Sunday, 20 April 2008
Drug testing in Rugby League; is it a hospital pass?
Drug testing in Rugby League; is it a hospital pass?
By Craig Cayton
Friday 4th April 2008
With Dwain Chambers arrival at Castleford Tigers the spotlight has firmly been placed on the Rugby Football League’s governing body, who after their decision to clear the way for Dwain’s arrival in to the sport have been described as “soft touches” for drug users. But is that a fair assessment?
In 2002, Rugby League had the worst doping problem in Britain with more of its performers testing positive for banned anabolic steroids than any other sport in the country. The figures released by UK Sport, the body who is responsible for the testing of athletes in Great Britain, revealed that 18 leading players produced adverse findings for banned substances during the 2000/01 season and more worryingly for the sport how that included 10 who had been taking anabolic steroids, nearly half of the 26 cases in over 40 sports tested. Even more worryingly is that in six out of season tests, four came back positive for traces of anabolic steroids, in comparison to the 506 out-of-competition tests in athletics in which all came back negative.
However since then the RFL has had a complete overhaul of their drug testing agenda. The year after these findings were confirmed, the RFL immediately increased its anti-doping programme from 185 tests in 2001 to 296 tests in 2002, with the league itself paying for last 148 tests themselves. This increase in testing now means that over the course of the season about a third of Rugby League professionals are tested with two from each team tested at every match. This RFL claim is a bigger percentage than any other sport and shows the leagues commitment to making the sport is ‘drug-free’.
Since then the RFL has further increased its anti doping programme with UK Sport statistic’s confirming that of all 379 tests conducted last season only eleven tests came back with a positive finding (2.9% of all tests conducted). The sport is also combating the problem of drug use in sport by becoming the first team sport in the UK to introduce blood testing to their anti-doping agenda. This new technique of drug testing means that the new generation of performance enhancing drugs such as HGH – human growth hormone (Somatotropin) and EPO – (Erythropoietin), can now be detected in the blood stream were as traditional methods of testing such as urine testing. Commenting on this new technique of drug testing, UK Sport’s acting head of press, Lee Taylor added, “This is a terrific move forward in combating drug use in Rugby League. Less and less players are now returning positive tests and this technique will allow us to move into the next generation of drug testing”.
However the RFL has also further shown its determination to stamp out drug cheats in the sport by confirming that next season the amount of testing conducted on athletes will increase even to over 400 tests a season starting immediately, with the introduction of the tests confirming that their will be over a third of players tested. The RFL have also now started conducted tests at team’s overseas training camps in Portugal, Spain and the United States. They have also issued notices to every professional team’s dressing room spelling out the issues surrounding the use of ephedrine and how it will not be tolerated. All teams are also issued with anti-doping control education packs and are now required to make an annual declaration confirming that they have given every player advice and education on the use of drugs in rugby league.
Working in conjunction with UK Sport the RFL has also created the Athlete Whereabouts System in which a athlete has to indicate exactly where they will be in and out of season for one hour day, five days a week, in which whenever a drug tester was to turn up they would be their and would have very little excuse for missing their test. The RFL have also introduced this to young players of the sport in team academy’s, even though this does require written permission from the parents of the child it is still introducing the potential player of the future to drug testing and showing from a early age that the use of drugs in rugby league will not be tolerated.
RFL PR Media Manager Andrew Whitelan says the drug testing in Rugby League is of a high standard and comments on the RFL extreme information campaign to make players aware of what taking drugs could potentially do to their body and to their career. He further added, “We are always trying to improve and advance our anti doping campaign. We not only work to the standards set out by the World Anti Doping Agency but we are always trying to find new methods to test our players”.
