Drug abuse in fencing

[veeco]

Supposedly (I haven't made the test myself and I am not going to in the future) it can be used to increase your muscle mass, make you taller, etc.

I don't know what the side effects are, but I am sure that there are many!

[Kammo]

I believe that recently the "Australian Sports Drug Medical Advisory Committee" (ASDMAC) has recently advised all sporting bodies that caffeine is no longer on the prohibited list for any sport. Someone else may be able to confirm this. It used to be for fencing sometime ago. There was a pentathlete who was banned at an olympic games (which ganmes???) for returning a high caffeine test aftet the epee event

[dreadfoily]

It's been my experience, in studying Nutrition in Sports that Hormones are thea most widely used 'drug' in sports especially in weight lifting. Maybe because no one has been able to say that fencing is dependent upon one factor such as Speed, Endurance, Strength, etc, so that a well rounded athletic would produce the best results rather than let's say in swimming - where there is some drug problems, running, or weight lifting because they can determine where one function is more important to work at peak performance than other areas. So in weights: hormones or steriods are predominant. [for example] Post script: one more thought, it may become more difficult in the future to make determinations because of the introduction of herbal remedies which the FDA is currently powerless to regulate.

[eri]

I couldn't find caffiene, but caffeine does act as a diuretic.

How would making you need to pee help/hurt an athlete?

I wonder how much caffeine is considered too high. I drink tons of coffee on a regular basis but my body has adjusted to it and it basically has no effect on me.

[Artisan]

How would making you need to pee help/hurt an athlete?

I wonder how much caffeine is considered too high. I drink tons of coffee on a regular basis but my body has adjusted to it and it basically has no effect on me.

Sure it does...just try going a day without it and see how you feel.

[Peach]

The caffeine-withdrawal headache is a wowser.

[Morion]

How would making you need to pee help/hurt an athlete?

I think the idea is that if you cycle the urine through fast enough it allows you to dilute any drug residue below detectable limits thereby defeating the test. The diuretics aren't banned for any enhancing ability, they're banned because they are a common way to defeat the drug test.

At what level of competition do they bother with these tests? I personally will probably never rate higher than a C or D if I REALLY apply myself. Do I need to get a physicians letter ready for the day I go to a tournament?

As far as the cannabanoids go, I guess it shows that I am a child of the 60/70's. My response to the fencer who got banned after a tournament is the same one I had for the Canadian snow boarder. If they can do that well stoned then more power to them!

Pot while illegal is definately NOT a performance enhancing drug.

[darius]

Pot while illegal is definately NOT a performance enhancing drug.

It is in freestyle snowboarding. You'd have to get me to take inhibition-lowering substances to get me to jump off a 50' table!

darius

[veeco]

The diuretics can also be used in some disciplines where there are weight categories to lose weight quickly before a competition so that you can stay in the category you trained for.

Of course, this doesn't apply for fencing.

[oiuyt]

Pot can also be used to dull pain which can allow for pushing your body harder than otherwise possible. While the side effects are likely to make it non-performance enhancing, it could, in theory, be used to improve performance.

Morion is perfectly correct as far as diuretics go. They're banned because they're masking agents rather than for any direct enhancement from the drugs.

-B :)

[MyrddinsPrecint]

from what i hear, the usfa generally only does testing if you reach top 8 or top 16 (or top whatever that i'll never ever make) of a national event.

after reading the ncaa website, it kind of seems like they do drug testing more often. and i assume they do for the big name sports, but i'm kind of skeptical that they do it very often for fencing.

on the other hand, it seems after reading various literature on both, it seems like it's much easier to get an exception (when necessary) from the ncaa than the usfa... for instance, the ncaa allows people with add/adhd to get an exception for ritalin/adderal.... the usfa says "yes, we realize it helps you even the playing field etc etc etc.... but, uh, go screw yourself, we don't really care."

*grumbles*

[Army Fencer]

Just got this today:

Caffeine was removed from the banned substances list by the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as of 1/04. However, not every sport
federation has officially adopted this new WADA Code yet. I
recommend that you contact what ever sport federation you are
associated with and see if they are now under the new WADA Code
and if not, when that will be. If these new rules have not been
adopted by your federation yet, then caffeine would still be
prohibited at levels > 12 mcg/ml in the urine. If they have adopted
the new rules already, caffeine would not be prohibited in or out of
competition time.

Secondly, Alcohol is banned in competition by certain sport
federations. In addition, the threshold is not the same for every
sport. Again, I recommend you contact whatever sport federation
you are associated with to see... 1) If they are one of the sports that
tests for alcohol, and 2) what the threshold concentration is. You
can also get this information on the WADA website...
www.WADA-AMA.org -- it is under the World Anti-Doping Code 2004
prohibited list section P.1. page 15

Thank you,

Jeff J. Podraza, PharmD
Manager, Drug Reference Line
United States Anti-Doping Agency

[Army Fencer]

Okay, based on the letter the USADA sent me, it sounds like there's still a chance that caffeine is banned in the USFA. I sent a letter today to ask the USFA whether or not is has adopted the new WADA standards.

[Army Fencer]

Okay, I've been away from the computer for awhile, but I just got a letter from Carla-Mae saying that the USFA has adapted the Jan 2004 WADA rules. Which means that caffeine is not a banned substance.