Author: Andre Coleman

The Olympic Games in 2012 can “leave a legacy of accessible transport and facilities not just for disabled sportsmen and women, but for people with a disability in general.”^[1]

Phil Lane, British Paralympic Association Chief Executive

Table of contents (Jump to)

1. Introduction

2. Methodology

3. Evaluation

3.1. Legislation

3.1.1. DDA 1995

3.1.1.1. Meaning of Disability

3.1.1.2. Meaning of Discrimination

3.1.1.3. Positive Duty under the DDA 2005

3.1.1.4. Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles

3.1.1.5. Rail Vehicles

3.1.1.6. Public Transport Vehicles

3.1.1.7. Aircraft and Ships

3.1.1.8. DDA 1995: Comparison to other Anti-Discrimination Legislation

3.1.1.9. Criticisms

3.2. Case Law

3.3. Stakeholder Commentary

3.4. Survey Results

4. Recommendations

5. Conclusion

5. Appendix “A”

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Introduction

The Labour government under Tony Blair has set out an ambitious agenda for tackling disability discrimination across society. Part of this agenda has involved amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995)^[2] in order to ensure that the lessons of the first ten years of the Act having been in force are taken into account. The DDA 1995 sets out, along with the regulations and orders made under the Act, the legislative framework the intention of which is to ensure that disabled people throughout the country have access to the same opportunities as the public at large. With London having been awarded the Olympic Games in 2012, the ability of this legislative framework to force through change, both on a functional level, and on a cultural one, will be put to the test. The purpose of this report is to examine and critically assess, within the context of transport in London and airline operators, whether or not this legislative framework is sufficient to meet the needs of disabled people coming up to the Olympic Games and beyond.

2. Methodology

In order to assess the readiness of London to meet the needs of disabled travellers during the Olympic Games and beyond within the confines of a research paper it is necessary to clearly define the scope of the intended research. In this case, the scope of the investigation is limited to transport in London, which includes taxis, trains, public authority vehicles, buses, the underground, aircraft and, to a lesser degree, accessibility to the buildings from which those transport vehicles leave from and arrive to.

In order for it to be concluded that London will be ready to meet the needs of disabled travellers by 2012, it will need to be shown, that the current legislative framework is sufficient; that where there are ambiguities within the legislation, the Courts have been willing to provide useful guidance to transport providers and disabled travellers generally; that the culture within the public transport industry has changed with managers and employees now aware of their obligations under the legislation; that there are adequate penalties in place to discourage those that fail to comply; and finally, that these previously mentioned factors will all work together to provide disabled travellers with a integrated means of getting around London by 2012.

In order to investigate these matters, it was necessary to look in detail at the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995), how the Act has been amended over the past eleven years, and in particular by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA 2005), the various regulations and orders made under the DDA 1995 pertaining to public transport, cases decided dealing with the DDA 1995 and various commentary available from both public transport service providers, disabled travellers and other stakeholders.

A survey of both rail and airline employees was also undertaken in order to gauge the level of understanding of the provisions of what is a complicated and often misinterpreted piece of legislation. The results of that survey are set out in Appendix A and discussed within the body of this report.

3. Evaluation
3.1 Legislation

One of the main aims of this report is to establish whether or not the amendments made to the DDA 1995 by the DDA 2005 have assisted in making the DDA 1995 more accessible or whether it remains, as noted by Lord Justice Mummery, “without doubt an unusually complex piece of legislation which poses novel questions of interpretation.”^[3]

3.1.1 DDA 1995

The primary piece of legislation dealing with discrimination against disabled people using public transport is the DDA 1995 which has been amended by the DDA 2005. The DDA 2005 received royal assent on the 7^th April 2005. Its main purpose was to give effect to the submissions made by various groups relating to the operation of the DDA 1995 over the preceding ten years by providing for certain important amendments in relation to that legislation.

The DDA 2005 makes several substantial amendments to the DDA 1995. Those that apply to public transport are set out in Sections 5 to 9. Section 5 inserts a new Section 21ZA into the DDA 1995 and replaces the existing exclusion of transport services from Sections 19 to 21 of the DDA 1995 with a more precise exclusion which relates to only those transport services which consist of vehicle provision and use. Section 21ZA(1)(b) excludes discrimination which relates to a service provided, or not provided, while a disabled person is travelling in a vehicle. Section 21ZA(2) excludes from the duty to provide adjustments, transport services involving providing or using a vehicle. Sections 21ZA(1) and (2) can be disapplied through regulations made by the Secretary of State under Section 21ZA(3).^[4]

Section 6 of the DDA 2005 clarifies the timeframe for the bringing into force regulations dealing with all rail vehicles and the duty requiring rail operators to have in place measures allowing for disabled people to get on and off regulated rail vehicles in safety and without unreasonable difficulty and to be carried in regulated rail vehicles in safety and reasonable comfort. The Secretary of State is now required, under the new Section 46(4A) to ensure that all rail vehicles are regulated under the rail vehicles accessibility regulations by 1^st January 2020. Section 6 also removes from the definition of “rail vehicle” the exemption relating to vehicles first brought into use after 31^st December 1998. This means that there is now no start date and the Secretary of State is able to make regulations which apply to all rail vehicles and for instance, make regulations which apply to rail vehicles first brought into service before 1998 and which are for example refurbished. This closes a potential loop-hole in the legislation and allows the Secretary of State to meet the deadline imposed by 46(6A).^[5]

Section 6(3) clarifies the Secretary of State’s powers to make exemption orders relating to regulated rail vehicles by specifically allowing the making of exemption orders which relate to the operational as well as the construction elements of the rail vehicle accessibility regulations. Section 6(4) clarifies the procedure to be followed by the Secretary of State when exercising their discretion under Section 67(5A) of the DDA 1995. This procedure applies to the making of exemption orders and requires the Secretary of State to consult the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, and any other bodies that may be appropriate, and furthermore, for such regulations to be subject to the draft affirmative procedure which allows for greater parliamentary scrutiny. In the same vein of providing closer scrutiny over the making of exemption orders, Section 6(5) of the DDA 2005 inserts a new section (67B) which requires an annual report to be produced by the Secretary of State detailing the exemption orders which have been made and containing details of the consultation process undertaken.^[6]

Section 7 of the DDA 2005 deals with the new concept of rail accessibility compliance certificates and allows for the Secretary of State to make regulations appointing independent assessors responsible for granting and enforcing the certificates, setting out the mechanisms for the charging of fees and dispute resolution. The intention of the certification scheme is to ultimately prohibit regulated rail vehicles operating without a valid compliance certificate. These certificates will also provide a degree of flexibility with Section 47A(4) allowing the certificates to be subject to conditions.^[7]

Section 8 of the DDA 2005 replaces the criminal sanctions set out in the DDA 1995 for a breach of the rail vehicle accessibility regulations with a civil regime allowing the levying of penalties should an improvement notice and final notice issued by the Secretary of State not be complied with. It also provides the Secretary of State with new powers of inspection in cases in which it is suspected that a regulated rail vehicle fails to conform to the provisions of the rail vehicle accessibility regulations (Sections 47E and 47F). New sections 47D to 47L deal with the imposition of penalties on train operators. Section 47D to 47H deal with the amount, due date and recovery of penalties imposed under the Act. Most importantly, any penalty imposed cannot exceed 10% of the operator’s “turnover”. Section 47K sets out the procedure to be followed and the operator’s right to object. If the operator is not satisfied with the penalty imposed by the Secretary of State, they have the right to appeal to a Court, whether or not they have lodged an appeal with the Secretary of State, but only on the grounds that either the penalty should not apply to them or that the level of the penalty is too high.^[8]

Section 9 allows for the recognition in England and Wales of disabled persons’ parking badges issued in foreign jurisdictions. This then allows for reciprocal recognition of UK badges in other EU countries.^[9]

3.1.1.1 Meaning of Disability

The DDA 1995 defines a “disabled person” as someone who has a disability.^[10] A person has a disability if they have,

“…a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”^[11]

This is further clarified in Schedule 1 of the DDA 1995. A mental impairment is not exhaustively defined but it originally only included mental illnesses in cases in which that illness is clinically well-recognised.^[12] This constraint has now been removed by Section 18(2) of the DDA 2005.

In addition, the DDA 2005 by way of Section 18(3) deems those suffering from HIV, Cancer or MS to be disabled before the symptoms set out in Section 1, or paragraph 8 of Schedule 1, have been experienced by them.^[13]

An impairment is held to be long-term if a person has had it for at least twelve months, it is expected to last for at least twelve months or it is likely to affect the person for the rest of their life.^[14]

3.1.1.2 Meaning of Discrimination

Section 3A(1) of the DDA 1995 states that a disabled person is discriminated against if, for a reason relating to a disabled person’s disability, a person treats a disabled person less favourably than they would someone without a disability and the person alleged to be discriminating against the disabled person cannot show that it is justified to treat them in this way.

In order for the treatment referred to above to be justified, it must be both substantial and material to the particular cases’ circumstances.^[15] However, if the treatment amounts to direct discrimination, it cannot be justified.^[16] Similarly, if the person was required to make reasonable adjustments to cater for disabled people and has not done so, they will not be able to rely on a defence of the treatment being justified unless even if he had complied with the duty it would have been justified.^[17]

More relevantly to the issue of public transport, a person is also held to have discriminated against a disabled person if when a duty to make reasonable adjustments in relation to disabled people is imposed on them, they fail to comply with that duty.^[18]

3.1.1.3 Positive Duty under the DDA 2005

The DDA 2005 introduced the concept of a “positive duty” for public authorities which makes it unlawful for them to, in the course of carrying out its functions, to discriminate against disabled people.^[19] A similar “positive duty” has not been included with respect to private companies and employers.

3.1.1.4 Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles

The DDA 1995 allows the Secretary of State to make regulations to ensure that it is possible for disabled persons; “to get into and out of taxis in safety,” and “to be carried in taxis in safety and in reasonable comfort;” and for disabled persons in wheelchairs; “to be conveyed in safety into and out of taxis while remaining in their wheelchairs,” and “to be carried in taxis in safety and in reasonable comfort while remaining in their wheelchairs.” It is proposed that regulations are introduced in respect of all new Taxis by 2010 and all Taxis by 2020.^[20]

One notable exception is that private hire vehicles are not provided for under the DDA 1995 however, this is not an exception that is likely to remain for long with both the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Group and the Disability Rights Commission looking into the matter.^[21]

3.1.1.5 Rail Vehicles

A “rail vehicle” as amended by the DDA 2005 is a vehicle, “constructed or adapted to carry passengers on any railway, tramway or prescribed system.”^[22]

The DDA 1995 provides the Secretary of State with the power to make “rail vehicle accessibility regulations.”^[23] These regulations, made in 1998 and amended in 2000, cover several important areas. They allow the Secretary of State to require, by way of these regulations, transport operators to provide means for disabled persons to be able to get on and off regulated rail vehicles in safety and without difficulty and to be able to travel in those vehicles in safety and comfort. They also cover such matters as, “wheelchair accessibility, the design of on-board accessible toilets, the size and location of handrails, handholds and control devices as well as the provision of audible warnings and other equipment.”^[24]

The DDA 1995 also allows the Secretary of State to make an exception in relation to a case in which a rail vehicle operator is unable to meet the requirements and makes an application for exemption. An example of such an exemption relating to London is the one granted to Gatwick Express (The Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Gatwick Express Class 458) Exemption Order 2006). This Order exempts Gatwick Express from some of the requirements of the regulations until April 2011.^[25]

However, without doubt, the main hurdle that the government needs to overcome to ensure that the Olympic Games in 2012 are an inclusive event is the issue of accessibility to the London Underground. Transport for London currently lists as accessible by means other than stairs or escalators, only 40 of its 275 underground stations.^[26] The pace of improvements taking place also fails to fill one with confidence. Over the next five years there will be an additional 27 step-free stations. The intention is then for 25% to be step-free by 2010 and 50% by 2015.^[27]

As the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) correctly point out, if these figures are to be accepted, less than half of London’s Underground stations will be accessible by way of stair-free means by the time of the Olympics in 2012 and this is a situation that they find unacceptable.^[28] While being the main means of transport for many spectators who will arrive in London at the time of the Olympic Games, the Tube is also perhaps the most culturally significant icon that London possesses and it will reflect poorly on the country as a whole if accessibility to London Underground stations has not been addressed in a productive manner before 2012.