However though the RFL do allow for up to three drug tests to be missed in an eighteen month sequence, this is a direct parallel to that of the Football Association which stipulates that every drug test arranged should be attended by the player. Also the amount of tests conducted is still below the amount conducted by the Football Association, the British Olympic Committee and the Rugby Football Union. However even with all this in mind and even with the introduction of proven drugs cheat Dwain Chambers into rugby league, with every year that passes the RFL are making it harder for drugs cheat to both prosper in the sport and continue without been tested. With the modern instruction of methods such as blood testing and the Athlete Whereabouts System the sport is at the forefront of modern anti-doping methods and just the amount and variation of testing keeps on increasing in number, the amount of negative findings continue to diminish.
By Craig Cayton
Friday 4th April 2008
With Dwain Chambers arrival at Castleford Tigers the spotlight has firmly been placed on the Rugby Football League’s governing body, who after their decision to clear the way for Dwain’s arrival in to the sport have been described as “soft touches” for drug users. But is that a fair assessment?
In 2002, Rugby League had the worst doping problem in Britain with more of its performers testing positive for banned anabolic steroids than any other sport in the country. The figures released by UK Sport, the body who is responsible for the testing of athletes in Great Britain, revealed that 18 leading players produced adverse findings for banned substances during the 2000/01 season and more worryingly for the sport how that included 10 who had been taking anabolic steroids, nearly half of the 26 cases in over 40 sports tested. Even more worryingly is that in six out of season tests, four came back positive for traces of anabolic steroids, in comparison to the 506 out-of-competition tests in athletics in which all came back negative.
However since then the RFL has had a complete overhaul of their drug testing agenda. The year after these findings were confirmed, the RFL immediately increased its anti-doping programme from 185 tests in 2001 to 296 tests in 2002, with the league itself paying for last 148 tests themselves. This increase in testing now means that over the course of the season about a third of Rugby League professionals are tested with two from each team tested at every match. This RFL claim is a bigger percentage than any other sport and shows the leagues commitment to making the sport is ‘drug-free’.
Since then the RFL has further increased its anti doping programme with UK Sport statistic’s confirming that of all 379 tests conducted last season only eleven tests came back with a positive finding (2.9% of all tests conducted). The sport is also combating the problem of drug use in sport by becoming the first team sport in the UK to introduce blood testing to their anti-doping agenda. This new technique of drug testing means that the new generation of performance enhancing drugs such as HGH – human growth hormone (Somatotropin) and EPO – (Erythropoietin), can now be detected in the blood stream were as traditional methods of testing such as urine testing. Commenting on this new technique of drug testing, UK Sport’s acting head of press, Lee Taylor added, “This is a terrific move forward in combating drug use in Rugby League. Less and less players are now returning positive tests and this technique will allow us to move into the next generation of drug testing”.
However the RFL has also further shown its determination to stamp out drug cheats in the sport by confirming that next season the amount of testing conducted on athletes will increase even to over 400 tests a season starting immediately, with the introduction of the tests confirming that their will be over a third of players tested. The RFL have also now started conducted tests at team’s overseas training camps in Portugal, Spain and the United States. They have also issued notices to every professional team’s dressing room spelling out the issues surrounding the use of ephedrine and how it will not be tolerated. All teams are also issued with anti-doping control education packs and are now required to make an annual declaration confirming that they have given every player advice and education on the use of drugs in rugby league.
Working in conjunction with UK Sport the RFL has also created the Athlete Whereabouts System in which a athlete has to indicate exactly where they will be in and out of season for one hour day, five days a week, in which whenever a drug tester was to turn up they would be their and would have very little excuse for missing their test. The RFL have also introduced this to young players of the sport in team academy’s, even though this does require written permission from the parents of the child it is still introducing the potential player of the future to drug testing and showing from a early age that the use of drugs in rugby league will not be tolerated.RFL PR Media Manager Andrew Whitelan says the drug testing in Rugby League is of a high standard and comments on the RFL extreme information campaign to make players aware of what taking drugs could potentially do to their body and to their career. He further added, “We are always trying to improve and advance our anti doping campaign. We not only work to the standards set out by the World Anti Doping Agency but we are always trying to find new methods to test our players”.
