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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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2 3 - 1 0 - 2 0 0 5 Only government can beat drugs cheats
MICHELE VERROKEN THE BALCO doping scandal in the United States may have ended with what some perceive as a whimper of plea bargains, house arrests and derisory prison sentences, but its resounding impact upon the sports world is that government intervention is an absolute necessity to tackle this form of sporting fraud. BALCO has demonstrated the extent of the conspiracy that is doping in sport, and that legal interventions are the tools that are needed if you are serious about investigating and punishing those involved. Using the powers of an alphabet soup of government departments, the IRS, FDA, DEA among others, to access premises and documents, BALCO has revealed the limitations of drug testing and the vulnerability of sports doping rules. In the past, the US anti-doping system was a bit of a joke, with self-regulation the order of the day among professional sports. Abuse of steroids and other performance- enhancing drugs was rife, and it was covered up with myriad implausible excuses. Criticisms had been voiced over the way that US Track and Field and the US Olympic Committee managed their anti-doping programmes. For me, the turning point came about in 1999, when sitting next to then Drugs czar Barry McCaffrey at the World Anti-Doping Conference in Lausanne: he announced that the US government were not afraid to use the might of legislative powers to ensure openness and accountability in the sports system. If you thought this was merely a reference to the wheeling and dealing around the Salt Lake City Olympic bid, think again. McCaffrey was clearly not prepared to accept the compromise being offered by the international sports movement that governments should stay out of sport, and that sports would harmonise their anti-doping efforts. On the sports side, the Lausanne conference led to the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency, who drafted the World Anti-Doping Code, which sports signed up to in time for the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Admittedly, sport's compliance with the code is in its infancy, but compared to recent government actions in Italy, France and Belgium, investigations by customs and magistrates have been cleaning up sport where sports themselves have failed to do so - witness Festina, Juventus, Millar. On the US government side, the White House backed the establishment of an independent anti-doping agency, then George Bush in his 2004 State of the Union address made it clear that US sports and their athletes should stop using performance-enhancing drugs, declaring: "Their use sets a dangerous example for the youth of America." Further US government intervention backed this policy, firstly by amending the Anabolic Steroids Control Act to outlaw prohormones and by tightening up legislation on supplements; then through congressional hearings and grand jury testimonies to uncover the extent of doping in American sports. Political pressure continued through Senator John McCain's insistence on detailed analysis of the anti-doping programmes of professional sports, culminating in the proposed Clean Sports Act. In contrast, hosts of the next Olympic winter sports fest in Turin in February 2006 are causing anxiety in the sporting world. The IOC have requested that Italy's strong anti-doping laws be set aside to accommodate the Olympics. This legislation has enabled robust anti-doping programmes to be carried out, and prosecution and imprisonment of those who cheat and endanger athletes' lives. But set aside laws, and the message you send to athletes is mixed, to say the least. As the Olympics in Athens delivered the highest number of doping cases ever, the prospect of athletes cheating in Turin must be high. It will be interesting to see how matters develop in Italy, particularly as UNESCO have concluded an Anti-Doping Convention which empowers government actions to support the World Anti-Doping Code in pursuit of drug-free sport. Are governments willing to tackle major team sports over anti-doping? It has taken time for the US to call baseball to account, but not before admitted steroid users have taken their places in the record books. In the UK it is not clear whether the government are willing to take on football. Denial of a problem is commonplace, and diversion into the excuse that it was not a performance-enhancing substance is a useful alternative. But then the chances of being caught are low, you have to be tested first, and if you miss the test, you have a couple of chances before it becomes an issue. Some athletes are available for testing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but there is no equity across sports or countries. Such is the state of testing programmes outlined by the code, but who says you have to adopt the lowest common denominator? You could always legislate. If cheating in gambling is worthy of legislation, why not doping in sport? It constitutes sporting fraud, after all. BALCO may not have delivered the pound of flesh in all sports or for all participants, but it has shown the power of government intervention when an administration are strong minded enough to act. Michele Verroken is Director of the integrity management consultancy, Sporting Integrity. For nearly two decades she was Director of Ethics and Anti-Doping at UK Sport responsible for the UK's anti-doping policies and programmes, now a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation Medical Commission and contributor to the published Independent Sports Review. |
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