3.1.1.6 Public Transport Vehicles

The regulations applying to public transport vehicles are set out in the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000. These regulations provide standards which are to be met and apply to “all new public service vehicles (buses or coaches) introduced since 31^st December 2000 with a capacity exceeding 22 passengers used to provide a local of scheduled service.”^[29] They also set out deadlines for the meeting of the standards. For instance, wheel chair users must be able to access all small buses by the 1^st January 2015, large single deck buses by the 1^st January 2016 and double deck buses by the 1^st January 2017.^[30]

At present the accessibility by wheelchair users of buses nationwide stands at approximately 30%.^[31] However, the DPTAC note that with respect to London’s buses, accessibility for wheelchair users is close to 100%.^[32] The main concern with respect to buses in the capital is not in relation to compliance with the required modifications, but rather with the failure of some drivers to use the modifications available to assist their disabled passengers.^[33] It should be noted that the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 do provide for a driver refusing to assist a disabled person in cases in which doing so would “adversely affect his health or safety, your safety or that of other passengers or the safety of the vehicle.” ^[34] However, it should be stressed to all drivers that this exemption should only be relied upon in specific circumstances with clear examples being provided.

Finally, the DPTAC also suggest the greater availability of audible and visual information systems and this is an area that Transport for London is considering as an improvement for all their customers, not only those that are disabled.^[35]

3.1.1.7 Aircraft and Ships

One of the main criticisms of the DDA 1995 is that it fails to specifically address the duties of ship and airline operators. While ports and airports will still need to comply with the requirements of the legislation, the DDA 1995 fails to provide in respect of ships and aircraft the same regulatory making powers that it provides with respect to taxis, rail and public transport vehicles. Ships and aircraft come under European laws dealing with anti-discrimination legislation, however it is still argued that for disability discrimination legislation to be effective, it must apply to all public transport vehicles that operate within the UK. This gap in the legislation is seem as a major hurdle to ensuring that there is consistency across all types of public transport coming up to the Olympic Games and beyond.

The DPTAC endorses this view and notes that “aircraft and ships will be the first and last Olympic travel experience that most overseas participants and audiences will experience, and we believe that the Government should do all it can to ensure that that experience is a positive one.”^[36] They also emphasise that aviation and shipping are currently covered by voluntary codes but that the government has made it clear that should these codes fail, they would be prepared to remove the exemption from Part 3 of the DDA 1995 that currently applies to them.^[37] As Karen Buck, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport sets out in her response to Tony Manwaring, CEO of Scope, the government is carrying out benchmarking tests in association with DPTAC the results of which were hoped to be available in early 2006. These exercises would then help determine whether or not it was necessary to lift the DDA 1995 Part 3 exemption currently granted to airline and shipping transport providers.^[38]

3.1.1.9 DDA 1995: Comparison to other Anti-Discrimination Legislation

One of the most important differences between the DDA and other anti-discrimination legislation is that the DDA only applies to people who meet the criteria set out for being disabled. The Disability Rights Commission estimates that approximately ten million people have rights under the DDA 1995.^[39] In contrast, other anti-discrimination legislation is much more pervasive in its application and applies to all members of society as long as they can show that the type of discrimination they are alleged to have suffered occurred.

Another important difference is that the DDA takes into account the fact that the aim of assisting people with a disability is not to ensure that they receive equal treatment but rather, treatment which is appropriate to their circumstances. As such, the DDA does not aim to restrict the ability of those dealing with disabled people to positively discriminate in their favour, rather accepting that where appropriate, disabled people need to be treated differently.^[40] Under other anti-discrimination legislation, discrimination can never be justified.

3.1.1.9 Criticisms

Jan Nesbitt, chair of the Disability Law Service, notes that, “one of the weaknesses of the DDA has been that the service provision elements have been brought in over a lengthy period of time and some disabled people have had to wait for their needs to be met. There are some areas that are unsatisfactory, transport is still not covered, except for design features…”^[41]

The focus of the DDA 1995 is to put the duty to change on the public transport operators. This focus is sometimes referred to as being “solution-oriented”.^[42] A solution-oriented approach to disability discrimination is a positive and extremely powerful tool in combating discrimination. However, this approach can only genuinely apply to those with physical disabilities and this has lead some commentators to suggest that the DDA 1995 is in fact discriminatory in itself as it places much more emphasis on those with physical disabilities as opposed to those suffering from mental disabilities. This however could be said to simply reflect the relative ease of making adjustments for those with physical disabilities, compared to making adjustments for those suffering from mental illnesses.

People suffering from mental illnesses create a much more difficult problem for public transport providers to solve. There are no simple physical modifications that can be made to cater for people suffering from mental illnesses. This is further exacerbated by fact that it is often clear when someone is suffering from a physical impairment and staff can be trained to respond to their needs quickly and effectively. It is a lot more difficult to gauge whether or not someone is suffering from a mental illness, how best to assist them and whether or not they may pose a danger to staff and/or other members of the public.

A frightening prospect is that the legislation as it currently stands could allow public transport companies to segregate those with disabilities from the rest of the travelling public. While this is already done to some extent, eg spaces for people needing wheelchair access; it is only a short distance from an ID card which lists a person’s disability, to a separate carriage for those with disabilities. The unfortunate aspect of this is that it would no doubt be argued that this solution provides the best means of catering for the individual needs of disabled people.

3.2 Case Law

One of the leading cases decided under the DDA 1995 was Clark v TDG Ltd (t/a Novacold).^[43] This was an appeal from the Employment Appeal Tribunal and was the first appeal decided by the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) under the DDA 1995. While that case dealt with employment law, Lord Justice Mummery’s comments about the DDA 1995 and its relationship to other anti-discrimination legislation is still of importance to the area of public transport. Lord Justice Mummery stated,

“Contrary to what might be reasonably assumed, the exercise of interpretation is not facilitated by familiarity with the pre-existing legislation prohibiting discrimination in the field of employment (and elsewhere) on the grounds of sex (Sex Discrimination Act 1975) and race (Race Discrimination Act 1976). Indeed, it may be positively misleading to approach the 1995 Act with assumptions and concepts familiar from experience of the workings of the 1975 Act and the 1976 Act.

Unlike the earlier discrimination Acts the 1995 Act does not draw the crucial distinction between direct and indirect discrimination on specified grounds; it provides a defence of justification to less favourable treatment which would constitute direct discrimination and be without such a defence under the earlier Acts; and it does not replicate the express requirement of the 1975 Act (section 5(3)) and the 1976 Act (section 3(4)) that, when a comparison of the cases of persons of different sex or persons of different racial groups falls to be made, the comparison must be such that the relevant circumstances in the one case are the same, or not materially different, in the other.

One consequence of these differences is that the terms “discriminate” and “discrimination” are not used in Part II of the 1995 Act in the same sense as in the earlier Acts. Failure to discern and observe this difference in meaning in decision making (and in commentaries on both the 1995 Act and on decisions under it) can lead to serious conceptual confusion.”

The key question that Lord Justice Mummery concluded as being fundamental to whether or not a disabled person had been discriminated against was, “is the treatment related to a complainant’s disability?”^[44]

Andy Rickell, director of the British Council of Disable People has stated, in respect of the case law arising from the DDA 1995, “Barristers are, and have been, running a coach and horses through disabled people’s rights.”^[45] Jan Nesbitt, chair of the Disability Law Service, concurred with Rickell’s sentiments but added;

“It’s like any new piece of legislation, barristers will find loopholes because there’s no case law so there’s nothing to test against. I think what happened in the beginning was that a lot of disabled people, in employment tribunals particularily, conducted their own case, and fell at the first hurdle which was proving that they were a disabled person. Any good barrister will make their case. The definition of “disability” is one of the things that’s currently being reviewed so that tribunals and courts have a better understanding of it. In any case, it is important for disabled people to get access to legal representation when taking a case.”^[46]

A case more relevant to transport was Roads v Central Trains.^[47] This case involved a disabled resident of Norwich who relied on her electric wheelchair for mobility who brought a claim against Central Trains. The facts of the case revolved around the claimant not being able to access platform 1 at the station. The only means of accessing the platform from the side he was on was to either cross the footbridge or travel half a mile down the road where he could pass under the track and return on the other side. As both of these alternatives were not reasonable, the train company suggested the claimant, at no extra cost, take the train to a further station which was equipped with disabled access facilities, adding approximately one hour to the journey time. The claimant suggested that this was not reasonable and that the defendant company should have paid for a specially adapted taxi to drive him around to the other side. In the first instance, the Judge held that as the nearest specially adapted taxi was based in Norwich which was some way from Thetford where the station was located, it was unreas

Eating disorders can be common among athletes. This may be due to the pressure of the sporting background that commonly precipitates the beginning of these problems. In this day and age certain obsessive behaviour such as extreme exercise and also erratic eating habits have become a normal part of society. Williamson et al suggests that (“Concern about an athletes body size and shape has become greater than ever before due to the pressure for thinness from coaches and also from athletic performance, and negative self appraisal of athletic achievement”) It has been suggested that the majority of successful athletes are strong minded, and set almost impossible targets for themselves and work long hard hours to achieve these targets. However these factors can bring on eating disorders that can often be found in anorexia and bulimic patients.

Disordered eating is possibly found in most sporting activities. The athletes most at risk from developing or indeed having an eating disorder are those who engage in sports that require certain characteristics. For instance gymnasts and also figure skaters are under extreme and constant pressure to preserve a chid like body. Chaotic eating disorders are prevalent in girl athletes but not so much in boy athletes. In 1992 the NCCA conducted a survey of athletes. The NCCA stated (“93% of the programs reporting eating disorders were in women’s sports”) (“Dying to win” 1994 suggests that ” Some male athletes do use extreme methods for losing weight, but an important difference exists between these and the self-starvation strategies of anorexics)” For instance, a weight lifter’s view of his body is not warped. When the weight lifter is not in competition he can regain the weight easily. This suggests that it is possible for the body to return to normal when the athletes sporting career comes to an end. But unfortunately this is not the case in females.

Eating disorders often happen to young girls who become obsessed with avoiding the progression of becoming a woman. These girls will go to extreme measures to keep a child like physique. This is what gymnastics are told they must do in order to stay in gymnast’s competition. Because of this it is a gymnastics biggest fear of developing a womanly shape that might obstruct their performance. Sundgot-Borgen 1994 states that ” This could provoke a conflict in which an athlete struggles to prevent or counter the natural physical changes precipitated by growth and maturity” many gymnasts have been training since early childhood. In taking part in such specific training before the body reaches maturity these girls risk losing out in a which another sport that they could do in adult hood when their gymnastic career ends.

The leading UK charity for people with eating disorders is called B-eat. This stands for beating eating disorders.

Beat surveyed 600 young people who suffer from an eating disorder’s-eat results were:

Only 1 percent of children felt they could talk to their parents about their eating related concerns.
9 percent of children felt they might be able to talk to someone at school.
17 percent of children felt they might be able to talk to a doctor or nurse
92 percent of children felt they couldn’t tell anyone.

B-eat states that” currently the number of people receiving treatment for anorexia or bulimia to be near 90, 000, while many more people have eating disorders undiagnosed”. So of these 92%, the 17% who felt they might be able to talk to a doctor or nurse. So might benefit from the programme.

If 92 percent of children feel that they could not tell anyone that they had an eating disorder then it is obvious that there is a need for young people to be educated about the dangers of eating disorders. There is also a need for counsellors or something similar to the Samaritans. So that children have the opportunity to talk about eating disorders to people who will not judge them. The will just listen and give advice if it is asked for.

Gymnasts are only too aware about how their slender body shape can mean winning or losing a competition. This one of the main reasons why gymnasts are more at risk from developing an eating disorder. The qualities that make a good gymnast such as high expectations, being compulsive and also striving to be the best are all key characteristics connected to eating disorders.

These statistics suggest that there is a need for a well being programme targeting female gymnasts of secondary school age. In beat’s survey 92% of children felt that they could not tell anyone that they have an eating disorder.17% said they might be able to talk to a doctor or nurse about it. In order to combat this discussion groups could take place on a monthly basis, as part of the gymnastic curriculum in local clubs such as the YMCA (The YMCA is part of the voluntary sector that rely mainly on good will donations and also club membership. It is a non-profit organisation). However conducting a programme surrounding eating disorders should be done with caution and awareness that the people most vulnerable will take any comment or criticism to heart. For example taking a persons weight and vital statistics is not a good way to try and combat eating disorders. This will only make the person mare aware abut body issues even more so if others in the group are thinner or have a smaller body mass index.

