FITA Question...

[Witchie Poo Cat]

Hi Guys

I was browsing the FITA documents today and stumbled upon the Anti Doping policy.

Can I ask if this policy applies to all archers at ANY FITA tournament no matter what level, or is this for "professional" archers? Does the same policy apply to GNAS tournaments as well?

I know Im nowhere near ready to compete but just browsing the list I can see at least 2 drugs which I take routinely and a possible 3rd which may or may not be a problem. Of course, these are taken for pre-existing medical conditions, but already Im starting to worry that if I were to get good enough to compete in tournaments in the future it could be a bit of a hassle applying for an exemption.

Can anyone shed more light on this?

Thanks

Witchie Poo Cat

[andrew.paterson]

Originally Posted by Witchie Poo Cat

Can I ask if this policy applies to all archers at ANY FITA tournament no matter what level, or is this for "professional" archers? Does the same policy apply to GNAS tournaments as well?

Any Record Status competion will have a Drug Testing policy statement on the entry form. i.e. you must, if asked, comply with a drug test. Also in a GNAS tournament you acheive a Rose score, you must also sign a declaration that you have not taken a banned substance.

[Witchie Poo Cat]

Originally Posted by andrew.paterson

Any Record Status competion will have a Drug Testing policy statement on the entry form. i.e. you must, if asked, comply with a drug test. Also in a GNAS tournament you acheive a Rose score, you must also sign a declaration that you have not taken a banned substance.

Andrew - thanks for the reply but being new to archery I do not know what a Record Status competition or a Rose Score are?

I could do with a reply from someone who takes something on the banned list who has an exemption so that I can get an idea of whats involved. Im getting a bit disheartened now

[tel]

As far as I know there are 'banned' substances, but medical justification for taking them is enough to kill the hassle. Lists of the borderline (in fact any) are available - I'll try and dig out the link.
To try (briefly) to explain the comp. issue - and trust me you're more ready than most - some shoots are given record status. That means that if you score the required score you get to be a record breaker! It also means that if you score the required score for Rose awards (imperial rounds) or Fita stars (fita rounds) you get a shiny new badge- again I'll have to point you in the right direction for the details..

[Witchie Poo Cat]

Originally Posted by tel

As far as I know there are 'banned' substances, but medical justification for taking them is enough to kill the hassle. Lists of the borderline (in fact any) are available - I'll try and dig out the link.
To try (briefly) to explain the comp. issue - and trust me you're more ready than most - some shoots are given record status. That means that if you score the required score you get to be a record breaker! It also means that if you score the required score for Rose awards (imperial rounds) or Fita stars (fita rounds) you get a shiny new badge- again I'll have to point you in the right direction for the details..

Thanks for your help Tel. Dont ask me why, but since reading the document today I just seem to be on a bit of a downer. I love archery so much even though Im so new to it, and to discover this its just a bit of a kick in the teeth

Weather permitting I will be spending the afternoon tomorrow at the field shooting so that should be the perfect tonic to pick me up

[Deadeye Doc]

Here's the statement from the shooting admin procedures book from GNAS

"4. All archers applying for Master Bowman status (or greater) or for a FITA Star of 1200 (or greater) will be required to sign one of the following declarations:
EITHER
“I declare that I am not at the present time taking any drugs and if I subsequently am prescribed drugs for medical reasons I will inform the GNAS office by submitting a doctor’s letter giving a list of the drugs and the reasons they were prescribed for me.”
OR
“I declare that I am taking drugs prescribed to me by a doctor for medical reasons and I have informed the GNAS office by submitting a doctor’s letter giving a list of the drugs and the reasons they were prescribed for me.” "

This paragraph means that if, for example, you were taking, say, beta-blockers for hypertension you might be expected to ask your doctor to write a letter, for which he will be entitled to charge as this is nothing to do with his NHS duties, stating just this.

Now the IOC has a list of banned drugs which you can look up online. However, I have always thought that as the list gets bigger and bigger, we really need a sport-specific list. An example of this might be with asthma, for which beta-adrenergic drugs such as Salbutamol (Ventolin and other brands) may be prescribed. For a runner or swimmer there may well be an advantage to taking this, while for a shooter (an archer or a rifleman for example) these drugs confer no benefit and may indeed hamper performance.

There is an argument that needs to be had over what really are performance-enhancing drugs specifically for each sport. The fuss over testosterone with "Le Tour" this year is an example. Of course testosterone enhances performance for cyclists and weight lifters among others, but at what biological level it is normally found is the "stinger" in the tail. There's a continuum with so many biological measurements. Where you draw the line and start saying this level is "normal" and this level - 1 nanogram above it - is not, is a recurring question.

From your point of view, and mine, technically you could be asked to provide either blood or urine samples but this is only an infinitessimally remote possibility. Oh to be good enough for this to be a less remote possibility.

[Witchie Poo Cat]

Thanks for your reply Doc that was most helpful. I was smiling at your "oh to be that good" comment. I was wondering how many people would read my post and laugh knowing that Im not even out of my beginners course and asking this question! But hey, no harm in setting yourself high goals right?

So just to clarify, if Im taking part in normal run of the mill inter-club tournaments then Im ok but if I start competing in the tournaments that count towards rankings etc then thats when you have to sign the declaration? Have I got it right? Also, this does not apply to me until Im at Bowman status? haha, sorry, now even im smiling imagining that ever happening but you never know, it pays to be prepared

[bluebow]

There has been discussion on this before on Archery Interchange that contains useful links:
http://www.archery-interchange.com/f...highlight=wada

There is sport specific information available at the WADA website - the link is in the thread above. Also a searchable database at the drug information database co-ordinated by Sport UK:
http://www.didglobal.com/page/choose%20country

[Witchie Poo Cat]

Originally Posted by bluebow

There has been discussion on this before on Archery Interchange that contains useful links:
http://www.archery-interchange.com/f...highlight=wada

There is sport specific information available at the WADA website - the link is in the thread above. Also a searchable database at the drug information database co-ordinated by Sport UK:
http://www.didglobal.com/page/choose%20country

Thanks Bluebow but thats the document that made me post the question in the first place I was just wondering about the practicalities of taking drugs on the list and having to get exemptions.

[Witchie Poo Cat]

Ive just checked that drugs database, thanks for the link its very useful. One drug is definitely banned, one is unclear and the other 2 are fine.

The 2 drugs that are banned Im only taking temporarily so hopefully, by the time Im lucky enough to be competing I wont be taking them. The other 2 however, I have to take long term but they are allowed.

Ok, panic over, so long as Im not competing in the next 8 months at top level - no worries there then

Thanks for taking the time to respond . Ive been worrying about this all day but I feel a bit more at ease about it now