gymn
Digest
Wed, 23 Mar 94 Volume 2 :
Issue 92
Today's
Topics:
A More Formal Poll
Drug Testing (5 msgs)
Drug Testing Antidotes
Kerri Strugg
Who is going to worlds?
This is a digest of the
gymn@athena.mit.edu mailing list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:
Wed, 23 Mar 94 20:08:30 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: A More Formal Poll
How about if everyone
makes their top 3 AA precdicitons (men &
women)
and gold for each event (also men &
women) and send them to me
directly (not post them
to gymn). Then I can tabulate them in some
sort of orderly fashion and post the results. That way you
won't be
getting all sorts of messges
from just everyone with no clear majority
picture. If it sounds good to you then send your
Brisbane predicitons
to
me at stobchatay @aol.com.
Susan
------------------------------
Date:
Wed, 23 Mar 94 14:57:28 PST
From: ***@eworld.com
Subject: Drug Testing
Perhaps I should clarify my stand.
I by no means advocate
legalized drugs in sports. I think the issue of
buying
marijuana cigarettes the same way you buy a quart of Chivas
is
totally separate from the sports issue.
I
was simply positing that either you are going to ban performance
enhancing chemicals altoghether
(which means testing, regardless of
how degrading
that might be) or you are going to have to accept their
existance and compensate for them.
Me, I'm
for testing. I think the outfits worn by many atheletes
when
competing are FAR more degrading than the
testing process itself
(bicyclists, speed skaters,
Tonya Harding at the Olympics.)
David
------------------------------
Date:
Wed, 23 Mar 94 20:23:22 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Drug
Testing
On the libertarian note, it seems to me that on a libertarian
view,
sports isn't an exception, but rather that
private organizations like
the USGF and IOC should
be able to set the requirements they want.
I
mean, they can make you wear long-sleeved
leotards, outlaw tights and
say what kind of shoes
you can wear if they feel like it.
Of course,
it's more complicated than this
(they shouldn't be able to set race
requirements),
but I think steroids fall under the leotard rather then
the
race category. I guess maybe the
difference between race and
leotards is a matter
of degree rather than of principle (though there
are
the issues mentioned of the ill effects of the drugs and the fact
that children are involved), but it's good enough for
me.
On the "how good your chemist is" note, whether that is
objectionable
may also be a matter of degree and
not principle -- so much already
depends on how
good your coach, equipment and judges (also
psychologist,
nutritionist, choreographer, parents, etc) are.
--
Gimnasta
------------------------------
Date:
Wed, 23 Mar 94 21:05:27 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Drug Testing
>I think the outfits worn by many atheletes
when
competing are FAR more degrading than the
testing process itself
>(bicyclists,
speed skaters, Tonya Harding at the Olympics.)
Well,
I wouldn't say that, but anyway, how revealing an outfit is,
within what's required by the organization, is a matter of
choice
(Tonya didn't have to show *that* much skin if she didn't want
to),
whereas drug testing is not. In some sports
(like cycling and
speedskating),
how tight an outfit is may affect performance, so the
choice
between going faster or wearing more and looser clothes may not
be much of a choice, but it's a choice nevertheless. [Btw, you are
penalized
.2 in women's gymnastics if too much shows (Chinese gymnasts
have been penalized for this). Also, rhythmic now allows ankle-length
tights in order to allow women whose cultures require that
they cover
their legs to participate. A neat byproduct is that the tights can
be
used to create an original, artistic
effect.]
This may also be a male/female thing. Men regularly urinate in front
of each other; women do not (maybe this inhibition should
change,
maybe not, I'm just saying how it
is). Also, it's not just the
monitor that's the issue, but that the mandatory testing
reveals other
stuff, like use of birth control
pills, which the athlete may think is
her business
and no one else's.
-- Gimnasta
------------------------------
Date:
Wed, 23 Mar 94 18:52:25 PST
From: ***@eworld.com
Subject: Drug Testing
>Also, it's not just the monitor that's the issue, but
>that the mandatory testing reveals other stuff, like use of
birth control
>pills, which the athlete may
think is her business and no one else's.
True, but you cannot have it
both ways. Either you give in to testing,
or you
resist the whole issue and leave the sport open to chemical
abusers, and make the necessary changes to accomodate it.
If you want liberty, legalize
chemical enhancement. If you want no
chemical
enhancement, then open your system to investigation. There IS
NO
halfway.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 94
22:43:25 EST
From: ***@MIT.EDU
Subject: Drug Testing
not sure who said:
>>Also, it's not just the
monitor that's the issue, but
>>that the
mandatory testing reveals other stuff, like use of birth control
>>pills, which the athlete may think is her business and no
one else's.
ChinaHand said:
>True,
but you cannot have it both ways. Either you give in to testing, or you
>resist the whole issue and leave the sport open to chemical
abusers, and make
>the necessary changes to accomodate it.
>If you want liberty, legalize
chemical enhancement. If you want no chemical
>enhancement,
then open your system to investigation. There IS NO
halfway.
Well, certainly the contents of the athlete's urine, except
for those
substances which are banned, should be
strictly confidential. If a
gymnast is taking a substance, such as birth control pills,
which is
not restricted (I am assuming they are
not) no one else needs to find
out except the person
performing the test, who would be held to the
same
standards as any medical professional.
In fact, I think it would be
reasonable to allow an athlete who is
caught
having used an illegal substance to have the particular
substance
found kept confidential if she agrees not to contest the
finding. There's no need for the entire world to
know *what* she had
in her blood (unless she wants
to tell, as in it was a cold pill she
took by
mistake...)
--Robyn
------------------------------
Date:
Wed, 23 Mar 94 20:08:24 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Drug Testing
Antidotes
Mention of drug tests made me think of these just for funx
In the '93 World Champs
the "random" selction of 2 athletes to
test
after the women's AA was Stella Umeh & Stacy Galloway. Out of 24
competiors, the only 2
Canadians.
The entire German team was delayed at the '92 Olympic Games for 6
hours while Andreas
Wecker tried to produce a drug test.
Scherbo was tested after each pahse
of comeptition in Ba rcelona
x
looking at Vitali I'd
have to say that steroids are not a factor!
Susan
------------------------------
Date:
Wed, 23 Mar 94 20:07:40 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Kerri Strugg
Kerri Strug has
moved back home to Tuscon to be closer to her
family
and is currently training at
"Gymnastics World" with Jerry Hinkle.
She is not currently
competing due to injury and will not be a part of
the
upcoming World Championships in Brisbane, AUS.
Gymnastics World
201
E Fort Lowell
Tuscon, AZ 85705
Susan
------------------------------
Date:
Wed, 23 Mar 94 20:07:51 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Who is going to
worlds?
Our men's team has already been selected for both the AUS
Worlds and
the Goodwill Games in July. This was done
at the February 5th Winter
Cup. John
Roethlisberger, Scott Keswick, & Chainey Umphrey will
compete in the AA
and Paul O'Neil & Mark Sohn will compete as
"specialists" in Rings & Pommel Horse
respectively. Mihi
Bagiu is our
men's team
alternate and will be the 4th memeber of the Goodwill
Games
team in July. Other countries need not publically
announce who
they're sending so you're guess is as
good as mine but I'm sure we can
expect to see the
usual noteables.
Also, Shannon Miller IS already
pre-qualified
for the US squad with her top 6 vault EF finish at the
American Cup on the
5th of March.
Susan
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End
of gymn Digest
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