For this reason, YMCA volunteers should receive training on how to approach and discuss the subject.

In 1992 Claire Vickery founded the Butterfly Foundation. In Australia. The Foundation offers support to those people who suffer from an eating disorder and also poor or negative self body image. Claire was said to have discovered “gaps” in the” public health system” for the people who are and continue to suffer from eating disorders.

The Butterfly Foundation suggests that” there is more pressure than ever before on young people who are exposed to highly stylized & unrealistic images in the media at an alarming rate every day” This in turn can lead to thoughts of failure & unsafe expectations, resulting in little confidence & negative thoughts about body image.

The Butterfly Foundation can offer support to educational establishments and also local community groups in the structure of workshops & presentations to aid youngsters to develop their body image, self-esteem & media understanding.

The Eating Difficulties Education Network is another organisation that deals with eating disorders. EDEN is community service, which is based in Auckland New Zealand. The organisation is run by a group of women who can provide information and also assistance for those individuals who suffer from eating disorders, and also support their family and close ones. Eden can provide counselling and also workshops for Health professional, the community and also educational establishments. Eden’s main focus is for the promotion of “body satisfaction” and takes the approach that you can be happy whatever your size may be. It may be that girls will respond better to women speakers and counsellors.

EDEN works in two main areas. These being, working with the people who have eating problems and also working towards the prevention of eating disorders among young people. . EDEN states that” dieting is ineffective and potentially leads to weight and body image difficulties in all their forms. Aiming to work with individuals to develop body satisfaction and seek to create environments that are accepting of size diversity and which support body trust”.

At present in the United Kingdom there is little support for vulnerable children including athletes in relation to eating disorders. Only B-eat tries to help combat eating disorders-eat is relatively unheard of and is not well publicized. If the Butterfly Foundation in Australia has been in operation since 1992 then this would suggest that the foundation is working well in helping combat eating disorders. The United Kingdom would profit to follow a similar programme. The programme could include areas such as:

Workshops, which are interactive, group discussions & activities on Self Esteem & Body Image: group discussions are a good way to get people to open up and discuss their ideas/feeling on the relevant subject. Open-ended questions tend to get the best response from people. Open-ended questions ask specific questions which cannot be answered with a simple “yes/no” or a specific piece of information. In extreme cases, referal to a mental health practitioner.

Using a series of cards with different statements is a good way to help children open up and discuss their feeling. It is also a good way of getting children involved in self-esteem group activities.

Media literacy uses an “inquiry based instruction model” This model helps motivate people into asking questions in relation to what they see in the media whether they watch it or read it. Media literacy provides different means of assessment tools to help people look at the media and to help people become aware of one sided views in the media. Media Literacy can help provide people with greater perceptive of understanding the role of mass media and bias media in blocking views of reality.

Presentations are a good way of getting important information across to the audience 15mins or 20mins presentations could be used, as the audience will be young teenagers and/or children and may not have a long attention span that an adult would have. These presentations would include questions to/from the audience, but do not involve activities. For this reason they can be delivered to large numbers of students for example up to 50 at a time.

The following topics could be used in presentations: Self Esteem & Body perception and Image: Body image and perception is how a person feels and views their physical appearance. A lot of young people, mainly in their early teens, suffer from low self -esteem this is because as children develop into adolescents, they become aware about how others see and perceive them.

Media Influences: recently, in the past few years it has become” politically correct” for the media to make some attempt to fight eating disorders. Magazines and TV shows and adverts featuring the misfortune of anorexia and bulimia, but this hard work is proving to be unsuccessful when they are presented in the usual perspective. For instance, how can one think that a teenage magazine is actually motivated to beat eating disorders when the stories relating to that area are covered by advertisements featuring childlike looking role models.

People often feel that the do not “measure up” this is attributable to the anxiety of trying to live up to unhealthy” cultural expectations” of physical body perfection.

BUPA suggests “Children and young people need to do 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity every day. This needs to include at least two weekly activities that produce high physical stress on bones, such as dancing, jumping or aerobics to aid development”.

(Muscat, 2002). Suggests” Another method that coaches, parents (family) and athletes may use to help prevent disordered eating in sport is to avoid making derogatory comments about the female body.” Research shows that female athletes who report critical comments, compared with those who do not, also report greater disordered eating. Such athletes clearly suffer from body-image anxiety.

Findings indicate that critical comments related to disordered eating behaviours are from multiple sources (Rieves & Cash, 1996) rather than limited to coaches and peers (Beals, & Manore, 1994; Berry & Howe, 2000; Sundgot-Boren, 1994; Williamson et al., 1995).

In addition to comments from coaches and peers, female athletes reported critical comments from parents, grandparents, medical professionals, siblings, and teachers (Muscat, 2002) Therefore this makes the task of altering their self-image extremely complex.

Evaluation of the programme could be in the form of anonymous post cards that would be posted in a box. The cards would allow for comments and feedback both positive and negative, which will be essential to the success of the programme and will allow for changes to be made if needed. So the foregoing is the proposed programme.

The media is partly to blame for placing a huge importance on what a person looks like and also what size they are. The television and also glossy magazines continually flood our brains with images of body perfection and images of attractive perfect looking people.

These messages, which are specifically targeted at females, motivate people into believing that in order to be successful you have to be good looking and slim. This media stereotyping is thought to be the causes why of only ten percent of men have eating disorders, while 90 percent are women.

Eating disorders are said to stem from addictive and compulsive behaviours.Other people who have the same or similar traits may turn to alchol,be drug users,self abuse or gamble.People who suffer from eating disorders also suffer from low self esteem,and also a lack of direction in life.This may be a reason why gymnasts are prone to eating disorders.They realise their careers will be over when they reach their mid 20s and do not know what their life will hold from them beyond then.

McPherson et al. (1989) states, “Deviant Behaviour is a product of numerous interacting social and cultural forces. These include an inadequate socialisation process; lack of, or failure of social controls; perceived inequities in a situation; the individual’s definition of the situation; and the labelling of individuals who engage in deviance. More specifically, one learns deviant behaviour by directly and indirectly acquiring opportunities”.

Over conformity is a behavioral characteristic commonly found in sport. Overcomformity goes way beyond normally accepted rules or regulations that it interferes with the person’s health and well-being. Over conformity is behavior grounded in a naive acceptance of rules and regulations.

According to Coakley p.166” deviance grounded in overconformilty is often identified as an indication of commitment and dedication, even though it may be dangerous and have serious consequences for the health and well being of self and others”.

According to “Dying to win” 1994 “ a large percentage of gymnastic coaches are constantly instructing the girls on “how to count calories, how to act, what to wear, and what to say in public” Because of this these girls feel that the only part of their lives that they are able to control is the food and drink that they consume. Because these coaches are authority figures to these gymnasts any remark made will have deep impact and be taken to heart.

One of the main reasons that these girls embark on such drastic diets is because their coach suggests that they need to lose some weight in order from them to look their best. These girls are young and vulnerable to such comments and remarks that they be seen as a basis for enhanced routines. Athletes can be under the illusion that to be a real athlete they must make sacrifices whether it is to your own body or to others and pay the price to increase skills in order to stay in the industry as long as they can.

Judging gymnasts ability is not objective. Each of the Judges makes a score according to what they believe makes a good routine. The look of the gymnast may control their perceptions and in doing so affect their final verdict. This reinforces the idea that in order to be at the top of their game a gymnast has to maintain a childlike body. This encourages deviant behaviour, as these girls will do anything to be a winner including going way beyond the norms of society.

A terrible example of when a judges’ decision helped destroy a girl’s life is an event with gymnast Christy Henrich who was a top contestant in gymnastics in the latter part of the 1980’s. She died of a multiple organ failure due to her fight with anorexia and associated eating disorders. At a meeting in Budapest, an American. Judge stated that” Henrich would have to lose weight if she wanted to make the Olympic team.” When Henrich returned to America her mum remembers the first words out of her daughter’s mouth:” she was fat and she would have to lose weight–that was the only way she would reach her dreams”. Because of these judges tough rules coakley p174 suggests that the roots of deviance go deeper than the individual desire to win or make money. These roots are grounded in the very values promoted through the sport ethic itself. Therefore, much of the deviance in sports is most accurately identified as a social issue rather than just a personal problem of individual athletes.

Eitzen, 1988, States that” Within sport, deviance involves violating the rules of a game or organisation, going beyond commonly accepted definitions of fair- play and sportsmanship, and intentionally using illegal means to intimidate or injure an opponent” This means athletes are willing to do anything to get to the top of their game e.g. drug use for weight control and/or stimulants for endurance. No matter how bad the end consequence is. Christy Enrich died as a result of her deviant behaviour spiralling out- with her control.

The increase of commercialism in sports has lead to more rules and more pressure to win and be at the top of the game. This in turn has lead to deviance becoming widespread due to the fact that the top judges are reluctant or powerless to punish all acts of deviance.

Due to government intervention and equal rights in athlete’s participation in sports female participation has increased. The first law in America to disallow sex discrimination in any shape or form among people of educational establishment was named” title X”This law was enforced to allow greater gender equality. This means that no one can be discriminated against in relation to gender. Under the “Title X law both men and women must be treated the same and fairly without judgment.

”Title X” covers all areas of government policy including recruitment, housing, insurance and athletics.

In the United Kingdom similar law to “Title X” this law is called “The Brighton Decleration.”The main aim of the declaration is to “develop a sporting culture which enables and values the full involvement of women in every aspect of life”. When sport is practiced equally and also fairly it can help make society a better place and also encourage equality. A good example of this is the Olympic games.

Sport is a cultural activity, which, practiced fairly and equitably, enriches society and encourages friendship between nations. “Sport is an activity which offers the individual the opportunity of self-knowledge, self-expression and fulfillment; personal achievement, skill acquisition and demonstration of ability; social interaction, enjoyment, good health and well-being”. (The Brighton declaration)

In society, sport plays a part in the culture of every nation. Sport participation in women varies vastly between nations. Females make up more than half of the worlds population. However in sport participation is still predominately male.

In recent years despite growing participation of women in sporting activities and also improved opportunities due to laws being past on equal opportunities such as “Title X” and “The Brighton Declaration” women in high positions within sport has not followed. Females continue to be undermined and miss- represented in relation to management roles within sport especially at the top ranks. Equal opportunities will continue not to exist and be achieved within sport because of the lack of these role models. For example, women aducation and their ensuring comments might persuade young female athletes away from deviant behavior in relation to body weight and image.

In conclusion, eating disorders can happen to anybody. It seems to be most prevalent in young teenage girls. Gymnasts, more than any other athletes are more at risk from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. This may be due to the fact that gymnasts, especially the females, are put under regular stress to keep to a very low body weight for visual presentation to the judges. Many judges award points for small body size alone. Because of this there is a need to educate young teenage girls to the dangers of having an eating disorder. As Coakley states “deviance grounded in overconformilty is often identified as an indication of commitment and dedication, even though it may be dangerous and have serious consequences for the health and well being of self and others”.

These gymnasts believe that the have to be the thinnest to be at the top of their game. Their coaches reinforce this idea. According to (“Dying to win” 1994) a large percentage of gymnastic coaches are constantly instructing the girls on “how to count calories, how to act, what to wear. Because of this these girls feel that the only part of their lives that they are able to control is the food and drink that they consume. Because these coaches are role models to these gymnasts any remark made will have deep impact and be taken to heart. One of the main reasons that these girls embark on such drastic diets is because their coach suggests that they need to lose some weight in order from them to look their best. These girls are young and vulnerable to such comments and remarks that may be seen as a basis for enhanced routines. And so if there were more females in positions of authority, e.g. judges, they could counteract this perspective.

According to Health magazine, April 2002,”32% of female TV network characters are underweight, while only 5% of females in the U.S. audience are underweight”. In contrast, actors who are older, frumpier, scruffy, perhaps physically challenged, represent evil and also stupid people. The majority seem to be heavy. Once more according to Health magazine,” only 3% of female TV network characters are obese, while 25% of U.S. women fall into that category” This shows that the media is partly to blame for eating disorders in young people. No one wants to be known as heavy, overweight or scruffy. We need more realism for example the normal size for a woman is more like Opra Winfery.

