2008 Woodie Awards
Athletes learn about NCAA Drug tests
Lauren Newmyer
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: Sports
In the year 2000 in Sydney, Australia, U.S. track runner Marion Jones became the first female athlete to win five medals at the Olympics. In October 2007, Jones forfeited her three gold and two bronze Olympic medals to the USOC after a scandal revealed that she used five different performance-enhancing drugs before competing.
An NCAA college athlete has just as good a chance of being stripped of glory due to a positive drug test.
"If you are using performance-enhancing drugs and you are tested, it will show up," said Kathy Schneidwind, a spokesperson for Drug Free Sport, a national organization that administers drug tests to athletes in the NCAA, the NFL and many other sports organizations. "The things you see on the Iinternet to help you pass the test will not work. We have ways of detecting if you are trying to cheat the system."
Midday on Feb. 13, athletes gathered in Dana Auditorium to listen to a presentation from Schenidwind about the dangers and risks involved in taking performance-enhancing drugs. Schneidwind gave a PowerPoint presentation detailing what substances to avoid during athletic seasons.
Students learned that missing a scheduled test or tampering with the test would result in the test counting as positive. Banned substances include stimulants, anabolic steroids, diuretics, anti-estrogens, peptide hormones, and marijuana.
Schneidwind stressed that good diet and practice can benefit an athlete just as effectively as taking substances, without the consequences of using performance-enhancing drugs.
"Food is a cheaper and better way to get the nutritional benefit you are looking for," Schneidwind said.
Many students found it helpful to learn that steroids and marijuana are not the only substances that put athletes at risk. Meanwhile, labels can be misleading and banned ingredients can hide under alternate names.
"A substance may be legal but still against NCAA policy," said Schneidwind. "The best way to find out if you can use a supplement is to go to www.drugfreesport.com/rec. and type in the password NCAA3."
An NCAA college athlete has just as good a chance of being stripped of glory due to a positive drug test.
"If you are using performance-enhancing drugs and you are tested, it will show up," said Kathy Schneidwind, a spokesperson for Drug Free Sport, a national organization that administers drug tests to athletes in the NCAA, the NFL and many other sports organizations. "The things you see on the Iinternet to help you pass the test will not work. We have ways of detecting if you are trying to cheat the system."
Midday on Feb. 13, athletes gathered in Dana Auditorium to listen to a presentation from Schenidwind about the dangers and risks involved in taking performance-enhancing drugs. Schneidwind gave a PowerPoint presentation detailing what substances to avoid during athletic seasons.
Students learned that missing a scheduled test or tampering with the test would result in the test counting as positive. Banned substances include stimulants, anabolic steroids, diuretics, anti-estrogens, peptide hormones, and marijuana.
Schneidwind stressed that good diet and practice can benefit an athlete just as effectively as taking substances, without the consequences of using performance-enhancing drugs.
"Food is a cheaper and better way to get the nutritional benefit you are looking for," Schneidwind said.
Many students found it helpful to learn that steroids and marijuana are not the only substances that put athletes at risk. Meanwhile, labels can be misleading and banned ingredients can hide under alternate names.
"A substance may be legal but still against NCAA policy," said Schneidwind. "The best way to find out if you can use a supplement is to go to www.drugfreesport.com/rec. and type in the password NCAA3."
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