13.5 Drugs In Sport Flashcards
Define ‘doping’
- Doping refers to the use of banned performance enhancing drugs by athletic competitors
What are ths social reasons for using performance enhancing drugs?
- A win-at-all costs attitude which dominates modern-day elite sport
- The fame & fortune attached to success at elite level e.g. prize money, sponsorship deals etc
- Thehigh levels of pressure to win from a variety of different sources e.g. coaches, family, media
(coaches may also persuade athletes to take drugs illegally because their main competitors are & wont be able to compete w them on a level playing field.) - The lack of effective deterents & firm belief that they will get away w it and not get caught
- Poor role models, set a bad example that drug taking in some sports is viewed in some way as being acceptable. (e.g. athletes, cycling etc)
What are the 3 main types of drugs that performers take?
- Anabolic Steroids
- Beta-blockers
- EPO
What are anabolic steroids?
- They are artificially produced hormones
- Aid storage of protein & promote muscle growth & development of muscle tissue in the body leading to increased strength & power
- Can improve bodys capacity to train for longer at a high intensity
- Particularly beneficial to power athletes such as sprinters
What are the side effects of anabolic steroids?
- Liver damage
- Heart & Immune system problems
- Acne & behaviour changes such as aggression
What are beta blockers?
- Help to calm an individual down & decrease anxiety by counteracting the adrenaline that interferes with performance by preventing it from binding to nerve receptors
- Can be used to improve accuracy in precision sports through steadying the nerves
- Calm performance anxiety by keeping the heart rate low & decreasing the tremble in the hands
- They work by widening the arteries, increasing blood flow.
Particularly relevant for high precision sports such as archery, darts & golf
What are the side effects of Beta blockers?
- Tiredness due to low blood pressure & slower heart rate which will affect aerobic capacity
- Very dangerous to do aerobic sports under beta blockers
What is EPO?
- A natural hormone produced by the kidneys to increase red blood cells
- Now it can be artifically manufactured to cause an increase in haemoglobin levels
- It stimulates red blood cell production which leads to an increase in the oxygen- carrying capacity of the body
- This can result in an increase in the amount of work performed.
- It therefore increases endurance & delays the onset of fatigue
- An athlete can keep going for longer & recover more quickly from training
Tends to be used by endurance performers e.g. long-distance runners & cyclists who need effective oxygen transport to succeed
What are the side effects of EPO?
- Can result in blood clotting, stroke & in rare cases death
What are stimulants?
- Drugs that induce a temporary improvement in mental & physical function
- (e.g. increase alertness & awareness)
What are the positive & negative implications of drug taking?
Positive implications:
- Drug taking can positively impact performance & bring fame & fortune to those who manage to evade detection
Negative implications:
- Provides negative role models which set a bad example to young people
- Can also be very damaging to performers health
- Social consequences such as athletes loosing their good reputation
- Future career prospects may be negatively impacted with a loss of income & sponsorship deals - in certain cases it can result in legal action against an individual who can be fined, banned from competing, stripped from medals & end up in jail like Marion Jones.
What strategies are there to help eliminate the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport?
- UK anti doping (UKAD) is organisation responsible for protecting UK sport from threat of drug taking & doping
- It administers testing programmes for over 40 sports & has a number of anti-doping strategies designed to try to eliminate the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs.
- Educationally UKAD works with athletes & their support staff to increase their knowlege & understanding of the dangers of drugs & the moral issues associated with doping.
- They promote ethically fair, drug free sport via their 100% me programme
- Punishments need to be harsher
What is the 100% me programme?
- 100% me is a values-based education programme
- 100% me is only for athletes, helping them to make the right choices
What are the problems that members of WADA face to try and eradicate drugs?
- Sometimes it is difficult to gain immediate access to athletes who may be training abroad
- There is ongoing development of new drugs/masking agents which keep performers who are taking drugs, one step ahead of the testers
- Fact that sometimes drugs can be taken accidently means some individuals claim their ‘innoncence’ despite the fact they are ultimately responsible for what they put into their body.
- Different countries & sports have different regulations & testing procedures so it is very difficult to get a unified approach to eliminating drug usage in sport.
What arguments are there for drug taking and testing?
- The battle against drugs is expensive & time consuming
- Drugs are quite easy to access & some would argue they are v easy to eliminate & the £ spent on testing could be better spent on things like participation initiatives & or investment in elite sport
- Detection is not always effective; drug testers are always one step behind as new drugs become avalibale & masking agents are developed.
- Drugs are sometimes taken ‘accidentally’
- If everyone takes drugs it levels out the playing field & increases performance standards physiologically & psychologically
- Athletes do not ask to be role models & individuals have a right to choose as it is their body.