According to B—eat’s survey of 600 young people with eating disorders 92% of children felt that they could not tell anybody that the had an eating disorder. This suggests that there are a large number of children that need help and also someone to talk to and discuss their feelings in relation to eating disorders. However, of these 92%, 17% would seem amenable to help.

The Butterfly Foundation in Australia and also EDEN in Auckland, New Zealand are both for non-profit which help young girls combat eating disorders. Both organisations offer support and counselling. Though different means of evaluation such as presentations to schools on the dangers of eating disorders. By following a programme similar to both the Butterfly Foundation and also Eden Britain can begin to tackle the growing problem of eating disorders. In which takes a multidisciplinary approach in schools, the voluntary sector, sports establishments and also G.P, mental health referrals. Government funding could be ring-fenced money for programme funding.

More women of authority and also approachable councillors and training may require women instead of men.

References

About eating disorders/what is an eating disorder. Beat [internet]. Available from:

[Accessed on 07 April 2008].

Berger, John. (1972) Ways of Seeing. London: BBC/Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Body image. Hms Harvard. [Internet]. Available from:www.hms.harvard.edu [Accessed 18April 2008]

Coakley, J (2007) Sports in Society: Issues & Controversies. International edition. 9th edition. McGraw Hill, New York.

Coakley, J. and Dunning, E. (2002) Handbook of Sports Studies, London, Sage.

Eating disorder statistics. [Internet]. Available from: < http://www.disordered-eating.co.uk/eating-disorders-statistics/eating-disorders-statistics-us.html> [Accessed 03 May 2008].

Eitzen, D.S. (1988). Ethical problems in American sportJournal of Sport and Social Issues.

Garner DM, Garfinkel PE. (1980) Socio-cultural factors in the development of anorexia nervosa. Psychol Med.

Hargreaves, J. (1994) Sporting Females, London: Routledge.

Hargreaves, J. (1986) Sport, Power & Culture, Cambridge: Polity.

Holt, R. (1989) Sport & the British: A Modern History, Oxford, University Press.

Horne, J, et al., (1999) Understanding Sport: An Introduction to the Sociological and Cultural Analysis of Sport, London, E&FN Spon.

McPherson, B.D.; Curtis, J.E.; and Loy, J.W.; (1989), The Social Significance Of Sport, Human Kinetics Books Illinois.

The Butterfly Foundation. [Internet]. Available from,http://www.thebutterflyfoundation.org/ [Accessed 12 May 2008]

Ideal weight varies across cultures, but body image dissatisfaction pervades [Internet] Available from, http://www.physorg.com/news [Accessed 12 May 2008]

Introduction:History of drug abuse

Drug abuse in sport is not a recent issue. In Ancient Greece, the Olympic athletes used special diets (herbs,mushrooms and sesame seeds) to improve their physical performance. The gladiators in the Roman times, consumed stimulants to reduce fatigue.(1,2) South American Indians used coca leaves to enhance stamina.(2)

During the nineteenth century, drug abuse became a great problem. Caffeine, strychnine, alcohol, cocaine, opium, and oxygen were used by swimmers, runners and cyclists to increase performance.(1,2) In 1896, the cyclist Arthur Linton was the first reported fatality case in sport from strychnine intake which was administered by his coach.(1) Later on, in 1904, the runner Thomas Hicks, was near to death in Olympic Marathon in St Louis USA, from use of strychnine and brandy.(1)

During the Second World War, amphetamine consumption started by the troops to reduce their fatigue. In 1940s and 1950s, amphetamines substitute other drugs in its use in sport.( became the choice over other drugs). (1)

Reported deaths from amphetamine abuse was in 1964, the Danish cyclist knut Jensen at Rome Olympics died on the opening day of the games. In 1967, the British cyclist Tommy Simpson, at Tour de France, died from amphetamine abuse. After Simpson’s death, the International Olympic Committee took an action and the first list of banned substances was published in 1968.(1,3) In 1950s, a new class was misused by athletes and weightlifters to increase muscle size and strength and this class named anabolic steroids;(1) in 1964, there was suspect for use of anabolic steroid in Summer Olympics in Tokyo due to the increase in muscle mass of the athletes.(3)

Top scandals in drug abuse
1. East German athletes(4,5,6)

From 1972 to 1988, the East German which was a country of 17 million populations, won 20 to 40 gold medals in 4 years and became a country competing the United States and Soviet Union. Manfred Ewald who was the head of Olympic sport committee in East Germany, and Dr. Manfred Hoeppner who was the sports doctor at that time, were responsible about giving the athletes banned substances intentionally without their knowledge. This results in severe complications in the athlete’s health such as liver dysfunction, cancer, hormonal changes and infertility.

From 1966 and on, many doctors and coaches in East German follow a plan which was sponsored by the government known as “systematic and overall doping in competitive sports”. After the collapse of East German and Berlin Wall fall in 1989, many athletes confessed about the pills and injections that were given to them. Kornelia Ender, Barbara Krause and Carola Nitschke were three of the thousands of East German athletes who had provided with steroids. Heidi Kreiger was also one of the athletes that was provided with steroids heavily and this was the main reason that force her to make sex-alteration operation.

2. Pan American Games in 1983

IOC included testosterone in the banned list in 1983 and it was the first endogenous substance to be tested at that time. The test was based on measuring the testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E) ratio. (1)

The first drug testing for steroids was at the Pan America Games in Caracas and Venezuela in 1983. Around 15 athletes were caught at these games. Jeff Michaels, the American weightlifter, and Guy Greavette, the Canadian weightlifter, were tested positive for steroids. They returned their medals and being suspended for 2 years. (5,7)

Many athletes of the U.S track-and-field team withdrew from the game rather than being captured. (7)

3. Ben Johnson’s scandal

In 1988, the Canadian Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal at 100 meters after he has been tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol at Seoul Olympics. Johnson has been banned from competition for 2 years.(7)

4. Michelle Smith: the Irish swimmer(5,7)

In 1998, the Olympic champion swimmer Michelle Smith was tested positive for banned substance at her home through out-of-competition testing. The test was positive for alcohol in an amount that would be fatal if taken by an athlete. So FINA, the international governing body for swimming, concluded that the urine sample was treated with alcohol as a masking agent and Smith has been suspended for four years.

5. Chinese swim team(5,7)

The Chinese national swim team has been used anabolic steroids, erythropoietin and human growth hormone in the last 15 years. In 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 1994 world championships, china won a high number of gold medals. In world swimming championships, a world records was set by women swimmers, and this causes suspect that they were using drugs. In 1994 at Asian Games, eleven athletes were caught as drug abusers for dihydrotestosterone. Since 1990,over 40 Chinese swimmers were tested positive for abused drugs and at that time china reached the peak for drug abuse over the swimming countries.

6. Tour de France(5)

Doping by cyclists arises since 1967 after Simpson death at Tour de France due to amphetamine misuse. Drug abuse by cyclists continues and in summer 1998, the Festina cycling team was pushed out from the competition at Tour de France after the French Officials found EPO in their masseur’s car. After investigations, six of Festina’s nine riders confessed that they had taken abused drugs. Later on, the leader also has failed drug tests for anabolic steroids. Also in 2002, Stefano Garzelli, the leader of the Vini Caldirola team, has failed drug test for probenecid, a diuretic which is used as a masking agent. Also in the same year at Tour de France, the Spanish cyclist Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano, was tested positive for anti-asthmatic drug. In January 2004, two cyclists in the Cofidis team, which is one of the top teams in france, were caught as drug abusers for EPO and amphetamines.

7. Steroids in baseball (5)

In 2002, a report was published by the Sports Illustrated and the National League MVP Ken Caminiti stated that “at least half the guys are using steroids.”

In 2003, the Major League Baseball revealed that around 7% of 1438 tests on all players were positive for steroids.

8. Doping in skiing(5)

Drug abuse in cross-country skiing has been spread for years especially with EPO. In 2001 world championships in Finland, six finish skiers have failed drug test for HES which is a plasma volume expander. Three skiers at the Salt Lake Games were tested positive for the drug Darbepoetin which is a synthetic compound of the natural hormone EPO. Two of these athletes Olga Danilova and Larissa Lazutina were Russian medalists but later on, they were stripped of their medals and the gold medal was awarded to the Canadian Beckie Scott who ended third.

9. BALCO scandal

BALCO is Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative which is a company that provides nutritional supplements. Victor Conte built BALCO in 1984 and he followed a system for analyzing urine and blood in order to prescribe supplements that replace vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Tetrahydrogestrinone is one of banned substances that was used by BALCO and was undetected by drug testing. THG or “The Clear” is an anabolic steroid that can reduce fatigue during training and can increase the muscle mass. In 2003, the USADA, United States Anti-Doping Agency, developed a test for THG after receiving a syringe from anonymous (US track coach Trever Graham) containing THG and claiming that most athletes are using this drug. Don Catlin, succeeded in developing the test and he tested the urine samples that were taken from athletes at the US championships and numerous tests came back positive for THG(8,9). Athletes that were involved in BALCO scandal were Kelli White, Marion Jones, C.J.Hunter, Tim Montgomery, baseball star Barry bonds, and NFL’s Bill Romanowski, and Dwain Chambers. In 2004, Dwain Chambers who was the European 100m championship at that time was banned from competition for 2 years. 100m and 200m Champion kelli white was banned for 2 years as well. USADA convicted BALCO, for the distribution of THG. In 2005, Victor Conte was jailed for four months. Greg Anderson (Barry Bond’s trainer) was jailed for three months.(9,10,11,12)

10. Ma’s runners

Ma Junren was the coach for the world female championships runners(13). In 1993, Ma’s Chinese female runners won three gold medals at the World Track and Field championships in Stuttgart and also in 1997 they set world records. From that time there was suspicion that the runners were using banned substances(13,15). A doping scandal for Ma’s runners arose before the 2000 summer Sydney Olympic(14,15). Top runners like Liquing Song and Lili Yin had failed drug test for testosterone during an out-of competition testing in 2000 and the Ma’s Chinese runners were evicted from the Olympic team(13,15).

History of drug testing:

Doping was also done for race horses not and only for humans. The first drug test was done for alkaloids on the saliva of horses in 1910 by a Russian Chemist in Vienna.(1,2)

Drug testing on human urine started in 1950s after the wide spread abuse of amphetamines. (7)

After British Tommy Simpson death from amphetamine abuse at Tour de France in 1967, IOC established the Medical Commission and a list of banned substances was established by the IOC. Professor Beckett was a member in the Medical Commission at that time and he developed methods for detection of stimulants ,i.e. drugs that were used” in competition”. (3,7)

Methods of Beckett for drug testing were first used in 1968 at Mexico City Olympic competition and these tests were for non-steroidal drugs (narcotic analgesics and stimulants) and there was no tests for anabolic steroids.(7)(3). The first formal drug testing programmes for narcotics and stimulants was in 1972 at Munich Olympics. These tests were done at the competition periods.

The abuse of Anabolic steroids became prevalent in 1970s and its use was banned in 1974 by the IOC and added to the list in 1975(1) p313. The first formal steroid testing program occurred in 1976 at Montreal Olympics using radioimmunoassay screening for detection its presence and GCMS for confirmation. (7,19)

In and out of competition testing:

At first testing programmes were based on tests during the competition periods. But later on it was recognized that these tests were of limited value to catch up the cheats. Athletes learn how to defeat the testing programmes by calculating the clearance time of the drug in the body so they could avoid its use before the competition periods. Form here came the “out -of -competition” testing programmes to catch the cheats for drug abuse. “Out of competition testing” started in late 1970s. The first out of competition testing was conducted in 1977 by Norway and in UK, it started in early 1980s. However, the “out- of -competition” testing did not expand globally until the establishment of WADA in 2000. WADA established out-of-competition testing programmes and it was followed globally from that time.(1) p314-315

Classification of Abused Drugs

Doping classes and methods

examples

Anabolic steroids

Testosterone, nandrolone (discussed later

Blood Doping

blood transfusion(discussed later)

Stimulants

Amphetamine, ephedrine, cocaine, caffeine

Narcotics

Morphine, Methadone, Codeine

Peptide and glycoprotein hormones

Human growth hormone, corticotrophin, human chorionic gonadotrophin, erythro poietin

Diuretics and masking agents

Acetazolamide, Furesamide, Probencid

Beta- blockers

Atenolol, Propanolol, Metoprolol

Atenolol, Propanolol, Metoprolol

Anabolic steroids (discussed later)

Blood Dopping (Blood Transfusions) ( discussed later)

Central Nervous System Stimulants

Athletes often use stimulants to enhance alertness and reduce fatigue i.e. increase physical and mental performance.1p41. These are more used on the day of competition to reduce the sensitivity to pain of athletes if they got injured; however, nowadays they are used during training to increase training time.

