Sporting Conduct & Banned Substances

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Conduct

In sport and physical activity there are lots of different elements of conduct:

Etiquette

Unwritten rules about how players should behave.
E.g. shaking hands at the end of a tennis match.
- It is not the law to do this, but it is frowned upon if it is not done.

Sportsmanship

Appropriate, polite and fair behaviour while performing (playing fair).
E.g. helping an opponent up if they have been hurt.
E.g. a football player passing the ball back to the opposition when they have kicked the ball out of play for an injury.

Gamesmanship

Bending the rules to get an advantage, without breaking them.
Wasting time in a game when you are winning is not illegal but it is not playing fair either.

Contract to compete

Agreeing to play by the rules; trying to win but also letting your opponent play.

Performers are often forbidden from taking certain substances. The National Governing Body of a sport manages a sport and lists of prohibited substances. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) does this job for the Olympic Games.

Stimulants

Stimulants (e.g. caffeine) speed up parts of the body or brain. Athletes can increase their alertness, reduce their reaction time or increase their aggression.
Stimulants are very addictive and have dangerous side effects (e.g. increased blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks).
Performers returning from injury may be tempted to use these substances because they reduce pain.

Narcotic analgesics

Performers may take narcotic analgesics (e.g. heroin and morphine) to reduce the pain from overtraining.
Narcotic analgesics are very addictive and have dangerous side effects including constipation, reduced alertness and a loss of concentration that could lead to a coma.

Anabolic agents

Anabolic agents (e.g. anabolic steroids) speed up recovery and allow a performer to train more often. They also make a performer more aggressive and competitive.
Anabolic agents are highly addictive. Their regular use can reduce the size of testicles, cause high blood pressure, damage the liver, kidneys and heart, cause women to develop body hair, reduce breast size, and deepen the voice.

Peptide hormones

Peptide hormones (e.g. EPO) are natural substances that can increase muscle growth and the production of red blood cells.
EPO (erythropoietin) is a peptide hormone that increases the number of red blood cells in the body:
- Reduces tiredness and gives an advantage to endurance athletes.
- However, EPO thickens the blood, which makes the heart work harder. This can increase the chance of a heart attack and stroke.

Diuretics

These are drugs that remove excess water from the body.
They do not improve performance but are mainly used for weight loss.
They are also used to dilute other substances that may have been taken to pass through urine.
Diuretics cause severe dehydration, low blood pressure and cramp.