MASTERS ANTI-DOPING BULLETIN
May 2012
The following document, just below this bulletin, is a first time attempt to right some of the wrongs mentioned in the previous "February bulletin". In the past the policy has been not to allow bad publicity for Masters weightlifting by printing the name of athletes in a document that might be shown publicly, e.g. on a website.
It would seem that some athletes ignore all warnings about being tested positive, they are not interested in "being educated", they do not understand fairness in sport, they want to win a medal at any cost and cheating is just an option to winning that medal. If they test positive they don't want to return their medal to the person who should have received it and so they add to their bad sportsmanship and their cheating.
The IWF Masters Committee and the European Masters Committee will continue to work to eradicate the use of banned drugs and to rid Masters weightlifting of cheats. The first step is to ensure that medals are returned and given to the righful competitor. The document below will help this to happen.
It would seem that some athletes ignore all warnings about being tested positive, they are not interested in "being educated", they do not understand fairness in sport, they want to win a medal at any cost and cheating is just an option to winning that medal. If they test positive they don't want to return their medal to the person who should have received it and so they add to their bad sportsmanship and their cheating.
The IWF Masters Committee and the European Masters Committee will continue to work to eradicate the use of banned drugs and to rid Masters weightlifting of cheats. The first step is to ensure that medals are returned and given to the righful competitor. The document below will help this to happen.
MASTERS ANTI-DOPING BULLETIN
February 2012
Is the future and quality of International Masters Weightlifting dependent upon or likely to be damaged by those athletes who continue to use performance enhancing drugs? To many of you who may read this article the question may be considered stupid and frivolous but five (5) athletes gave adverse analytical findings, later deemed positive tests, at what was a highly enjoyable and very successful 2012 World Masters Championship in Limassol, Cyprus. Under such circumstances athletes are asked for an explanation, often they deny having ever taken a banned substance, they don’t know how the laboratory could have found it in their sample, but they do not request the “B” Sample to be tested.
Do you all, as keen Masters’competitors, want to compete on level grounds with your rivals or don’t you care? Do you think this is someone else’s problem and doesn’t affect you? Well I am going to list some recent facts about things that have happened in recent years and if they don’t open your eyes and make you care then I don’t believe that you, the reader, are a “true Master weightlifter” in your heart.
Some facts about Masters weightlifting
1. In the last 10 years there have been 57 positive drug tests in International Masters Weightlifting Championships, that’s 57 too many and it's a shameful statistic.
2. Of those 57 positive tests 54 of the athletes have been from a European country, a second shameful statistic.
3. Of those 57 athletes 39 tested positive for the use of anabolic steroids or hormones, a third shameful statistic.
4. 50% of those athletes never returned their medals, therefore they cheated in the competition and out of the competition they also cheated their fellow athletes out of receiving the correct medal. That's 4 shameful facts, now read on.
5. As individuals it is illegal for us to sell drugs, it is also illegal to buy them and use them. Yes, it is a criminal offence!
6. Three competitors, 2 men and 1 woman, were surprised by myself and another committee member in a secluded part of the venue in Limassol, Cyprus. The first man was breaking ampules open, the woman actually had a syringe into a vein in the second man’s arm. This is "blood tampering" and it is illegal.
6.1.How would you feel if you were the person who saw this? What action do you think you would have taken?
6.2.How would you feel if your children or grandchildren or friends saw this “secret” activity in your sport and how do you think they might feel about you participating in a sport where this happened?
6.3.Imagine if someone from the media saw it and took a photograph of this actually going on. It could be the end of the Masters.
6.4.These 3 competitors claimed they were using vitamins, they were all tested in doping control, one gave a poitive test and is now suspended.
6.5.In the future at least one member of the Committee will patrol the venue to ensure such an incident
does not recur. Anyone found with a syringe inside a venue will receive a heavy suspension as will anyone in the company of any person found with a syringe. Even if you need insulin to be injected you must seek out a medical person or do this in a place somewhere far away from the weightlifting venue.