Amphetamines

Amphetamine is a synthetic compound (1920), it was developed as an appetite suppressant and for treatment of narcolepsy, to fight fatigue and to enhance alertness, but later it was withdrawn from clinical use due to the development of tolerance. P42

Methamphetamine is very addictive stimulant, related to amphetamine with more longer lasting and toxic effects on the CNS.

Mechanism of action:

These are indirectly acting sympathomimetic amine. They enter neurons and act presynaptically to release stores of noradrenaline, and dopamine from nerve endings; they also block noradrenaline and dopamine transporter reuptake and inhibit MAO.

They include Dexamphetamine, Methamphetamine, Phenmetrazine, and methylphenidate.

Routes of administration:

Amphetamine can be administered orally, nasally, and intravenously. Amphetamine itself is not very effective if smoked. Methamphetamine is smokable form and it is becoming increasingly popular as a drug of abuse.

Effects of Amphetamines in Sport:

Athletes often use amphetamine to reduce fatigue, increase alertness and concentration, increase euphoria and to tolerate painful injuries.p42. p72

Side Effects:

The most important side effect is heart stroke.p72. Amphetamines cause peripheral vasoconstriction and thus increase blood pressure. The body overheats and cannot regain its temperature resulting in dehydration.1.p42

The second side effect is that the euphoric action may affect the awareness of athletes and thus they fall in misjudgements.

Cases of amphetamine abuse:

Amphetamine use was spread around the time of the Second World War, to decrease fatigue of the troops. Later, its use was spread among athletes in 1940s and 1950s. 1.p30. its use atarted to be controlled under the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

In 1960, the cyclist, Knud Jenson, died due to amphetamine abuse in the intense summer heat of Rome Olympics.1p72-30

In 1967 Tour de France, the British cyclist, Tommy Simpson, died as a result of amphetamine abuse while climbing the infamous Mont Ventoux. His death was due to cardiac arrest.1p72

In 1997,American Footballers, (Clarkson and Thompson), withdrew from play due to amphetamine abuse which was taken to tolerate injuries.1p72

Effect on behaviour Mandell (1979), Golding(1981)

In 2002, the British skier Alain Baxter, had lost his Olympic bronze medal and he was banned from skiing from March until June, due to positive test of Methamphetamine( l-form which is found in OTC vicks inhaler. IOC test do not distinguish between l- and d- form. D-form is used as performance –enhancing drug. Later on, Baxter’s name was cleared as being a drug cheater and it was approved that the drug was l- form.(16,17,18)

Ecstasy

It is a synthetic amphetamine derivative. It was synthesized in 1914 as an appetite suppressant. It has stimulant amphetamine like properties, now commonly used in dance clubs but it may be misused by athletes.

In UK, it was classified as an illegal substance since 1977, and in USA its use was under control since 1985.

Since 1990, there were no reports for ecstasy misuse by athletes.p73

Ephedrine and related compounds

Ephedrine is a natural product occurring in the plant genus Ephedra. Phyenylpropanolamine and pseudoephedrine are synthetics. These are used to treat cold symptoms as bronchodilators.1.p73.p42.

Mechanism of action

It has sympathomimetic action. These deplete noradrenalin from neuronal storage sites resulting in indirect effect on sympathetic neurons and CNS.1.p73

Routes of administration

Ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine are found in cold medications (in UK and USA) which are taken orally. Phenylpropanolamine is now prohibited by US authorities. 1.p74

Effect of Ephedrine in Sport

Ephedrine is misused by athletes for its euphoric action.1p42. Athletes try to misuse ephedrine because its use could be negotiated due to its presence in the over-the-counter medication.1p42

Side effects

The main side effect is the cardiac arrthythmias.

Cases of Ephedrine abuse

Pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, and phenylephrine were removed from WADA list for banned substances in 2004, but they are still controlled by WADA for athlete’s misuse. Ephedrine is still on the banned list.1p76

In 1972 Olympics, the US swimmer, De Mont, was banned due to urinary ephedrine positive test in which he declared that its presence due to a medicine.1p76

In 1988, Linford Christie, at Seoul, was tested positive for cold cure substance, and he was nearly to lose his silver medal.

Cocaine

Cocaine was a component of Coca-Cola until it was classified as an illegal drug and it was removed in 1903.(1)The main therapeutic effect is its use as a local anaesthetic.

Mechanism of action

Cocaine exerts its sympathomimetic central effects by inhibiting the reuptake of noradrenaline, dopamine, and 5-HT into presynaptic terminals of the mesolimbic reward/pleasure pathway.

Routes of administration

“Snorting” is the most common route of administration of cocaine. The powder is drawn up to the noise, and is absorbed through the nasal epithelium into the blood. It reaches the brain within about three minutes.

It can also administered by intravenous injection, reaching the brain in 15 seconds and the effects last for 15 minutes.

Crack cocaine is smoked in a pipe, absorbed rapidly in the lungs and reaching the brain in about 5 seconds.

Effects of cocaine is sport

It was misused in sport due to its euphoric effect and due to reduction of fatigue.

Side effects

Its side effects are: tachycardia, hypertension and at high dosage, tremors and seizures may occur. Cardiotoxic metabolite may result due to concomitant use of cocaine with alcohol and anabolic steroids.

Reported cases of cocaine misuse

Len Bias, the US basketball player, and Don Rogers, the American footballer died from cocaine abuse.(1)

Caffeine

Caffeine is the most popular used drug which is found in many beverages like coffee, tea and soft drinks. Caffeine was banned by IOC but then it was withdrawn from the list by WADA in January 2004. However, its use is still monitored by WADA. Quantitative measurement for caffeine in the urine was established in 1984 at the Olympic Games in Sarajevo and Los Angeles. IOC set the level in the urine at 15 micrograms per millilitre and then in 1988, it was decreased to 12micrograms per millilitre. Studies showed that 1000mg doses of caffeine are required to excrete caffeine in the urine at levels more than 12 micrograms per millilitre.

Routes of administration

It is taken as tablets or injections(1)

Effects of caffeine in sport

High doses are required in sport to decrease fatigue and increase concentration.(1)

Side effects

tremors

Narcotic analgesics

These are called opiates. Raw opium contains morphine and codeine which have strong analgesic properties. Drugs that are usually misused are: Morphine, heroin, and methadone. All opiates were banned by IOC except dextromethorphan, pholcodeine, and diphenoxylate. Codeine was first banned but because many sports federation had refused that so it was then removed from the list due to its presence in many over-the-counter medications.

Mechanism of action:

Opiates bind to specific opiate receptors in the brain and spinal cord, and also interact with endogenous opiate peptides, enkephalins and endorphins, in mediating emotional highs and in the process of addiction.p(1)-23

Routes of administration

Opiates are taken orally, by injection or by inhalation.

Effects of narcotic analgesics in sport

These are used for their euphoric and analgesic actions. They are used to mimic the injury during training or competition.

Side effects

These include vomiting, diarrhea, dry mouth, skin itching, loss of concentration, drowsiness, comas, and addiction. At high doses it may cause respiratory depression.(1) p24,,BBC

Diuretics and other masking agents

Diuretics are drugs that are used by people to remove fluid in order to decrease blood pressure. Examples are: furesamide, acetazolamide and chlorthalidone.

Effects of diuretics in sport

Diuretics are misused in sport to overcome the side effect fluid retention that is cause by athletes misusing anabolic steroids. They are also used to lower the athlete’s weight in sports that competition occurs in weight groups. P46red and BBC. Also diuretics are used to increase the flow of urine and hence increase the rate of excretion of abused drug or its metabolite in the urine so the abused drug could not be detected.

Side effects

These include: muscle cramps, dehydration, headache, nausea and kidney damage.

Probenecid is used as making agent to disguise the presence of banned drugs and their metabolites by inhibiting the excretion of these through the kidney.p47 red.

Probenecid is no more used because the use of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry can detect its presence and catch up the cheats.

Beta blockers

These were added to the list of doping classes in 1985. But because of its therapeutic use, the IOC in 1993 added them in the “classes of drugs subject to certain restrictions “part .

They were used by athletes to increase their performance by increasing the cardiac output increasing blood flow to muscles.p-48-49 red

Peptide and glycoprotein hormones

These are natural substance that are produced by the body.BBC –doping I sport

Effects in sport
Corticotrophin: it induces the release of the adrenal corticosteroids thus mimic the pain after injury. (1)p47
Human Growth hormone(HGH) and chorionic gonadotrophin( HCG) : it has anabolic effect, so it increases size and strength of muscles. BBc
Erythropoietin: it is a peptide hormonep48(1). It increases red blood cell production thus increasing the oxygen transfer by blood ,ie. Increase in the performance .BBC.
Side effects

HGH has main side effect that is, it may cause acromegaly.BBC

EPO has main side effect that is, it may thicken the blood, resulting in heart attacks.BBC

Chemical and physical manipulation

It is the changing of urine sample by using substances or procedures in order to conceal the detection of a banned substance. Examples of manipulation are: the use of other’s urine, use of vinegar to affect the urine, epitestosterone to alter the ratio. BBC news,doping

Anabolic Steroids
What are Anabolic steroids?

Testosterone was isolated in 1935.(2)p52. It is an endogenous steroidal hormone male hormone produced by testes in men. steroid 7. It is synthesized from cholesterol like all other steroidal hormones. Steroid 7. Epitestosterone is a testosterone isomer and found in a small ratio with respect to testosterone. Steroid7.

Testosterone is responsible for the androgenic and anabolic effects.steroid7. The androgenic functions of testosterone are responsible for the modifications in the primary sexual male features. Steroid7. , while the anabolic effects are responsible for enhancing muscle growth, protein synthesis and erythrocytes. steroid 7.

Anabolic steroids are group of synthetic modified derivatives of testosterone. steoid 10. When administered, they bind to the androgen receptors which are found in the prostate, skeletal muscle and central nervous system to give their mechanism of action. Their structure is developed and modified to improve the anabolic effects with decreased androgenic effects. steroid 10

Routes of administration

Anabolic steroids are administered orally or intramuscularly. Nowadays, athletes are using transdermal patches, sublingual tablets, nasal sprays, and dermatological gels of testosterone to escape positive tests(2). P 3

Why do athletes misuse anabolic steroids

Athletes use anabolic steroids due to their anabolic effects, so they are used due to its positive effect on the skeletal muscle tissues. They are used to increase strength and muscle size. They are also used to increase body weight, protein metabolism and collagen synthesis. Steoird 6 and 35 . Some athletes use anabolic steroids because they “want to be big”. steroid 7.

Side effects
Cardiovascular effects:

Anabolic steroids ingestion results in severe coronary heart disease. They reduce high density lipoprotein (HDL) and increase low density lipoprotein (LDL). Steroid 25- steroid 7. resulting in atherosclerosis.

Increase heart stroke

Anabolic steroids increase blood clotting and thus favouring thrombosis resulting in heart attacks. steroid 26

Liver problems

Oral anabolic steroids results in cholestatic hepatitis and jaundice. steorid 7,26 Also increase in the liver enzymes( aspartate amino transferase, alanine amino transferase and lactate dehydrogenase) is encountered with the use of steroids. steroid 37

Sexual side effects

High doses of anabolics in a study by Holma, shows that the sperm counts decreased by 73% and azoospermia occurred for 3 individuals i.e affecting fertility. Steroid 7

They affect secretion of the reproductive hormones like testosterone and thus reducing libido due to decrease level of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone(FSH).sterodi 37. Anabolic steroids abuse may result in prostate cancer. Steroid 37

Gynaecomastia

It is the enlargement of the mammary tissues in men due to transfer of androgens to estradiol and estrone. steroid 7,37

Psychological effects

A study in USA showed that anabolic steroids revealed changes in mood such as mania and depression. steorid7

Other side effects include: hyperinsulinemia, hypertension, tendon damage, steroid 26. edema, muscle spasm, acne hirsutism, and deepening of voice. Steroid 35

History of anabolic steroids misuse and drug testing

The use of banned substances such as caffeine, cocaine and strychnine started during the 19th century in most of the sport events like cycling, swimming, and distance running. steroid 26.

