This content is archived and as has not been processed. It may contain unformatted text or images, broken links or out-of-date information.
Shoot Clean! – Say No! to Doping
Singapore – 20 August 2010
We recently informed you that the World Archery Clean Sport department in partnership with WADA has launched a promotion campaign called “Shoot Clean! - Say No! to Doping”. Archers shot at special green/black targets during official practice at the Youth Olympic Games. Here are some of their reactions about this promotion campaign.
Some athletes and coaches may wonder what prohibited substances may help enhance the performance in a sport such as archery—well, the scientific researches have concluded that archery has a low intensity/long duration physiological profile, where no special endurance or force generating capacity is needed, as it could be for marathon or weightlifting. Altough an archer must be in good physical condition to be able to draw his bow 200-300 times a day (40-60 pounds each time), his technique, tactics and mental are more important than the physiological properties for the overall performance. Therefore, the potential doping agents are mainly beta-blockers, and any other soothing agent.
“The competition should be fair,” says Alice INGLEY from Australia. “It creates a good atmosphere to know that the campaign against doping helps our sport be clean.”
“It’s good to tell the young sportsmen we need to have a doping-free sport,” says the 2000 Olympic Bronze Medallist Wietse van ALTEN (NED), who is in Singapore as Athlete Role Model and coach of the Dutch archers.
“We need to educate young archer not only regarding doping products, but we must also teach them to be careful with the medicine they take if they are ill or injured one or two weeks before a competition. They have to learn to ask their doctors or their physiotherapist about any medicine they need to take, because in archery we have a very long list of banned substances, probably the longest of all sports.”
Many young athletes already know the message: “If I have a cold before a competition I try not to take anything in order to be sure I’m clean, but if it’s worse than that I go to our team doctor,” says Alice INGLEY.
The French archer Julien ROSSIGNOL hopes that the archery community will “set up the same initiative on more competitions”, because for now the campaign has reached only the 64 archers competing in Singapore.
“This campaign shows that archery is a serious sport, while many people might think that it’s not a real sport and that we can take whatever substances we want”, said the Swiss archer Axel MULLER. “Personally, I know the list of the banned substances because in Switzerland we have access to a website listing all the products that are authorized or prohibited.”
“On the general level, I think doping is rare in our sport,” concludes Axel MULLER.
Vanahé ANTILLE
World Archery Communication
Some athletes and coaches may wonder what prohibited substances may help enhance the performance in a sport such as archery—well, the scientific researches have concluded that archery has a low intensity/long duration physiological profile, where no special endurance or force generating capacity is needed, as it could be for marathon or weightlifting. Altough an archer must be in good physical condition to be able to draw his bow 200-300 times a day (40-60 pounds each time), his technique, tactics and mental are more important than the physiological properties for the overall performance. Therefore, the potential doping agents are mainly beta-blockers, and any other soothing agent.
“The competition should be fair,” says Alice INGLEY from Australia. “It creates a good atmosphere to know that the campaign against doping helps our sport be clean.”
“It’s good to tell the young sportsmen we need to have a doping-free sport,” says the 2000 Olympic Bronze Medallist Wietse van ALTEN (NED), who is in Singapore as Athlete Role Model and coach of the Dutch archers.
“We need to educate young archer not only regarding doping products, but we must also teach them to be careful with the medicine they take if they are ill or injured one or two weeks before a competition. They have to learn to ask their doctors or their physiotherapist about any medicine they need to take, because in archery we have a very long list of banned substances, probably the longest of all sports.”
Many young athletes already know the message: “If I have a cold before a competition I try not to take anything in order to be sure I’m clean, but if it’s worse than that I go to our team doctor,” says Alice INGLEY.
The French archer Julien ROSSIGNOL hopes that the archery community will “set up the same initiative on more competitions”, because for now the campaign has reached only the 64 archers competing in Singapore.
“This campaign shows that archery is a serious sport, while many people might think that it’s not a real sport and that we can take whatever substances we want”, said the Swiss archer Axel MULLER. “Personally, I know the list of the banned substances because in Switzerland we have access to a website listing all the products that are authorized or prohibited.”
“On the general level, I think doping is rare in our sport,” concludes Axel MULLER.
Vanahé ANTILLE
World Archery Communication
Features
