping policy: 1. The increased number of riders and team officials doping during the Tour 2. The global prestige of the Tour and its cultural importance in France 3. The claims by the international federation for cycling, the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), who were leaders of the anti-doping campaign 4. The strength and intensity of intervention by the French government There was a conference on doping which was brought together by the UCI, this was a direct consequence of the 1998 Tour. 

The aims of this conference were to; o 'discuss and adopt measures allowing the fight against doping to be intensified'. And to consider the

o

'specific proposal that a new international organisation be established as a foundation under swiss law.'

Although this was seen as a big step for the anti-doping agency, there was no real big changes from the initial IOC proposals. As the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) gained more momentum heading into the Sydney Olympic Games, the games started out with strong support from the members and the Australian government. The USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) was established in late 2000, and have had many successes including the most notable in relation to cycling being Lance Armstrong. Problems and Prospects:  Monetary issues; it is questionable as to how much funding infrastructures such as WADA and the IOC should receive in order to maintain the effective anti-drug stance, it is a costly process to collect a urine sample ($850), the total anti-doping activity on WADA's behalf is estimated to be around US $300-400m.  Scientific research: Certain substances such as EPO and certain substances have been engineered to undetectable in the blood, drugs are constantly being developed and research has to keep up which is the challenge, gene doping has become a scare within the anti-doping world and threatens the integrity of sports.  (Example of how gene doping can aid sport: Inserting genes into a cell to create faster twitch muscles for better sprints and higher jumps)  New detection method, GW1516, detects gene that effects muscle strength and endurance, still being developed it's not credible yet, gene injected straight into the muscle it could undetectable in blood/urine. Therefore, a muscle biopsy would need to take place.  Controversial: would you still test a child athlete? Equally, a child who is a doping wouldn't necessarily be done out of choice but rather from an exterior influence, which is questionable to be moral and risking a child's health. Furthermore, genetic modification at embryo, should it be allowed for parents to 'edit' their child? Would their child still be classed as doping?  30 out of 52 Tour de France races since 1961 have been won by cyclists who has tested positive/ admitted to using drugs(Ben Johnson, Lance Armstrong). The UCI protected Lance Armstrong leading to the question of their stance against drugs and purely just their favourism towards him, despite their role in anti-doping, impression of being tough on doping as opposed to being actually anti-doping.  2014 Brazil FIFA/2016 Olympic, more of a reflection of a business priority (expansion) as opposed to their previous history of anti-doping.  Nov 2011 WADA report on compliance World Anti doping code, whereby Brazil was listed as one of 5 countries in South AMerica that was not compliant. In 2013, further suspension of Brazilian anti-doping labatory, unable to comply with international standards. Real problems are the human and political factors....