The abuse of steroids in sport started in 1950s by the soviet weightlifting teams.p54 green,steroid26. In 1960 Olympic Games, anabolic steroids use was restricted to Soviet weightlifting, but by 1964, their use is increased in all strength sports. p45 green. 7. Anabolics use became more common in most sports in 1972 Olympic Games. Steroid 26

Anabolic steroids use has been banned by medical commission of IOC in 1974 and has been added to the list of banned substances of IOC in 1975.steroid 10, 7

Although the first formal testing was introduced in 1972 Munich Olympics, there was no testing for anabolic steroids (7). P4. The first formal test for anabolic steroid was in 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics(7). First positive tests for steroids were in 1976 Montreal Olympics, in which 8 athletes, seven weightlifters and one female athlete in a field event were caught for steroid abuse(7).p75., while no positive tests were reported in 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

Anabolic androgenic steroids are one of the most widely used drugs by athletes to enhance their performance and physical appearance. Steroid 6. Their use extends to be not among professional athletes but also among high school male and female students. Steroid 26

WADA accredited laboratories published statistics form 1993 till 2003 and this showed that anabolic steroids are the most widely used banned substances.p32.red.

1993

1994

2001

2002

2003

stimulants

22.8%

24%

15.4%

14.9%

19%

Anabolic steroids

59.9%

50.5%

40.1%

36.8%

32.1%

Unlike amphetamines and other stimulants which were taken on the day of competition ( which causes sudden death due to cardiac arrest), anabolic steroids are administered during the training exercise and not before the competition periods. P31 red. they are taken in cycles with duration of six- twelve weeks, and usually 2-3 cycles are taken in a year. Steroid7.

The introduction of the “out of competition” testing programmes limited the use of the anabolic steroids. P46 red

Systematic doping: biggest scandal

One of the biggest scandals for steroid abuse was in the German Democratic Republic, they were used from 1965 to 1989 and this allows the East German to win many medals. Coaches and doctors in East Germany follow a programme for systematic doping with steroids. In 1965, a pharmaceutical company had developed chlor-substituted derivative of methandrostenolone (Oral-Turbinabol R), and from 1968 GRD started to introduce it to female athletes in the Olympic Games. Steroid 40

Detection of anabolic steroids:
Detection of urinary anabolic steroid by radioimmunoassay

Drug testing was based on radioimmunoassay screening of urine samples from athletes for detection of banned substances and then gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for confirmation the positive tests (7). Testing at that time was insensitive and not selective due to the fact that testing was done during competition periods and anabolic steroids were usually taken for long periods, so athletes used to quit these drugs at competition periods so their level will decrease in the urine and could not be detected and the tests would give false negative (19).

Detection of urinary anabolic steroids by GC/MS, measuring testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E ratio)

Drug testing at that time could not differentiate between endogenous testosterone and synthetic anabolics.steroid7.

Testosterone was introduced in the banned list of IOC in 1983, it was the first endogenous substance to be banned, after the discovery of the detection method in 1982. p35red.

In 1984 Olympic Games, all urine samples from athletes were screened by GC/MS for detection and identification. The T/E ra

Abstract

Based on previous research, the purpose of this paper is to give an overview on doping behaviors in amateur sport, actual prevention actions, and to propose a new perspective in doping prevention. Doping is not limited to elite athletes and is increasingly important among amateur athletes. To reduce doping in sport, it seems important to influence young athletes in primary prevention. To date, traditional doping prevention campaigns are ineffective. In recent years, a new model of prevention campaigns based on fear, coming from the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries, has been used notably in France (e.g., prevention campaigns for road safety, tobacco, alcohol, cancer). This “fear model” has scientific support and has shown a relatively small but still solid effect on attitudes, intentions and behaviors. The fight against doping would benefit from trying the “fear model” in prevention campaigns.

Keywords: doping behaviors, doping prevention, fear appeals

Based on previous research, the purpose of this paper is to give an overview of doping behaviors in amateur sport as well as actual prevention actions, and to propose a new perspective on doping prevention.

Widespread Doping Behaviors among Amateur Athletes

Doping is not limited to elite athletes but is widespread in society and is increasingly important among amateur athletes (Calfee & Fadale, 2006; Laure, 1997; Lentillon-Kaestner & Carstairs, 2010; Lentillon-Kaestner & Ohl, 2011; Sagoe, Molde, & Andreassen, 2014; Yesalis, Barsukiewicz, Kopstein, & Bahrke, 1997). It is difficult to assess the extent of doping in amateur sport, nevertheless it exists. In his review on 44 studies, Laure (1997) estimated the prevalence of doping in children and adolescents participating in sport at 3 to 5% and in adults participating in amateur sports at 5 to 15%. In France, 6.7% of 8-18 year-olds approved doping in sport (Laure, 2000). Lentillon-Kaestner and Carstairs (2010) showed that young amateur cyclists (Under-23 category) were tempted by doping. The meta-analysis of Sagoe, Molde and Andreassen (2014) on 187 studies showed a global lifetime prevalence rate of anabolic-androgenic steroid use of 3.3 %.

Doping varies according to various demographic parameters. It increases with age and can start before the age of 15 years (Laure, 1997; Sagoe et al., 2014). Doping is more widespread among boys than girls (Dunn & Thomas, 2012; Laure, 2000); however, the gender gap is decreasing from 10 years old (Yesalis et al., 1997). Doping is more widespread among competitors, and it increases with the level of competition (Laure, 2000).

Inefficiency of Current Doping Prevention Programs

For several years, the fight against doping has mainly focused on the improvement of detection measures (drug tests), leaving aside measures of doping prevention (Backhouse, 2012; Ntoumanis, Ng, Barkoukis, & Backhouse, 2014). To date, tested measures of doping prevention are rare, and doping prevention programs lack solid scientific background (Backhouse, 2012; Johnson, 2012; Ntoumanis et al., 2014). Traditional doping prevention campaigns are often ineffective. They describe substances’ side effects, try to persuade users of the ineffectiveness of performance enhancing substances or promote sports ethics (Barkoukis, 2014; Schaps, Bartolo, Moskowitz, & al., 1981). The recent meta-analysis of Ntoumakis, Ng, Barkoukis and Backhouse (2014) showed that implemented anti-doping interventions lead to small changes in individuals’ attitudes towards and intention to engage in doping and had no effect on actual doping behaviors. It seems important to build innovative prevention interventions that are based on solid scientific theory (Backhouse, 2012 ;Johnson, 2012).

The Fear Model in Prevention Campaigns

In recent years, a new model of prevention campaign based on fear and coming from the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries has been used notably in France (e.g., prevention campaigns for road safety, smoking, alcohol, cancer). Fear is conceptualized as a negative emotional reaction to a perceived threat. The purpose of the fear model is to show the consequences of an undesirable event (illness, accident, etc.) or to give more or less directly a glimpse of the following unhappiness aiming to bring an attitude change. The fear motivates actions to reduce negative emotion (Gallopel, 2006). In contrast to current measures of doping prevention, prevention strategies based on fear have scientific support (Moscato et al., 2001; Tay & Watson, 2002; Witte & Allen, 2000). Psychologists and researchers in marketing have tried to understand why a prevention campaign based on phobic emotion resulted sometimes in success (action) and sometimes in failure (defensive reactions). Various theories have been developed. The latest and most advanced theory about fear from a theoretical and empirical point of view (Witte & Allen, 2000) is the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) of Witte (1992) (Witte, 1992). In this model, individuals first assess the threat contained in the message. Perceived threat is a cognitive construct with two dimensions: perceived severity of the threat and one’s perceived susceptibility to the threat (Popova, 2011). In accordance with other meta-analyses, the meta-analysis of Witte and Allen (2000) suggested that the higher the fear level, the higher the persuasive impact of the message. If the threat is perceived as irrelevant or insignificant, the person is no longer motivated to process the message and simply ignores the fear. In contrast, when a threat is described as significant and relevant, people are frightened. The more people believe themselves vulnerable to a serious threat, the more they are motivated to start the second evaluation of the recommendations’ effectiveness. The fear motivates the change in attitudes, intentions and behaviors, especially fear accompanied with highly effective messages. Perceived effectiveness comprises two dimensions: perceived response effectiveness (beliefs of how effective a response is in averting a threat) and perceived self-effectiveness (beliefs about one’s ability to carry out the recommended response) (Popova, 2011). Effective messages generating a strong fear encourage behavior change (i.e., danger control), while less effective messages generating a strong fear lead to defensive reactions (i.e., fear control) (Popova, 2011). According to Witte (1992), fear in health campaigns is far more useful to promote prevention behavior than to modify an existing behavior. Witte and Allen (2000) concluded, from their meta-analysis on 98 studies on prevention campaigns based on fear (e.g., sexuality, alcohol, road safety, tobacco), that fear would have a relatively small but constant effect on attitudes, intentions and behaviors. They also offered a series of recommendations for the implementation of prevention measures (Witte & Allen, 2000). In addition, psychology studies on persuasion showed that a simple message was more persuasive in video than in written or audio forms (Girandola, 2003).

The theory of self-affirmation (Steele, 1988) appears as a way to increase the effectiveness of prevention campaigns through a re-evaluation of the self-image, which reduces the defensive reactions and increases the acceptance of preventive message’s recommendations. The manipulation of self-affirmation may be achieved in different ways (e.g., values to rank in importance order, to write an essay on their most important value, to describe a very important thing in their lives) (Barkoukis, 2014). Research has shown that to secure the self through self-affirmation manipulation reduced defensive reactions to threatening health information (Sherman, Nelson, & Steele, 2000) and positively influenced healthier behaviors (Harris, 2011). Through the self-affirmation process, prevention campaigns do not threaten the self-image of the person, but only the behavior is threatened (Sherman et al., 2000; Steele, 1988).

New Perspectives in Doping Prevention

Adolescence is a high-risk period for the development of doping behaviors. Performance enhancing drugs have adverse effects on health (Calfee & Fadale, 2006; Maravelias, 2005), but young athletes are tempted by doping and are not afraid on the impact on their health (Lentillon-Kaestner, Hagger, & Hardcastle, 2012). Young athletes are priority target as their doping attitudes are in formation and primary prevention seems to be a good solution to avoid the appearance of doping behaviors.

To date, there do not exist any doping prevention videos based on fear induction. The fight against doping would benefit from trying fear in prevention campaigns for two main reasons. Firstly, although in recent years doping tests have progressed, preventive measures remain lacunar and should be improved. Secondly, doping prevention lacks standardized, effective and easy tools to use in the sport and academic domains. A doping prevention video could be used during sport events and competitions. Doping prevention is also a topic addressed in some school and university courses, particularly among young students following additional sport modules, or in sport universities. Teachers, often not specialists in doping, need help to address this difficult issue. The creation of a video based on fear could be a good preventive tool in the fight against doping in sport.

Deviance in Sport

“I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating.” Sophocles.

Could you find people who think like Sophocles nowadays? Ancient Greek said about global problem that have covered whole life branches now and even gained the sport. Unfortunately people ready to do everything to win and often this everything means deviance. Recent incidents well show that even sport stars make unfair actions to reach their aims. Whoever would have thought that Thierry Henry, popular footballer, will cheat to qualify into the summer’s World Cup or Formula-1 Renault team driver Nelson Piquet Jr will make crash to help his team-mate wins. Two very different kinds of sport but linked with one serious theme – deviance.

Cheating it isn’t simple rules violation, it is ethics failure, when sportsmen put themselves above other people, make unfair advantage. And it’s doesn’t matter how they made it, it’s more important why people do that, why they decide to take cheating way. Generally they want to be the best, to get rewards, money and popularity. Cheating is a big issue and actual nowadays. Firstly, because it’s an unfair game that is an infringement. Secondly, it makes competitions senseless, because it breaks the general sense of competition, wins not the strongest sportsman but cheater. Thirdly, it covers all world countries and even involves politicians, how it recently happened with football match between France and Ireland. About this incident people discus every day and Thierry Henry became public enemy.

“Henry could have been a hero. But he’s a cheat.” Richard Williams.

