Reprinted from

Lance

It is not easy to forget the dream shattering deaths of Len Bias, a former Univer- sity of Maryland basketball star and professional foot- ball player Don Rodgers, both of whom fell under the terrifying spell of cocaine.

The and American governments were not the only ones con- cerned; the Canadian Inter- University Athletics Union (CIAU) officials have made drug testing for national- level athlet- ics mandatory. Mary Ap- pleton, the CIAU’s coordi- nator of international pro- grams, said that so far test- ing will be a last resort for the varsity athletes at Canadian Colleges and Uni- versities.

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“There seems to have been’ some misconception among the universities that we have been or will be, testing athletes for drug “That simply isn’t true,” she said.

Dr. Michael Salter, Dean of the Faculty of Hu- Kenetics and track coach for the University of Windsor said mandatory drug tests at the university level would not be fair.

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“T don’t have any prob- lem in terms of drug test- ing as long as it doesn’t in- terfere with an individual’s right.” Salter said in an in-

terview.

The

“The only thing that concerns me is subjecting every athlete to drug test- ing in an athletic program -—— you might as well test all the students on campus.”

The coach of Toronto’s Ryerson Rams hockey team refuted some of the mis- conceptions of drug testing that concern many univer- sity athletes. :

“The Canadian Sports Federation has asked that the CIAU cooperate in hon- ouring any suspension of the Canadian Amateur ath- lete for the use of illegal drugs,” Jim Cairn said in an interview.

He will shield his play- ers from drug tests if the CIAU does decide to make them mandatory.

“My own feeling, is that at this level of compe- tition the CIAU does not have the right to request what an athlete does away from the contest — I don’t believe that I do either,” Cairn said.

While drug _ testing among university athletes will not become manda- tory in the near future, the CIAU has made moves in that direction.

“Recent success on the international level has prompted concern within Sports Cananda of drug use

Drugs for sport .

Just let them take pills

among our world class ath- letes,” Appleton said.

A recent crackdown by Sports Canada cost Canada chances for medals in the throws (shotput, javelin, and discuss) and suspen- sions for three top throw- ers last summer in the 1986 Commonwealth Games.

National champions, Mike Spiritoso, 23, Rob Gray, 29, and Peter Dajia, 22, all from Toronto, were banned at the Nationals when urine tests showed levels of an- abolic steroids —- illegal drugs that increased the athletes’ strength.

Spiritoso and Dajia are students in the United States. Both will continue to compete but only in the United States.

Gray, a lawyer’ in Toronto, was the least for- tunate of the three; he will The expense has been the great- est for Gray because he was favored to win medals in the Games.

Denise Hebert, 22, a fourth year Human Kinet- ics student at the Uni- versity of Windsor is a competitor in shotput and javelin for the university, and is a member of the women’s Canandian Na-

never compete again.

tional Team. She said that Gray was a professional ‘A’ carded athlete.

“An ‘A’ carded athlete receives funding from the government. This is really tough to get but Rob re- ceived the money because he was in the top 10 in the world,” she said.

Hebert has been sur- rounded by the drugs since she was 15 when she started competing at the national level.

“You drugs, you know who is tak- ing them, it filters.” she said.

hear about the

Herbert quotes Gray’s coach: “Judge our perfor- mance against drug-free op- position. To expect us to be drug-free and then rank us for. carding pur- poses against the top 100 in the world, most of whom are not clean, is not only unfair but immoral.”

“If you are a univer- sity student and you have to work, you go home, take your steriods or up- pers just to keep-going and achieve your card...It’s lu- dicrous to compete with- out taking steriods,” Her- bert said. “Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not op- posed to drug testing. I

think they should test, I have nothing to hide.”

Appleton requested that the university estab- lish positions to administer drug testing. Salter said he is “prepared to do this but only when there is the need.”

“The testing will be set up through the health ser- vices — someone outside of the Human Kinetics fac- ulty.” Salter said.

These experts will aid the National Sports Or- ganization to test athletes competing in events held in universit faculties.

The Na- tional Sports Organization (NSO) runs non-university sporting events such as the Olympic trial for Canada’s Track and Field Associa- tion.

“Next year the Cana- dian Open will be held at the University of Windsor,” Salter said. “the drug test

policy must occur in this meet.”

International has been give a higher pri- ority in drug testing than the inter-Canadian univer- sity the government funds in- ternational athletes to com- which they must produce.

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“CATCHI”

Graphic Dalhousie Gazette

Thursday, April 2 ey e——4