7. Supplements are often blamed and used as an excuse for giving an adverse finding. Not just food and drink supplements but also drugs like Viagra and a generic version Cialis. Manufacturers of supplements do not guarantee their products are free of impurities, likewise to purchase products like Viagra or Cialis on the internet might give similar problems.
8. Each and every individual is entirely responsible for all food, liquid, and medical products ingested or put into our bodies by other means, and it may possibly be a supplement or medication (of any description) that has caused an adverse analytical finding, but it is your responsibility, beware!
9. It costs between €300 and €350 to do one test. It takes about 4 hours to produce a letter to send to an athlete who gives an adverse finding. There are inevitably more follow up letters and as stated previously 50% of athletes will not return their medals. It is the work of the relevant Committee (World or Continental Masters) to organise doping control and to deal with any adverse findings, it take up a lot of free time and that time is given freely because Committee members are volunteers, they do not receive payment.
10. The European Masters General Secretary, Denise Offermann, has actually given time to running anti-doping awareness seminars in an effort to help and educate lifters. This was at the 2010 European and World Masters and again at the 2011 European Masters, and she has produced helpful documentation in support of the seminars (see her document at the end of this bulletin).
Other Masters Championships
Sometimes there may be organisers who will organise Masters weightlifting events other than a World or Continental Championship. Such a championship has existed in Belgium for as long, or almost as long as the existence of the World Masters Championship. Originally it was hosted in the town of Roeselare but more recently it has been hosted in the town of Waragem. It is a competition that is not recognised Internationally, nevertheless it is well organised and it is drug tested with testing being carried out by the Belgium Government’s NADA.
Four years ago a European Masters Cup event was hosted by Austria in the city of Salzburg and well organised by the Austrian Masters Chairman, Gerhard Peya. It was organised 2 years running, dropped for 2 years, and is now being resurrected again in July 2012 in the same month as the event in Waragem.
Recently two members of Mr. Peya’s organising team sent a letter by email requesting the IWF Masters and European Masters Committees to sanction the 2012 European Cup in Vienna and to allow World and European records to be made at this event with a stipulation that the event would do doping control.
Both the IWF Masters Committee and the European Masters Committee voted unanimously and in unison not to allow World and European Masters records to be made at any event other than a World or Continental Masters Championship.
Both committees will discuss this subject again when they next hold Executive Board Meetings at the European Masters in Lankaran in June and at the World Masters in Lviv, Ukraine. The committees have agreed to sanction this cup event in Vienna, albeit without allowing World and European records, but will only sanction one Masters’ event per country. The IWF and European Masters Committees suggest that the organisers appoint a Records Registrar and keep their own Cup records.
Some of the reasons for not allowing World and European Masters to be made at the event are highlighted below and these reasons will be part of the future Executive Board discussions.
1. Doping control may be conducted at the 2012 resurrection of the cup event but there is no guarantee it will be conducted at future events.
2. If there are any adverse findings it will increase the workload of the IWF Masters Committee because at the very least it will be necessary to liaise with the Austrian NADA and it will be necessary to record positive tests to ensure that suspended athletes do not attempt to enter World or European Masters Championships.
3. If World and European records were allowed it would be necessary for the Records Registrars to take on more work updating records and in the case of a positive test resetting records to the original.
4. Unless a member of the IWF Masters or European Masters Committee attends the event (in any capacity and every year) we cannot be certain that IWF CAT I and CAT II Referees are always present and used.
Bill Barton
8th February 2012
ANTI DOPING PLAY TRUE!!
Be part of the example that believes clean sport is one of the fairest and most powerful tools for
positive change and growth, one that embraces fair play and respect. Be aware that using or tampering any form of doping is recognized as a criminal offence since 2009. Realise that a suspension, a fine or even prison can be the consequence.