It was last match minutes and France was losing 0-1 when Thierry Henry had an excellent chance to make the perfect goal cross to his team-mate and he done it. Whole should be well, but Henry stopped the ball with his hand that is unacceptable in football. Referee didn’t see it and France has qualified into next year World Cup final. Of course, lot of people think that Henry is a hero because he has saved national team, but how? He cheated! However, some people believe that is wasn’t intention action, but simple reflex. Nevertheless he touched the ball twice. Why he did it and why FIFA on the France side in this problem? To answer this questions let’s make little research. France national team twelve times was participated in World Cup final and once won it in 1998, two times was UEFA EURO champion (1984,2000), lot of other rewards and now is taking 7th place in FIFA’s World Ranking. What about Ireland? Only three times participated in World Cup final without successful results and now is taking 36th place in FIFA ranking. Now it becomes clear that France has greater influence and authority than modest Ireland. Result above face – cheating, replaying decline, France into World Cup. However Thierry Henry apologised for his handball even said: “Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control. There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish. I have said at the time and I will say again that, yes, I handled the ball.” But this apologises will not help him now and we will see fans abusing soon.

Let’s take another example. Absolutely different kind of sport, Formula-1, where some month ago was happened big scandal. Simon Barnes: “Nelson Piquet Jr, son of the eponymous three-times world champion, a young man desperate to make his mark on the sport and yet struggling to keep up with its demands, was told to have an “accident” at the Singapore Grand Prix last September. As a result of his crash, Piquet’s team-mate, Fernando Alonso, was able to win a race he would otherwise have not, taking advantage of the safety procedures that are laid down in Formula One…”.

From one hand it looks two different cheatings. Formula One driver has risked with his and other drivers life, because it is very dangerous to make crash in racing and history knows forty-five world drivers that have died in the accidents. In due course, Henry cheated without any risk for his health. Fact that Nelson Piquet Jr didn’t cheated willfully, because he carried out Renault team’s instructions, but Henry decided to win unfairly by his own mind. That means in Formula One we see simple manipulation by principal, that so often happens also in political life. Simon Barnes: “That is what happens when leading commercial concerns get mixed up in sport: their ultimate goal is profit, not sporting success.” Terrible but true. Nelson Piquet Jr was a victim and he didn’t obtain any profit from this hidden cheating. Hidden because all people knew about it only after 1 year, but situation with Henry was very visual. Thousands of spectators, TV watchers and internet surfers saw this cheating. However Henry didn’t show it, he celebrated team’s score like nothing unfair happened. Next day mass-media has been overflowed by articles and loud statements. Even politicians have started to interfere to the match result. The positive thing that Henry agreed that he has broke rules, but it’s impossible to change anything now and France became Ireland’s enemy number one.

REFERENCES

http://www.fifa.com

The development and significance of tennis as a Leisure Activity (Mainly in the UK)
1. The History and Development of tennis. (Mainly in the UK)

According to The Cliff Richard Tennis Development Fund 2000, tennis is a world-class competitive sport captivating millions of players and fans all round the world. It was in France that the game tennis as we know it today really came into being. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries it became the highly fashionable sport of kings and noblemen a far cry from being played by the lower classes. The development fund 2000 describes how real tennis was actually very different to the game that we know today. The game was played indoors, in large galleries with jutting roofs and points were won according to how the ball was played off of the gallery walls, rather like squash. This concept is very different to today’s Lawn Tennis, where the rectangular court is laid out on a grass surface and the play is within marked boundaries, not off of the walls. After its initial rise in popularity with the French nobility, tennis spread throughout Europe, becoming particularly popular in England. Today, Wimbledon and the UK are associated with lawn tennis.

Cliff Richard’s Development fund describes how the changes in tennis have taken place over the years and how the shift has moved tennis from being associated with the upper classes to a sport which is played at all different levels and at every level of the social classes. During the 19th century when Victorian prosperity in England prompted a significant revival, courts were built in many famous country houses and the first tennis clubs providing facilities for members began to appear. The biggest boost for tennis however came in 1875. As said by the development Fund 2000, The All England Croquet Club, which had formed in 1869 had failed to attract enough visitors and in 1875 they decided to offer Lawn Tennis as an added attraction. The new game was an instant success, so much so that in 1877 the name of the club was changed to the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. This highlights that the popularity of tennis has been growing for many decades thus gives us a good indication that it will continue to prosper.

The Wimbledon Championship has been one of the most significant developments in the history of tennis. This event alone has contributed to a huge numbers of followers and participants throughout the UK and illustrates the development of tennis as we know it today. In the 1930s the game became highly fashionable in the UK, led by British stars such as Fred Perry and Don Budge and International Champions such as Henri Lacoste. Then, into the 1990s the championships became more popular than ever – particularly as Great Britain’s hopes for a champion became rekindled with the likes of Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman. Now, entering 2006 we are witnessing the rise of young Andrew Murray who is taking the tennis circuit by storm and he will hopefully encourage and boost tennis numbers within the UK.

The Lawn Tennis Association has outlined a number of ways in which it has attempted to translate the enthusiasm generated by the Wimbledon Championships each year into lasting benefits and continually develop tennis on a yearly basis. Some examples include; the sponsored campaign, ‘Play Tennis’, which is an initiative that offered free tennis lessons with the Lawn Tennis Association coaches in April and May 2004. The Lawn Tennis Association confirms that in 2004, 8,000 Londoners participated in the scheme and as a result around a third joined their local tennis clubs after playing. This highlights the significance of tennis within the UK and that the sport is held in high esteem. Perhaps now it is important to expand its target market and appeal to different socio-economic groups. Further, the Lawn Tennis Association launched an Ariel Tennis Ace campaign which was a ‘talent search’ for young players, the winner of which received coaching with John McEnroe during the Wimbledon Championships. It is important to note that tennis is such a significant sport within the UK that such competitions are respected and widely sought after.

Other ways in which the Lawn Tennis Association has developed and increased the popularity in the UK include the introduction of a Tennis Show which has been running since April 2004 which was linked in with the Fitness Show and offered free coaching, access to clubs and information. Further, in order to establish a larger ratio of children who play tennis the organisation pioneered the Wimbledon Kid’s Zone; whilst the Championships were taking place, a children’s area is established to introduce children to tennis. Approximately 6,000 children attended in 2004 and lastly, ‘The Road to Wimbledon’ initiative was set up for young players to lure them into tennis and encourage promising young talent which will help boost tennis numbers. The incentive to entering this competition was that the winners were given the opportunity to play at Wimbledon in August.

Nowadays, sporting events tend to be sponsored by major companies in order to generate more money. Last year, American Express sponsored a five-day event next to Tower Bridge with larges screens televising Wimbledon matches, tennis training and held a celebrity tennis night which raised money for the Sport Relief Charity. The Lawn Tennis Association supports any private sponsorship for these free public events because it helps develop the sport. Moreover, it is obvious that much is being done to develop tennis within the UK because Sport England has launched a website – www.activeplaces.com – this Internet site has produced a list of facilities for all sports, including the locations of every tennis court in London. Sport England believes that the site’s usefulness could be enhanced if it keeps records of the condition of facilities to ensure the courts upkeep and increase the number of tennis players in the UK. The Lawn Tennis Association believes that currently a third of local authority tennis courts are in a state of disrepair, this information needs to be passed onto the local authorities to be addressed, otherwise tennis could cease to play a significant sporting role in the UK. Also, if information of facility conditions is recorded it will provide a more realistic picture of sports resources in London and may serve as a prompt to local authorities to improve their local facilities.

2. The Organisation of tennis.

The Lawn Tennis Association’s work and investment is based around three main priority areas, theses include tennis clubs, junior players and performance. The organisation has been trying to make British tennis more inclusive and available to a wide number for many years. The reasons for targeting the different areas and widening their target market are to attract more and better players. Nowadays, the Lawn Tennis Association is focusing on how and where tennis is played and organised in the UK. The reason for this is to establish where the best facilities are and to improve the areas which are in disrepair. In order to better organise tennis within the UK, the Lawn Tennis Association has introduced an initiative called ‘Club Vision’ which aims to provide progressive clubs with greater support and resources at both a national and county level and to ensure that clubs can play a greater part in making the UK into a stronger tennis nation and make it as popular and generate a following as great as that of football.

‘Club Vision’ is described by the Lawn Tennis Association as being a multi-million pound investment programme that puts clubs at the heart of British Tennis and also supports public ‘pay and play’ indoor tennis centres, schools and local authority venues. The Lawn Tennis Association joined forces with the Sports Council and the All England Lawn Tennis Club in 1986 to launch the Indoor Tennis Initiative designed to develop indoor tennis centres around Britain. The main benefit of ‘Club Vision’ is that it is able to help any club throughout the UK regardless of size and therefore as facilities are better they can promote and attempt to attract many people. This shows that tennis is becoming more organised in the UK perhaps as a result of the increased availability of courts, the affordability of equipment and the increased media interest and coverage of tennis tournaments and championships.

According to Sport England, the London Assembly’s Culture Sport and Tourism Committee met with them and the Lawn Tennis Association to discuss tennis in London in 2004. The aim of the meeting was to establish how the Wimbledon Championship could propel and promote tennis within London and the rest of the UK. Further, the bodies discussed and considered ease of access to tennis courts in London and deliberated over club organization and costs of using publicly owned tennis courts. Throughout the talks, certain projects were discussed which encourage young people to get involved in tennis (such as the Westway Tennis centre), and further they examined how the Mayor, Sport England and the Lawn Tennis Association could encourage more Londoners to pick up a racquet. There is more incentive for people to take up tennis due to the 2,600 tennis clubs which have affiliated with the Lawn Tennis Association via their local county office. The development and introduction of so many clubs highlights the improvement of tennis as a leisure activity.

Currently, the Lawn Tennis Association estimates are that two-thirds of local authority courts nationally are in a state of disrepair and nevertheless the cost of hiring local authority courts stands between ?2-?6 per hour for adults. Most tennis activities are run through such organisations as the Lawn Tennis Association and All England Tennis Club. As a result of theses clubs it is possible for people to enquire as to their nearest club or courts and increase the probability of people playing tennis as knowledge is more readily available.

3. The Social Structure of Participation.

In my opinion tennis has always been classified as a rich mans sport. This might be due to the fact that when tennis originated it was played by the Kings, Queens and nobility. This stigma has now shifted however, there are still certain socio-demographics who shy away from the sport. According to the Lawn Tennis Association, 2.9million people aged four years and upwards played tennis in the UK in 2003. Further, this is reinforced by the British Embassy who suggests that around five million people play tennis in the UK. Either way, this is a large number but there does not compete with the number of people that play football. Of the 2.9 million tennis players the Lawn Tennis Association estimates that 441,000 of these people play tennis in London; 137,000 of them playing regularly. In the UK many of the tennis campaigns and organisations aim to attract the younger generation to take up tennis. This it is no surprise that the younger generation in the UK are likely to play more tennis in the future than that of the current older generation.

In contrast to the number of tennis players in the UK, American Tennis Life Magazine, which conducted a survey on tennis, illustrates that 23.5 million Americans play tennis annually. Of this, 52 per cent of players were men and 48 per cent were women with the average age of these players being 29. Further, the percentage of women players to men is reflected in the ratio of spectatorship. McNamee, (2001) illustrates that 48 per cent of women watch tennis compared to 52 per cent of men. I am surprised that women on average play less and watch less tennis. The abovementioned illustrates that tennis is indeed a thriving sport within the UK but simultaneously illustrate that there is scope for growth within these figures.

So, it is important to establish the type of people who do not play tennis and the reasons for their lack of participation in the sport. The kind of people not playing tennis are those who are in the lower social classes who cannot afford to pay for a club membership, those in areas where facilities are in a state of disrepair and those from ethnic minorities, the latter will be discussed further. Moreover, Sport England and the Lawn Tennis Association have identified the following barriers to greater participation in tennis in London, some of which include; cost (however in reality this is more down to peoples perception of the sport – studies show that the actual cost of tennis membership is more than half what people estimate). Also, poor local authority facilities and a lack of investment in facilities has meant that people in certain areas are just unable to play tennis. Further, the weather plays a large role in determining the months of the year in which tennis is played. Those with no access to indoor courts are not likely to play tennis outside the summer months which results in lower numbers of people who play tennis. Moreover, Sport England has established that there is no co-ordinated approach to tennis for people with disabilities, thus limiting the development of tennis as a leisure activity. Lastly, due to the immense popularity and plugging of other sports such as football, competition with other leisure activities and sports creates a loss of interest in playing tennis once young people have left school.

