Athletes News

First Edition of the on line ISSF IPOD

Welcome to the new IPOD on-line edition!

INFORMATION PORTAL ON DOPING

The “ISSF IPOD”

As most of you know, the IPOD used to be published in the ISSF News magazine. In the future, we will be posting short articles that you can read and download off the Anti-Doping Page on the ISSF website to get educated and stay informed on various issues and topics related to anti-doping.

Please remember to access all the information on anti-doping available to you on the ISSF website and to read past editions of the IPOD on the anti-doping page. Education and deterrence are the key to a clean shooting sport. 

IF YOU ARE NOT SURE IT IS SAFE AND IF YOU DON’T HAVE A TUE…

DON’T USE IT,

DON’T EAT IT,

DON’T DRINK IT,

DON’T INGEST IT!

Our first on line IPOD offers some general reminders to all athletes regarding their responsibilities, notably with regards to avoid the inadvertent  use of prohibited substances. 

ISSF has stressed it over and over in the past: athletes should protect themselves at all times against inadvertent anti-doping rule violations.

You MUST check all medications, products and supplements before taking them to ensure they do not contain ingredients that are prohibited.

Remember:

  1. Some prescription and over-the-counter medications are prohibited in sport. 
  2. Medications can be prohibited in-competition, out-of-competition, or in particular sports. 
  3. Some supplements contain prohibited substances even if the label does not indicate that they do.
  4. If you test positive for a prohibited substance and do not know how it got into your system, you are ultimately responsible

Your responsibility is to carefully check the ingredients of anything you ingest and check status of any medication you consume to ensure that it won’t result in a positive test.

Here are a number of ways to find out if your medications or supplements are prohibited in sport.

  • Check with your relevant country’s National Anti-Doping Organization, Regional Anti-Doping Organisation or National Olympic Committee.
  • Check with Global DRO


Global DRO is an online database (www.globaldro.com) that allows you to quickly find information on the status of prescription and over-the-counter medications in certain countries.

Alternately:

  • Visit the WADA Website

The WADA Prohibited List is the complete list of substances and methods prohibited in sport.

Better safe than sorry!

Athletes are encouraged to not take supplements.  If you do, you are strongly encouraged to minimize your risk.

The ISSF’s long standing position regarding supplement use is that all Athletes are responsible for any prohibited substance found in their sample. Unlike foods and medications, the supplement industry is subject to little government regulation making it impossible for the ISSF to confirm whether or not a supplement contains prohibited substances, notably in your respective countries. 

After a number of anti-doping violations related to supplement use in various sports involving athletes from all over the world, ISSF cannot sufficiently warn all shooting sport athletes of the extreme risk an athlete runs when using supplements. Aren’t you better safe than sorry?

  • Under no circumstances can or will the ISSF confirm whether or not a supplement contains prohibited substances.
  • The risk and responsibility are yours alone.

What are supplements?

Supplements are sometimes referred to as nutritional/dietary supplements or natural health products. They are not classified as food or drugs.

Supplements include such products as:

  • Vitamins and minerals,e.g., calcium, vitamin E
  • Some hemp products,e.g., hemp protein, hemp oil
  • Herbal remedies,e.g., arnica, echinacea, lotus tea,
  • Homeopathic medicines,e.g., sulfur, arsenic
  • Traditional medicines such as traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicines
  • Probiotics,e.g., acidophilous, lactobacillus
  • Amino acids and essential fatty acids,e.g., glutamine, taurine
  • Protein powders,e.g., whey, hemp, soy
  • Fat burners and weight-loss products,e.g., Hydroxycut, green coffee bean extract
  • Muscle boosters and mass gainers,e.g., Jacked 3D,Hemo-Rage Black Ultra Concentrate

 


 

What are the risks associated with supplement use?

Unlike food and pharmaceutical production, the supplement industry is subject to little government regulation in most countries. As a result, supplements may:

  • Intentionally contain prohibited substances;
  • Unintentionally be contaminated with prohibited substances (e.g., contaminated source ingredients, erroneous source ingredients, cross-contamination during manufacturing); or
  • Be mislabelled.

In addition, supplements may:

  • Not accurately list the ingredients (e.g., falsify, omit);
  • Not accurately list the relative amounts of each ingredient per dose;
  • Make false certification claims (e.g., WADA-approved);
  • Make false health benefit claims; and
  • Not list important cautionary information (e.g., side-effects to health).

The number of anti-doping violations resulting from the use of supplements demonstrates the extreme risk an athlete runs when using supplements.

How can shooting sport athletes minimize the risks?

Athletes have a personal responsibility to evaluate all the risks associated with the consumption of supplements before using them and are responsible for any prohibited substance found in their sample - this is known as strict liability.  

You might be best to not use them at all because if you test positive, it will be up to you to establish that you did not know the supplement contained a prohibited substance and that you took all necessary precautions in this regard.  

For example:

  • Always comply with testing requests when you are notified for doping control and always indicate on your doping control form any and all supplements you might be using at the time.
  • Conduct thorough on line  searches
  • Consult nutritionists, physicians etc.
  • Consult the Global DRO if applicable to your country
  • Contact your member federation, your NADO or your NOC
  • Contact the manufacturer of the product to obtain some guarantees
  • Keep a record of all these searches.

A positive test for an athlete who uses supplements may result in a violation regardless of how  the prohibited substance got into their body or of whether the athlete knew what he or she was ingesting.

  • If you test positive and cannot establish that it was because of your supplement, you may be suspended for 2 or 4 years depending on the prohibited substance involved.
  • Please note that Ignorance is never a valid defence to an anti-doping rule violation.

 

 

 

Bottom line:

 

If you can avoid taking supplements… do so. Its simply not worth the risk.

 

If you have any topics that you would like covered in the IPOD, you are asked to forward your questions and ideas to doris@issf-sports.org.


 

Janie Soublière

 

ISSF Partners