What if the only medication to treat my medical condition contains a prohibited substance?
The World Anti-Doping Code (Code) recognizes the right of athletes to the best possible treatment for any medical condition. If you are in need of medication, please contact your International Federation or NADO to find out more about the criteria and procedures to apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). More information on the TUE process can be found in the Science and Medicine section.
Before applying for a TUE, it is recommended that you consult your doctor to consider possible alternative treatments that does not involve the use of a prohibited substance or method. If such an alternative treatment exists, your TUE request will likely be denied and the whole process can only delay your recovery.
What can I do to avoid a positive test from taking a medication?
There are two ways for you to obtain medication: either by prescription from your doctor or directly from the shelves of a drugstore or pharmacy.
Anytime you need a prescription, you must remind your doctor that you are an athlete and are subject to anti-doping regulations. Your doctor should ensure that the medication prescribed does not contain any banned substances. If your doctor is unable to determine this, then the decision should be taken in consultation with your National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) or with a competent pharmacist.
If you need to take a medication that does not require a prescription (commonly referred to as "over-the-counter"), it is highly recommended that you consult your national NADO or that you show the Prohibited List to the pharmacist and ask for help before you decide on a product.
Another consideration when choosing the right medication, make sure that you take exactly the one that was recommended. Some brand names offer multiple variations of the same product (e.g., non-drowsy, fast-relief, extra-strength, longer-lasting) and with the formula being different for each, there is a real risk that one will contain a prohibited substance while another may not.
The current Prohibited List is always posted on this Web site. Generally, an updated version of the List is published every year in October and comes into effect January 1st of the following year.
What should I do if I get sick while traveling in a foreign country?
Medications are usually commercialized under different names in different countries, and even if they have the same brand names, they may have a different composition in order to respect each country's laws on availability of certain substances. In one country, one product may be safe to take from an anti-doping perspective, whilst in another country the product sold under the same name may contain a prohibited substance.
Before using medications purchased in a foreign country, it is best to consult your team doctor, try to contact the NADO in the country that you are visiting, or contact your own NADO to ask for advice on what to do. As a last resort, you can bring the Prohibited List to a pharmacy and consult the list of ingredients with the pharmacist to ensure that the product you intend to take does not contain prohibited substances.
One way to prevent such situation from occurring is to bring with you, as part of your "travel kit," small doses of medications from home that you know are safe to use and that you anticipate may be required during your stay abroad (e.g., pain and fever, allergy, common cold, stomach aches, skin infections, etc.). Before bringing any medication into a foreign country or bringing one back home from abroad, it is wise to check whether customs regulations would allow you to do so and ensure that you do not carry a substance that is illegal at your destination.
What can happen to me if my test result is positive because I used medication without knowing that it contained a prohibited substance?
Under the overarching principle of strict liability in effect under anti-doping regulations, as an athlete, you are ultimately responsible for everything that goes into your body, whether it was recommended, prescribed, or even provided by someone else. If an athlete tests positive, the result is a disqualification, and possible sanction or
suspension.
Prohibited Substances and Methods
WMRA adopt the current IAAF/WADA
prohibited substance and prohibited methods list which is updated annually, and will be made freely available to athletes and coaches on request.
All athletes taking part in the above WMRA competitions using a prohibited substance for medical reasons must obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption’(TUE) as published on this website.
THERAPEUTIC/INADVERTENT USAGE OF BANNED SUBSTANCES
Participants subjected to drug testing who give an adverse analytical finding for the use of a banned substance or substances, and who have a medical certificate issued to them by a qualified medical practitioner may:
1. Refer the medical certificate to the appointed Anti-Doping Committee hearing.
2. Provide additional verifying facts and information that may support the particulars in the medical certificate and substantiate the use pf such banned substance or substances by the participant for the therapeutic and/or medical purposes only.
