Since there hasn't been any controversy in the the forums lately, perhaps we should smack the hornet's nest a bit...
What are your thoughts regarding the following hypothetical situation as it relates to competition:
Suppose that tomorrow morning we wake up to find that medical researchers have discovered that a mixture of various substances (e.g. human growth hormone, testosterone, etc) can be taken with little or no bad side effects. Furthermore, it offers the following benefits on average:
1) A longer life span.
2) Improved general health, both mental and physical.
3) Greater resistance to some of the more common severe health problems such as heart disease, cancers, alzheimer's, etc.
Suppose that it also has a strong positive affect on one's swimming performance.
Suppose further that this treatment is expensive and not covered by most health insurers.
Question: Are the people who take it for the health benefits welcome to compete in master's swimming? Would your answer be different if the treatment were available inexpensively/free to everyone?
-LBJ
Parents
Former Member
But that's not the situation that I posted. Track & cycling are using medicines (which have legal uses) for illegal purposes, specifically to achieve better performance. Furthermore, most of what they are taking can be argued to have possible severe negative consequences. I'm talking about a medicine legally obtained, with little side effect, specifically targeted at improving one's quality of life/longevity that just happens to have performance benefits. AS posed, some of the following questions might need to be answered:
1) Suppose that only certain people can afford it, should they be excluded from competition?
2) If I can afford it and it's illegal for master's competition, do I take it for my health and not compete? Or do I try to sneak it in a la what goes on in cycling, etc.
3) If it is affordable to those with health insurance, but not to lower income classes, what then?
...and so on...
-LBJ
But that's not the situation that I posted. Track & cycling are using medicines (which have legal uses) for illegal purposes, specifically to achieve better performance. Furthermore, most of what they are taking can be argued to have possible severe negative consequences. I'm talking about a medicine legally obtained, with little side effect, specifically targeted at improving one's quality of life/longevity that just happens to have performance benefits. AS posed, some of the following questions might need to be answered:
1) Suppose that only certain people can afford it, should they be excluded from competition?
2) If I can afford it and it's illegal for master's competition, do I take it for my health and not compete? Or do I try to sneak it in a la what goes on in cycling, etc.
3) If it is affordable to those with health insurance, but not to lower income classes, what then?
...and so on...
-LBJ
