1. Improving Performance What ethical issues are related to improving performance?

2. Use of drugs The use of performance-enhancing drugs seems prevalent. Performance-enhancing drugs may be used for a variety of reasons, including building muscle, dulling pain, reducing weight, lowering stress or masking other substances.

3. The dangers of performance enhancing drug use –The use of performance-enhancing drugs can significantly affect the long-term health of an athlete. –Athletes who succumb to the pressures of elite sport and embark on the dangerous journey of illegal drug use must also be very motivated to keeptheir use private. A motivating factor for many athletes is the idea of the elite sports stars lifestyle, filled with luxury, power, recognition and importance. –This comes through media coverage, sponsorship and endorsements, which can be quickly taken away if an athlete is caught taking performance enhancing drugs. –Athletes who take these drugs do not believe they will get caught.

4. –For strength The most common performance-enhancing drugs for building muscle for power and strength are anabolic steroids. These are synthesised hormones that increase appetite, bone growth and protein synthesis. These functions will all contribute to the rapid development of muscle tissue. Anabolic steroids have a significant number of side effects. Since they are made up of testosterone, their effects on men are different than on women,

6. –A drug used to increase strength is the human growth hormone (hGH). –hGH is a protein hormone that naturally occurs in the body. It is produced by the pituitary gland and is responsible for normal human growth and development. –Increased levels of hGH will: increase muscle size by stimulating protein synthesis strengthen bones by stimulating bone growth reduce body fat by stimulating fat cell breakdown. –The side effects of using hGH include overgrowth of the hands, feet and face; enlarged internal organs such as heart, kidneys, liver and tongue; and heart problems.

7. For aerobic performance –More oxygen comes from the increased production of red blood cells, which are produced with the help of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO). –The synthetic version of EPO was originally designed to assist patients with anaemia or kidney deficiencies so they could manufacture extra red blood cells. –An endurance athlete would also benefit from these extra red blood cells.

8. –The EPO hormone is naturally secreted by the kidneys when oxygen levels are low. –Endurance athletes can use EPO to increase their oxygen supply by as much as 10 per cent, resulting in a performance increase that some studies indicate may be up to 20–30 per cent. –there are significant side effects associated with the use of EPO. –One of the main issues is that EPO thickens the blood and makes its flow very difficult. –The heart must pump harder to keep the blood flowing, and clots are likely. This increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. –It can result in headaches, joint pain, chest pain and shortness of breadth after intake.

9. To mask other drugs –Diuretics, which increase the rate of excretion of water from the body via urination, are also used by some athletes because they speed up weight loss, and may eradicate traces of banned substances from the body. –Diuretics can cause dizziness, fainting spells, headaches, cramps, dehydration, kidney failure and heart damage. –This type of drug use is found more readily in sports where weight is critical, such as gymnastics, boxing, weightlifting, rowing and horseracing. –Alcohol is prohibited during competition only. It slows down bodily functions and is contained in many cough elixirs. Some athletes have been known to take cough elixirs to mask drug abuse.

10. Benefits and limitations of drug testing –Drug testing is necessary if sporting regulators are to make any improvements in the war against drugs. –Some elite athletes feel the strict protocols around drug testing are an invasion of privacy, but they also believe that competition should be fair and clean of any banned substances. –This is the moral and ethical dilemma confronting the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and sporting associations around the world.

11. Testing methods –Before the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, drug testing was purely done with urine samples. –Although urine sampling is still the most common method because it is less invasive, since the 2000 Games blood samples can also be requested of individual athletes and checked using an Australian- developed test. –At the 2004 Athens Olympics, the laboratory received 2926 urine samples and 691 blood samples. –In Beijing in 2008, 5000 tests (including 1000 blood) were taken, resulting in eight positive results. –39 athletes didn’t arrive in Beijing because they tested positive in pre-Olympic tests (April–August 2008).

12. –The introduction of blood tests has increased the ability to test for elevated levels of hormones that occur naturally within the body, such as EPO. –As time goes by, more and more tests are being developed by scientists to catch those using banned substances. But as quickly as new tests are developed, new designer drugs are also being released. –It is a continual cycle of new drugs and new tests that keep the millions of dollars pouring into their eradication. –Test samples are now being kept for up to 8 years after they are taken. –This enables older samples to be retested when new tests have been developed.

13. –Arguments for and against drug testing On one hand, we have athletes who are criticising drug testing because it invades their privacy and makes them feel like criminals. The test results are also questionable since drug testing is random and new designer drugs are always being invented. We also have sports commentators, administrators, players and the public calling for a level playing field in sports competition. On the other hand, we have an argument to honour the privacy of athletes and the sanctity of rights. There are two options for sport: to test or not to test. Arguments against testing include the following: –Drug testing is hopeless, unjust, or a failure. –The cat-and-mouse game of ‘new drug followed by new test’ is neverending. –Genetic engineering may not be really testable. –Drug tests invade the privacy of athletes, especially in the case of recreational drugs. –Authorities should not have the right to police our private lives. –Policies on drug testing differ from sport to sport.

14. –Arguments for testing include the following: Performance-enhancing substances allow athletes to go beyond their ‘natural’ abilities. Drugs give cheating athletes an unfair advantage. The long-term health of the athlete is put as risk by taking performance enhancing drugs. Drug-taking undermines the purity of the competition.

15. –Penalties and drug-testing codes All sports participating in the Olympics have to sign up to the World Anti-Doping Agency code to stay within the Olympic movement. Sports such as golf have no anti-doping policy because there is a belief that drugs would not enhance a golfer’s performance. However, since golf wants to be considered for inclusion into the 2016 Olympics, the sport must now consider adhering to the WADA code as well.

16. Timing of drug testing –The age or level of ability to start drug testing is also an issue under discussion. –The code established by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) allows for athletes under 18 years old to be drug tested if they belong to a national team. –Testing of junior athletes comes with considerable issues about parental consent, as well as the mental health of impressionable young athletes.

17. Use of technology –Every year, many new inventions come onto the market to assist athletes to improve their performance. –Once it was thought that no man would break the 10-second barrier in a 100-metre sprint. –Now the question is not if but when someone will break the 9-second barrier. –Technology has a huge part to play in performance improvements as it touches on all areas of sport through training innovations and equipment advances.

18. –The sporting world has grown into a huge US$600 billion global industry and is the one activity that brings people of all kinds together. –With so much revenue in circulation there is no doubt that the funds are available to research technological advances. –Technological advances have become associated with positive developments in sport, including: making sport enjoyable to the public through closer competition and the thrill of extreme abilities increasing revenue for big business through sponsorship, media coverage making sport more enjoyable for less advanced or younger athletes (e.g. by making it easier to connect with a golf ball, tennis ball, softball, etc.) bringing opportunities to physically challenged athletes through special wheelchairs, skis and prosthetics increasing the comfort of athletes in some sports (e.g. seat design in cycling, shock absorbers on mountain bikes, riding boots for equestrians, golf buggies, etc.).

19. –Technological advances have also become associated with negative developments in sport: Pushing to the limit could result in increased chance of injury. Higher technology costs could result in not all athletes in all countries being able to afford the new technologies. Athletes may experience increased pressure to get the edge they need through performance-enhancing drugs. Athletes may rely on technology instead of skill development. Some technology may result in a decrease in activity levels (e.g. golf buggies, ski lifts, etc.)

20. Training innovation –In addition to creating new technology, sports research also produces training innovations that can enhance the skill development and performance of athletes.