The IWF Masters Anti Doping Sub Committee expect all participants selected for drug testing who are using
therapeutic medicine to submit an IWF Masters TUE Form (see form on this website) and a medical certificate from their doctor to the Doping Control Officer at the time of the test!!!
The IWF Masters Anti-Doping Sub Committee may at its discretion seek the advice and assistance of the appointed qualified medical practitioner to enable a decision to be reached in the hearing. Where therapeutic/inadvertent
use of a banned substance or substances is proven, the IWF Masters Anti-Doping Committee may:
1. take no further action or,
2. provide counseling and take no futher action. or
3. impose a suitable sanction.
Note: The refusal by a participant to provide a sample will make any medical certificate inadmissible.
Denise Offermann
General Secretary – European Masters Committee
February 2012
Is the future and quality of International Masters Weightlifting dependent upon or likely to be damaged by those athletes who continue to use performance enhancing drugs? To many of you who may read this article the question may be considered stupid and frivolous but five (5) athletes gave adverse analytical findings, later deemed positive tests, at what was a highly enjoyable and very successful 2012 World Masters Championship in Limassol, Cyprus. Under such circumstances athletes are asked for an explanation, often they deny having ever taken a banned substance, they don’t know how the laboratory could have found it in their sample, but they do not request the “B” Sample to be tested.
Do you all, as keen Masters’competitors, want to compete on level grounds with your rivals or don’t you care? Do you think this is someone else’s problem and doesn’t affect you? Well I am going to list some recent facts about things that have happened in recent years and if they don’t open your eyes and make you care then I don’t believe that you, the reader, are a “true Master weightlifter” in your heart.
Some facts about Masters weightlifting
1. In the last 10 years there have been 57 positive drug tests in International Masters Weightlifting Championships, that’s 57 too many and it's a shameful statistic.
2. Of those 57 positive tests 54 of the athletes have been from a European country, a second shameful statistic.
3. Of those 57 athletes 39 tested positive for the use of anabolic steroids or hormones, a third shameful statistic.
4. 50% of those athletes never returned their medals, therefore they cheated in the competition and out of the competition they also cheated their fellow athletes out of receiving the correct medal. That's 4 shameful facts, now read on.
5. As individuals it is illegal for us to sell drugs, it is also illegal to buy them and use them. Yes, it is a criminal offence!
6. Three competitors, 2 men and 1 woman, were surprised by myself and another committee member in a secluded part of the venue in Limassol, Cyprus. The first man was breaking ampules open, the woman actually had a syringe into a vein in the second man’s arm. This is "blood tampering" and it is illegal.
6.1.How would you feel if you were the person who saw this? What action do you think you would have taken?
6.2.How would you feel if your children or grandchildren or friends saw this “secret” activity in your sport and how do you think they might feel about you participating in a sport where this happened?
6.3.Imagine if someone from the media saw it and took a photograph of this actually going on. It could be the end of the Masters.
6.4.These 3 competitors claimed they were using vitamins, they were all tested in doping control, one gave a poitive test and is now suspended.
6.5.In the future at least one member of the Committee will patrol the venue to ensure such an incident
does not recur. Anyone found with a syringe inside a venue will receive a heavy suspension as will anyone in the company of any person found with a syringe. Even if you need insulin to be injected you must seek out a medical person or do this in a place somewhere far away from the weightlifting venue.
7. Supplements are often blamed and used as an excuse for giving an adverse finding. Not just food and drink supplements but also drugs like Viagra and a generic version Cialis. Manufacturers of supplements do not guarantee their products are free of impurities, likewise to purchase products like Viagra or Cialis on the internet might give similar problems.
8. Each and every individual is entirely responsible for all food, liquid, and medical products ingested or put into our bodies by other means, and it may possibly be a supplement or medication (of any description) that has caused an adverse analytical finding, but it is your responsibility, beware!