However though the RFL do allow for up to three drug tests to be missed in an eighteen month sequence, this is a direct parallel to that of the Football Association which stipulates that every drug test arranged should be attended by the player. Also the amount of tests conducted is still below the amount conducted by the Football Association, the British Olympic Committee and the Rugby Football Union. However even with all this in mind and even with the introduction of proven drugs cheat Dwain Chambers into rugby league, with every year that passes the RFL are making it harder for drugs cheat to both prosper in the sport and continue without been tested. With the modern instruction of methods such as blood testing and the Athlete Whereabouts System the sport is at the forefront of modern anti-doping methods and just the amount and variation of testing keeps on increasing in number, the amount of negative findings continue to diminish.
Dwain Chambers joins the Super League
Dwain Chambers joins the Super League
By Craig Cayton
Thursday 3rd of April 2008
The disgraced British sprinter, Dwain Chambers has made a controversial career switch to Rugby League. The sprinter has signed for Super League bottom club Castleford Tigers on a 30 day trial.
Drugs cheat Chambers, returned to the track two years ago after serving a two year ban for taking the steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). The ban which was handed down in February 2004 but was backdated to August 2003, not only saw him stripped of all the medals he had won in the two years previous and the repayment of his £120,000 prize money, but also the banning for life of representing Great Britain at the Olympics. During his ban in 2004, Chambers had a brief unsuccessful spell in American Football with NFL team the San Francisco 49ers and also signed a deal last march with the Hamburg Sea Devils, an NFL Europa team but however didn’t play for the club. Castleford Tiger’s announcement of the signing of Chambers however coincides with Castleford’s submission to the Rugby Football League of their application for a three-year Super League licence from 2009.
Many fans are now split however over the media spotlight which is now in full glare over the sport, however many fans believe that Castleford have actually done a lot of harm to the Super League in the signing of Chambers. With Chambers openly admitting that not only does he not know the rules of the sport but he doesn’t actually know how many players there are on a team with many already believe he is been disrespectful to a sport even though he has been welcomed with open arms at Castleford. Many also believe that this lack of knowledge is also detrimental to the future of the game in that the 30 year old is holding the place of an emerging 20 year old that not only loves the sport but has trained and dedicated their youth to the prospect of a career in sport.
Many fans believe the sport should be trying to do everything it can to distance itself from drugs and the cheats involved, however here the sport is actively working to involve a drugs cheat at the highest level sending out a message of disbelief to aspiring youngsters. Many fans also see his presence as a direct insult and show’s his disillusionment, Rugby League is one of the most skilful sports in the world, yet Dwain seems to believe that all you need is the ability to run fast. This is also been seen as a publicity stunt for Chambers who himself openly admits he still hopes to be able to compete in the 2008 Olympics and is still optimistic of mounting a legal challenge to his Olympic Ban.
But, some fans actually think that Chambers should be praised for his contribution to Rugby League, even though he hasn’t even played yet. With the media’s glare firmly on Castleford and the Super League the sprinter has put the sport firmly on the back pages for the first time in a long time, with chambers having more column inches than the sport has received for the whole first month of the Super League. Many also believe that this can only be good thing for the sport with it receiving interest from further a field than the M62 corridor. The benefits to Castleford are potentially huge with the leagues bottom club desperately in need of a boost on the pitch, off the pitch and in the bank, and the signing of Chambers gives the potential to solve them all in one move. Castleford Tigers Media Manger Craig Poskitt says, “It is a very positive move for both the team and the sport. His pace is electric and the team can only benefit from him playing”.
Just as Chambers is harbouring ambitions of swapping the track for the field, so too did Berwyn Jones, the British 100 yards record-holder who joined Wakefield Trinity in 1964. However he only played one game and then decided that infact he preferred it on the track and went back to sprinting. So could that be all that it would take to end this 30 day trial, just as some are calling for him to be thrown in against St Helens at the weekend could that actually bring an end to his Super League career rather than been the first game of many?
