www.military.ie the defence forces magazine
| 25
sports supplements & Anti-Doping
Defence Forces Supplementation Awareness Campaign
A DF supplementation Awareness campaign has recently
been launched by DF Fitness & sports policy (DFF&sp) sec-
tion. posters have been distributed to all Bde/Fmn physi-
cal education Officers and will soon be on display in public
locations in your Barracks/post. For any queries please
contact your physical education Officer.
Sports Supplements
Sports supplements are commonly used by athletes in the
hope of maximizing recovery and boosting performance. Sup-
plement companies are unregulated, and this lack of oversight
means that you never know what you are taking.
Understandably this can lead to confusion surrounding sports
supplementation. With this in mind the information below is
aimed at informing the reader on the subject matter.
What do the Experts say?
The Irish Sports Council recommends against the use of
sports supplements for the following reasons:
• Correct dietary & nutritional regimes will provide all
the potential benefits of sports supplementation.
• There are no guarantees that any dietary supplements
are safe.
• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) principle of
strict liability means athletes are responsible for any
substances taken.
• Before taking dietary supplements, you should assess
the Need, Risk and Consequences.
To aid your decision making, visit www.informedsport.com
for info on products that have been batched tested.
What is Doping?
'Doping' refers to an athlete's use of prohibited drugs or
methods to improve training and sporting results.
What About Medication?
Unless you are prescribed medication by a doctor, WADA
prohibit the use of such medication for performance en-
hancement by healthy people.
Drug Testing Within the
Defence Forces
Drug testing within the Defence Forces is governed by De-
fence Forces Administrative Instruction A7 Chapter 3 (CRDT
& Targeted drugs testing). It is recommended you make
yourself aware of the sanctions for positive tests.
For more information and resources go to Fitness and
Sports Documents/Resource Library on Defence Forces Fit-
ness and Sports Policy section's IKON site.
Or there are a number of links below which can be
accessed online.
www.irishsportscouncil.ie
www.instituteofsport.ie
www.informedsport.com