9. It costs between €300 and €350 to do one test. It takes about 4 hours to produce a letter to send to an athlete who gives an adverse finding. There are inevitably more follow up letters and as stated previously 50% of athletes will not return their medals. It is the work of the relevant Committee (World or Continental Masters) to organise doping control and to deal with any adverse findings, it take up a lot of free time and that time is given freely because Committee members are volunteers, they do not receive payment.
10. The European Masters General Secretary, Denise Offermann, has actually given time to running anti-doping awareness seminars in an effort to help and educate lifters. This was at the 2010 European and World Masters and again at the 2011 European Masters, and she has produced helpful documentation in support of the seminars (see her document at the end of this bulletin).
Other Masters Championships
Sometimes there may be organisers who will organise Masters weightlifting events other than a World or Continental Championship. Such a championship has existed in Belgium for as long, or almost as long as the existence of the World Masters Championship. Originally it was hosted in the town of Roeselare but more recently it has been hosted in the town of Waragem. It is a competition that is not recognised Internationally, nevertheless it is well organised and it is drug tested with testing being carried out by the Belgium Government’s NADA.
Four years ago a European Masters Cup event was hosted by Austria in the city of Salzburg and well organised by the Austrian Masters Chairman, Gerhard Peya. It was organised 2 years running, dropped for 2 years, and is now being resurrected again in July 2012 in the same month as the event in Waragem.
Recently two members of Mr. Peya’s organising team sent a letter by email requesting the IWF Masters and European Masters Committees to sanction the 2012 European Cup in Vienna and to allow World and European records to be made at this event with a stipulation that the event would do doping control.
Both the IWF Masters Committee and the European Masters Committee voted unanimously and in unison not to allow World and European Masters records to be made at any event other than a World or Continental Masters Championship.
Both committees will discuss this subject again when they next hold Executive Board Meetings at the European Masters in Lankaran in June and at the World Masters in Lviv, Ukraine. The committees have agreed to sanction this cup event in Vienna, albeit without allowing World and European records, but will only sanction one Masters’ event per country. The IWF and European Masters Committees suggest that the organisers appoint a Records Registrar and keep their own Cup records.
Some of the reasons for not allowing World and European Masters to be made at the event are highlighted below and these reasons will be part of the future Executive Board discussions.
1. Doping control may be conducted at the 2012 resurrection of the cup event but there is no guarantee it will be conducted at future events.
2. If there are any adverse findings it will increase the workload of the IWF Masters Committee because at the very least it will be necessary to liaise with the Austrian NADA and it will be necessary to record positive tests to ensure that suspended athletes do not attempt to enter World or European Masters Championships.
3. If World and European records were allowed it would be necessary for the Records Registrars to take on more work updating records and in the case of a positive test resetting records to the original.
4. Unless a member of the IWF Masters or European Masters Committee attends the event (in any capacity and every year) we cannot be certain that IWF CAT I and CAT II Referees are always present and used.
Bill Barton
8th February 2012
ANTI DOPING PLAY TRUE!!
Be part of the example that believes clean sport is one of the fairest and most powerful tools for
positive change and growth, one that embraces fair play and respect. Be aware that using or tampering any form of doping is recognized as a criminal offence since 2009. Realise that a suspension, a fine or even prison can be the consequence.
What if the only medication to treat my medical condition contains a prohibited substance?
The World Anti-Doping Code (Code) recognizes the right of athletes to the best possible treatment for any medical condition. If you are in need of medication, please contact your International Federation or NADO to find out more about the criteria and procedures to apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). More information on the TUE process can be found in the Science and Medicine section.
Before applying for a TUE, it is recommended that you consult your doctor to consider possible alternative treatments that does not involve the use of a prohibited substance or method. If such an alternative treatment exists, your TUE request will likely be denied and the whole process can only delay your recovery.
What can I do to avoid a positive test from taking a medication?
There are two ways for you to obtain medication: either by prescription from your doctor or directly from the shelves of a drugstore or pharmacy.
