Drug Testing in Masters Swimming

Now that's MY kind of substance abuse! Why do people keep saying it ONLY masters swimming? I realize that I'll never be a world contender, but why does that mean I/we should not take the sport seriously? If we were talking about the irradication of a species and someone said, "they're ONLY cockroaches", well, ok--BUT I'm not a cockroach! Hearing masters swimmers say it's only masters swimming is like...well, cannibalism. In all seriousness, it is only Masters Swimming. There is no prize money at stake. There are no USMS athletes on Wheaties boxes. It's about fun. If somebody chooses to juice in order to improve their performance, that is their misfortune and they will most likely suffer the consequences without any sort of USMS intervention.

First Masters swimming is vitaly important to me. Second,there are at least 2 swimmers I am pretty sure have used preformance enhancing drugs. If there were a cheap effective way to test I'd be for it as I am totally against any cheating. That said,I doubt there is a fair testing system given all the medications we need to take to as we age. I figure the unethical drugs are all bad for you in the long run and that Masters Swimming is about the long run. If you can't beat them out live them.

Who would be opposed to drug testing in Masters Swimming? What would be the cost to implement such a program to test winners at US Masters Nationals? and finally, What drugs do you think would potentially be found?..... HGH?.... Testosterone?..... THG?....... IGF-1?..... designer steroids? Designer steroids? I'm not exactly sure what that is...but I think THG is one....but how pathetic would that be for someone to take something like that for a Master's Swim Meet anyway?? The whole topic of cheating like that for something like Master's swimming seems kind of out there IMO...Plus I'm pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that these things are usually thought to be massively dangerous to your health as well. Newmastersswimmer

Now that's MY kind of substance abuse! Why do people keep saying it ONLY masters swimming? I realize that I'll never be a world contender, but why does that mean I/we should not take the sport seriously? If we were talking about the irradication of a species and someone said, "they're ONLY cockroaches", well, ok--BUT I'm not a cockroach! Hearing masters swimmers say it's only masters swimming is like...well, cannibalism. Just for the record, I too am not a cockroach. Only a masters swimmer.

Matt....there are some people (very few) out there who are making money (very little) from competing in USMS. There are also a number of high caliber USS swimmers competing in masters meets.....probably not a big deal but these days when swimmers like Thorpe are suspected every great achievement is going to be looked at....USS, USMS, age group, etc..... I still would be curious is a voluntary testing program could be put into place with little if any cost.....the UCLA guys point was that it would basically "shame" people into participating. I was not aware that anybody was earning money in USMS as an athlete. Good to know. The UCLA program you are reffering to is where the whole team pools their samples and nobody is singled out when the results are obtained, correct?

Geek, Paul and I be the first to belly up. I have plenty of urine to share. Unfortunately, I had to give up the caffeine late last year. My 50's will never recover from this decision. I wonder if there is an illegal limit on motrin. John Smith

It's not worth it to me assuming we, as competitors, would be the ones footing the bill for the testing ( and who else would?). If someone wants to use drugs to beat me, go for it. Now, my position might change if I had the potential to set National or World records like Paul and John Smith, who knows.

I don't think I would be surprised to find some Masters "cheating". And it may very well be the ones profiting from their swimming success... However, I know that most of the people ranking Top 10 World Times, World Records, etc. have an impressive swimming history. Many swam in USS Nationals as kids, made their Olympic Trials cuts, were American Record holders, won NCAA's, etc. Let's not confuse cheating with talent and hard work. There must be some late bloomers among the Top Ten that were not stars as kids. (Eek symbol)

But, Kirk, would you really cheat? No, what I meant is my opinion on drug testing might change if I had National or World records.

Jim: How many of those red bulls do you suck down per day at a meet and how long does that red bull buzz last? Usually only one near my "lowpoint" of the afternoon depending on how much time is left before my next event. Add one ibuprofen and a cup of regular coffee about 45 minutes with the RB beforehand and you are SET TO GO! Careful if you're on a relay though. You may have a tendency to jump early for some reason.