Steroid testing widened in football
Posted Jun 28, 2011 04:27:21 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A local steroids scandal has prompted sweeping changes to drug testing and education in football.
A national taskforce, struck last spring after nine University of Waterloo football players tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, has released a series of recommendations surrounding steroids in football.
Among them:
•Anti-doping and ethical decision making education should be incorporated in the provincial and territorial education curriculums to target young athletes in and out of the sport of football. Health education that focuses on body image and performance enhancing drug use should be included for all students.
•Performance enhancing drug education should be mandatory for coaches, strength and conditioning personnel, and other administrators.
•Significantly increase testing from the current level of 2-3% to 30% of the total number of football players.
•Establish a ‘report doping in sport’ hotline and associated web-based reporting tool supported by an effective communications plan to promote the resource.
•Further consequences, beyond player ineligibility (CADP sanctions) should be applied to teams and institutions.
•Development of transparent cost sharing agreements between anti-doping organizations, government, corporate sponsors, institutions, sport organizations and professional football should be considered.
The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) convened the national Task Force of experts to examine the issue of performance enhancing drug use in football. That panel included UW’s Director of Athletics and Recreation, Bob Copeland and Waterloo Regional Police Chief Matt Torigian.
“The Task Force members unanimously agreed that use of performance enhancing drugs by football players poses a serious health risk to children and youth who want to try to emulate their heroes,” said Paul Melia, President and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. “We are hopeful that this document will generate positive discussion and dialogue across government departments, including Health Canada and Sport Canada, with all orders of government including provincial and territorial education ministries, sport authorities, and corporate Canada.
“We need to find new ways of educating athletes about the serious health consequences of using performance enhancing drugs to deter and prevent doping.”
