Sure - test for those BIG drugs that give a real advantage. Please do not test for caffeine ,aspirin or any of my 5 pills the docs. say I need to stay healthy or my non record times will plummet!
you cannot drink enough of anything (ie coffee, cola...) to fail the wada test for caffeine.
you cannot drink enough of anything (ie coffee, cola...) to fail the wada test for caffeine.
Right. You'd have to drink about 20 cups of Joe to register for caffeine, but a few NoDoze pills can do the trick. Different drugs work in different sports. I was surprised many years ago when I discovered one of the drugs I take for my heart might register on some tests. It's a beta-blocker for heart rhythm since I have an artificial aortic valve. I was throwing shot and discus at the time and while a beta-blocker will slow you down running or jumping, it has a calming effect that can help some field events. It's especially banned for stuff like shooting or archery since it smooths the heart beat.
Who is going to pay for this drug testing? I don't think it is fair to take it out general membership since only 25% of our members participate in pool meets in any given year, so it is fair to say that the majority of our membership doesn't care about doping in competition since they don't even compete. And even of those 25%, I would venture to say that only a small fraction really cares about catching dopers.
I heard a call here for random testing at nationals. Would the people posting here be willing to pay an extra fee for that? Or maybe the fairest thing would be a voluntary contribution from people going to nationals, and the number of random tests actually administered would depend on how much people put into the pot.
I heard a call here for random testing at nationals. Would the people posting here be willing to pay an extra fee for that? Or maybe the fairest thing would be a voluntary contribution from people going to nationals, and the number of random tests actually administered would depend on how much people put into the pot.
As suggested by gull earlier if the tests were for anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, and EPO costs could be controlled. If the tests were randomly done for nationals meets it would send a message from USMS that they care about masters being drug free and would act as a deterrent. Further, if we made these tests a requirement to get a national record we could ensure that the very best times going forward were clean. A drug testing fee could be applied to all entries at nationals to cover random testing at nationals and the cost of the test for a record can be made the responsibility of either the meet the record was achieved at or the individual achieving the record time.
And yes, I for one would not have a problem paying an extra fee to ensure we have a clean sport.
Does anyone know the particulars of this program?
I know that they test at nationals and selected regional meets. Apparently USADA decides who is tested. My understanding is that several athletes tested positive when the program was initiated.
It is naive to think it doesn't exist in masters swimming when masters athletes in other sports like cycling and track and field have been caught and suspended for doping.
And yes, I realize you may ask "how do we know this problem doesn't exist?" Well, the burden is on you to figure that out.
Isn't this a bit of a Catch-22? You can't tell if people are cheating unless you test, but you don't want to test unless you know people are cheating.
Sure - test for those BIG drugs that give a real advantage. Please do not test for caffeine ,aspirin or any of my 5 pills the docs. say I need to stay healthy or my non record times will plummet!