Anytime you need a prescription, you must remind your doctor that you are an athlete and are subject to anti-doping regulations. Your doctor should ensure that the medication prescribed does not contain any banned substances. If your doctor is unable to determine this, then the decision should be taken in consultation with your National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) or with a competent pharmacist.
If you need to take a medication that does not require a prescription (commonly referred to as "over-the-counter"), it is highly recommended that you consult your national NADO or that you show the Prohibited List to the pharmacist and ask for help before you decide on a product.
Another consideration when choosing the right medication, make sure that you take exactly the one that was recommended. Some brand names offer multiple variations of the same product (e.g., non-drowsy, fast-relief, extra-strength, longer-lasting) and with the formula being different for each, there is a real risk that one will contain a prohibited substance while another may not.
The current Prohibited List is always posted on this Web site. Generally, an updated version of the List is published every year in October and comes into effect January 1st of the following year.
What should I do if I get sick while traveling in a foreign country?
Medications are usually commercialized under different names in different countries, and even if they have the same brand names, they may have a different composition in order to respect each country's laws on availability of certain substances. In one country, one product may be safe to take from an anti-doping perspective, whilst in another country the product sold under the same name may contain a prohibited substance.
Before using medications purchased in a foreign country, it is best to consult your team doctor, try to contact the NADO in the country that you are visiting, or contact your own NADO to ask for advice on what to do. As a last resort, you can bring the Prohibited List to a pharmacy and consult the list of ingredients with the pharmacist to ensure that the product you intend to take does not contain prohibited substances.
One way to prevent such situation from occurring is to bring with you, as part of your "travel kit," small doses of medications from home that you know are safe to use and that you anticipate may be required during your stay abroad (e.g., pain and fever, allergy, common cold, stomach aches, skin infections, etc.). Before bringing any medication into a foreign country or bringing one back home from abroad, it is wise to check whether customs regulations would allow you to do so and ensure that you do not carry a substance that is illegal at your destination.
What can happen to me if my test result is positive because I used medication without knowing that it contained a prohibited substance?
Under the overarching principle of strict liability in effect under anti-doping regulations, as an athlete, you are ultimately responsible for everything that goes into your body, whether it was recommended, prescribed, or even provided by someone else. If an athlete tests positive, the result is a disqualification, and possible sanction or
suspension.
Prohibited Substances and Methods
WMRA adopt the current IAAF/WADA
prohibited substance and prohibited methods list which is updated annually, and will be made freely available to athletes and coaches on request.
All athletes taking part in the above WMRA competitions using a prohibited substance for medical reasons must obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption’(TUE) as published on this website.
THERAPEUTIC/INADVERTENT USAGE OF BANNED SUBSTANCES
Participants subjected to drug testing who give an adverse analytical finding for the use of a banned substance or substances, and who have a medical certificate issued to them by a qualified medical practitioner may:
1. Refer the medical certificate to the appointed Anti-Doping Committee hearing.
2. Provide additional verifying facts and information that may support the particulars in the medical certificate and substantiate the use pf such banned substance or substances by the participant for the therapeutic and/or medical purposes only.
The IWF Masters Anti Doping Sub Committee expect all participants selected for drug testing who are using
therapeutic medicine to submit an IWF Masters TUE Form (see form on this website) and a medical certificate from their doctor to the Doping Control Officer at the time of the test!!!
The IWF Masters Anti-Doping Sub Committee may at its discretion seek the advice and assistance of the appointed qualified medical practitioner to enable a decision to be reached in the hearing. Where therapeutic/inadvertent
use of a banned substance or substances is proven, the IWF Masters Anti-Doping Committee may:
1. take no further action or,
2. provide counseling and take no futher action. or
3. impose a suitable sanction.
Note: The refusal by a participant to provide a sample will make any medical certificate inadmissible.
Denise Offermann
General Secretary – European Masters Committee