Even though Chambers will never be the next Lesley Vinakolou he does have the physical attributes to perform well especially as a winger and his bravery to move to one of the world’s toughest sports also has to be commended. If Chambers can silence his doubters, keep the spotlight on the sport and get the fans to flock to the jungle and cheer the Tiger’s to an unlikely win, then he could be the best thing to ever happen to Castleford and the Rugby Football League.
By Craig Cayton
Thursday 3rd of April 2008
The disgraced British sprinter, Dwain Chambers has made a controversial career switch to Rugby League. The sprinter has signed for Super League bottom club Castleford Tigers on a 30 day trial.
Drugs cheat Chambers, returned to the track two years ago after serving a two year ban for taking the steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). The ban which was handed down in February 2004 but was backdated to August 2003, not only saw him stripped of all the medals he had won in the two years previous and the repayment of his £120,000 prize money, but also the banning for life of representing Great Britain at the Olympics. During his ban in 2004, Chambers had a brief unsuccessful spell in American Football with NFL team the San Francisco 49ers and also signed a deal last march with the Hamburg Sea Devils, an NFL Europa team but however didn’t play for the club. Castleford Tiger’s announcement of the signing of Chambers however coincides with Castleford’s submission to the Rugby Football League of their application for a three-year Super League licence from 2009.
Many fans are now split however over the media spotlight which is now in full glare over the sport, however many fans believe that Castleford have actually done a lot of harm to the Super League in the signing of Chambers. With Chambers openly admitting that not only does he not know the rules of the sport but he doesn’t actually know how many players there are on a team with many already believe he is been disrespectful to a sport even though he has been welcomed with open arms at Castleford. Many also believe that this lack of knowledge is also detrimental to the future of the game in that the 30 year old is holding the place of an emerging 20 year old that not only loves the sport but has trained and dedicated their youth to the prospect of a career in sport.Many fans believe the sport should be trying to do everything it can to distance itself from drugs and the cheats involved, however here the sport is actively working to involve a drugs cheat at the highest level sending out a message of disbelief to aspiring youngsters. Many fans also see his presence as a direct insult and show’s his disillusionment, Rugby League is one of the most skilful sports in the world, yet Dwain seems to believe that all you need is the ability to run fast. This is also been seen as a publicity stunt for Chambers who himself openly admits he still hopes to be able to compete in the 2008 Olympics and is still optimistic of mounting a legal challenge to his Olympic Ban.
But, some fans actually think that Chambers should be praised for his contribution to Rugby League, even though he hasn’t even played yet. With the media’s glare firmly on Castleford and the Super League the sprinter has put the sport firmly on the back pages for the first time in a long time, with chambers having more column inches than the sport has received for the whole first month of the Super League. Many also believe that this can only be good thing for the sport with it receiving interest from further a field than the M62 corridor. The benefits to Castleford are potentially huge with the leagues bottom club desperately in need of a boost on the pitch, off the pitch and in the bank, and the signing of Chambers gives the potential to solve them all in one move. Castleford Tigers Media Manger Craig Poskitt says, “It is a very positive move for both the team and the sport. His pace is electric and the team can only benefit from him playing”.
Just as Chambers is harbouring ambitions of swapping the track for the field, so too did Berwyn Jones, the British 100 yards record-holder who joined Wakefield Trinity in 1964. However he only played one game and then decided that infact he preferred it on the track and went back to sprinting. So could that be all that it would take to end this 30 day trial, just as some are calling for him to be thrown in against St Helens at the weekend could that actually bring an end to his Super League career rather than been the first game of many?
Even though Chambers will never be the next Lesley Vinakolou he does have the physical attributes to perform well especially as a winger and his bravery to move to one of the world’s toughest sports also has to be commended. If Chambers can silence his doubters, keep the spotlight on the sport and get the fans to flock to the jungle and cheer the Tiger’s to an unlikely win, then he could be the best thing to ever happen to Castleford and the Rugby Football League.
Friday, 18 April 2008
Thursday, 17 April 2008
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