Furthermore, according to Gabriel, D from the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), black players are noticeably absent from tennis. Supposedly, poverty is cited as a major factor, with 57 per cent of people from ethnic minorities socially excluded from sports on the grounds of destitution. Gabriel, D believes that a ‘white sporting establishment’ effectively excludes people from ethnic minoritiesfrom getting involved in ‘the organisation and governance of sport’ at every level. In other words, the lack of black people in decision-making roles within sports organisations means there is little opportunity for them to ascend to senior and more influential roles that could promote their wider involvement and influence in sport. McLean, L reinforces the fact that the ethnic minorities do not take part in sport, compared with the national average. Supposedly, people from ethnic minorities are keen to give sports such as tennis a go, but they do not have access to facilities. Thus in order to ensure that tennis remains a popular sport and continues to grow it is essential that every local government looks to improve facilities in their area and encourage ethnic minorities.

Every year, Wimbledon is broadcast on television and in its own right is one of the UK’s major sporting events. According to the Lawn Tennis Association, Sport England spent approximately ?18.7 million on tennis facilities, coaching and promotion and outreach in London in 2003. This perhaps demonstrates that tennis in the UK is in fact on the increase. What we must ensure is that we have the infrastructure in place to cope with larger numbers. The Lawn Tennis Association believes that the most immediate benefit from the Wimbledon Championships is the revenue generated by the event. The 2003 competition brought in ?25.8 million (net income) which was invested back into tennis initiatives nationally. However, in order to see tennis become more popular it is essential to promote all year round and eradicate the idea that it is a summer sport. There is of course little that the Lawn Tennis Association can do to change the weather but it should look to invest in indoor courts and floodlighting through its Club Vision programme and Indoor Tennis Initiative. In 2003, the Lawn Tennis Association committed ?2.28 million to facilities in London, 30 per cent of the organisations fund. Since 2001 it has invested over ?4.89 million in 16 major tennis projects in London.

Further, Gabriel, D from the Commission for Racial Equality has reported that black people are very interested in tennis thus there is scope to increase the number of tennis players in the UK. In my opinion tennis is a growing sport. This is further emphasised by UK Sport (2001), which has explained how the management Board of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has decided to engage with Sport England and the Lawn Tennis Association in an informal consortium to seek planning permission for the redevelopment of facilities at the Bisham Abbey Sports Centre, enabling it to become a Centre of Excellence for both sports. This illustrates that organisations believe that tennis is a worthy investment for the future.

Further, Since September 2004, construction has been underway on the Lawn Tennis Association’s new National Tennis Centre (NTC) in Roehampton. If tennis was showing signs of decline there would not be so many initiatives or campaigns running to improve facilities throughout the UK. The site will provide a single site of national focus for tennis in Great Britain, and will open in late 2006. The reasons for a National Tennis Centre according to the Lawn Tennis Association are that in 1999 an extensive review of the sport was undertaken and it arose that tennis has effectively turned into a social leisure activity for a few, rather than a competitive sport to be enjoyed by many millions.

In all, the evidence points to a rise in popularity of the game tennis. There is still plenty of scope for growth and the introduction of more ethnic minorities to the sport.

Bibliography

The Cliff Richard Tennis Development Fund (2000) The History of Tennis. (Internet), Available at http://www.cliffrichardtennis.org/planet_tennis/history.htm, cited 30/11/05

Bray, A. (2005) Tennis in London. (Internet), Available at http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/culture/tennis.rtf, cited 30/11/05

The Lawn Tennis Association. (2005) Building our Tennis Nation. (Internet), Available at http://www.lta.org.uk/InsideTheLta/AboutTheLta/BuildingOurTennisNation.htm, cited 30/11/05

British Embassy. Sport – One of the best things in life. (Internet), Available at http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1065716130553, cited 30/11/05

Gabriel, D. Commission for Racial Equality (2005). Why black British tennis players are missing from Wimbledon. (Internet), Available at http://www.cre.gov.uk/Default.aspx.LocID-0hgnew070.RefLocID-0hg00k001.Lang-EN.htm, cited 30/11/05

UK Sport (2001) Cricket and Tennis seek Alliances. (Internet), Available at http://www.uksport.gov.uk/template.asp?id=376, cited 30/11/05

Tennis Life Magazine. Demographics. (Internet), Available at http://www.tennislifemagazine.com/advertising/advertising-demo.html, cited 01/12/05

McNamee, Dr (2001) Sporting Conduct: A survey of Sports spectators’ perceptions of the values and norms of selected professional sports. (Internet), Available at http://www.uksport.gov.uk/images/uploaded/sportingconduct.pdf, cited 01/12/05

McLean, L. Participation in Sport. (Internet), Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/participation_in_sport.stm, cited 01/12/05

The word leisure is normally attributed to an individual’s free time and what they choose to do during that time. Every individual at some stage in their life will participate in some form of leisure, whether it be shopping, travelling, playing sport or just relaxing. Participation must be by choice in order to be considered leisure. Throughout this essay I am going to identify and explain the different types of leisure and why individuals participate with reference to relevant academic literature.

Leisure as a concept is not new, throughout history there has always been examples of leisure. If you think back to the time of ancient Rome, people enjoyed watching and in some cases taking part in the activities held within the Coliseum. Furthermore as you move through history the examples continue; Jousting and banquets in the middle ages, all the way up to what we define as leisure activities today, shopping, participating in sport etc (Pearson, 2008). What’s important to point out is the change in perception of what leisure actually is now, compared to what it was before. During the late eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain went through a massive economic change. Otherwise known as the industrial revolution, this period changed what we would define leisure as today (Bull et al, 2003). For so many people, their nature of worked changed drastically, both in terms of what they did and where. This change enabled social class to be born, and with it increased wealth. This new found wealth enabled new technologies which in turn would allow new forms of leisure (2003).

Trying to define leisure is often difficult; this is due to the many different forms leisure can take. Bull, Hoose and Weed, (2003) propose four approaches to define leisure. These are leisure as time, leisure as an activity, quality of leisure and personal attitude (p32). Most people work long stressful hours during the day, leisure time is often dictated by the time we are left with after working and earning money. However necessities such as sleeping, eating and personal hygiene all eat into what we define as ‘leisure time’. Under the leisure as time approach, work and leisure can be perceived as being in opposition, with one (usually work) limiting the other (p33). When it comes to activity based approaches, as the name suggests, this approach sees leisure as engaging in activities that one would do in their free time, such as shopping, playing recreational sport etc. The quality of leisure and personal attitude go hand in hand with the previous approaches. If the participant is having fun their quality of leisure is improved, the opposite can be said if their attitude is negative. It’s important when looking at why people participate in leisure, that these 4 approaches are taken into account.

As mentioned above, leisure and work are often seen to be in opposition with each other; however that is not always the case. More and more businesses are seeing the benefits leisure can have on staff productivity and happiness. This year alone an estimated ?1.67 billion was spent on leisure activities for staff at work (Groom, 2010). That equates to 20% of all spending on expenses last year. This view is reinforced by companies partnering with leisure based businesses such as activity day planners and health clubs to offer staff a range of benefits and discounts in order to increase their leisure quality. In addition to investing in leisure for staff, businesses as a whole take part in “leisure” also. Sponsorship for leisure events was estimated to be around $45.2 billion last year (IEG Global Sponsorship Expenditure Reports, Cited in ‘Sponsormap’, 2009).

The main concept to explore when asking why people participate in leisure is what motivates them to do so. Under ideal circumstances, the benefits from participating in leisure are numerous. As it covers such a broad range of activities, leisure allows an individual to do what they want. Linda Nazareth (Cited in Alboher,2008) provides an example of a woman who works a stressful 6 day week. By incorporating a small amount of leisure into her routine, she felt happier at work, and felt her interactions with others outside work also greatly improved. Further to this studies show that physical based leisure, such as exercise or recreational sport have a positive effect on ones wellbeing. This is due to a combination of psychological factors as well as raised endorphin levels (“The Reality of the Runners High”, 2008).

However, an individual’s leisure can often be impacted by numerous external factors such as age, race, income and gender. William R. Burch, Jr. (2009) highlights how social class (income) has an effect on what activities an individual can take part in. Activities such as going sailing, although not exclusive to upper class, is more likely to be available to than someone who is lower class. In addition an individual’s gender can also affect their free time. Roberts (2010) cites a recent international survey that shows men have half an hour more leisure time every day than women. In addition, geography also plays a key role. In the same study, figures showed that the half an hour advantage men have over women in the UK, compared to 38 minutes in the US, 33 in France, 50 in Belgium, 22 in Germany and 80 in Italy.

Person’s surroundings similarly can limit their participation in leisure. One could argue someone who is retired will have the most leisure time out of all socio economic groups. This however is not always the case. Just as before, location has a major role on leisure, not just internationally but also locally. As Bull et al (2003) describes behavioral norms and expectations of what someone who is retired is able to do, can in fact limit what it is available to them. Further to this, social expectation can encourage social isolation and disengagement. All of these things contribute to having a negative effect on an individual’s participation. Government funding can also have an effect. If the facilities aren’t available, what an individual may want to do as activity based leisure may not be possible. In addition if pricing of facilities is too high, what an individual has access to will be limited. On the flip side, if funding is there the quality of leisure available to individuals is greatly improved and in general so is participation. This highlights how; at least in terms of activity based leisure, opportunities can sometimes be better for some more than others.

As shown, although leisure is subjective, external factors often have a role to play in the choices an individual makes. When answering why people participate in leisure, the answer is obvious. As William H. Davies said “What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?” (Cited in, Khurana 2009). Life is too short to have nothing but worry. People participate in leisure to escape from the hectic lives they have to live. Although many extrinsic factors can have an effect on leisure, there is no denying the benefits of even a little a day.

Statement of task

As gowning up I was always around sports, for that fact always around many different sports, and one thing that I noticed in each sport is that the interaction, passion, and the interrelations that the fans have with the players. This relation between the players and the fans, many times causes the turnout of the game, which it has. Whether its soccer or football, American or African, males or females, no matter what sport it is all of the games can be determined by how the fan are. Different types of fans react differently in a game, like a hockey fans are mostly angry in nature who cause riots if the game does not go the way they want it to, when a tennis player does not do as well as hoped, there fan will obviously react in a different way. In Europe, they are big soccer or football as they call it there fans, during a game of soccer, if a riots breaks out they have to stop the game completely for the safety of the players and the fans, sometimes these riots last for days… the understanding of these fans can tell you how the game or even the series will end.

Data Collection

In sports there are many different ways to measure how the games will end up, whether your then wins or not, or is going to end up like. One can never tell how the fans are going to act; they can do and will do anything to see a good game. They do a lot of things, just to see their team win. They, the fans, have done many crazy things, like kidnapped a player so he couldn’t make it to the game, for threaten the player physically or physiologically to get into the players head. The players always get energy form the fans and how each one of them has the courage to stand up for what they come to see, see their team win…

This is one of the greatest comeback in soccer history… The comeback may be the most thrilling event in sports. One team or player is left for dead, done, kaput, down too many points or games to come back. We are rational beings. We like to believe what we see, that when a game looks over, it is indeed over. But the comeback, the one done against all odds, speaks to our irrational, dreamy side. It makes us realize that against all odds, great things can happen. They came back for 4 down in the 80th minute and won the match.

In base ball the fans are tend to be always fun and interactive with the players. Sometimes a great comeback is spurred by a single moment. Take, for instance, the 2004 Boston Red Sox. In the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox found themselves down 0-3 to the New York Yankees. They had been pummeled 19-8 in Game 3. History was not on their side: No baseball team had ever come back to win a series after falling behind 0-3. And there was that little matter of a certain curse that shadowed the club. In the last game they were down 4-3 and they with the help to the fans the player found a new motive to bet the Yankees and bet them they shall, because after that the Sox went on to win in extra innings, then won the next three games, completing the single biggest comeback in baseball playoff history. In the World Series, they swept the St. Louis Cardinals to end an 86-year championship drought. There was the 2004 ALCS when the Red Sox rallied against the Yankees to become the first team to ever overcome losing the first three games of a postseason series.

Here are some of the other comebacks which were inspired by the fans for them to win… the 1999 US Ryder Cup team; 2005 Champions League winner Liverpool FC; golfer Karrie Webb; tennis player Ivan Lendl; basketball’s Duke Blue Devils and Boston Celtics; and hockey’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

DATA ANALYSIS

cs shows that soccer games, 40 percent of the time the games are won form a comeback win.

In football about 25% of the games are won from come from behind victories. Most people when won or lose the game blame the most important player on the team, which may or may not be the quarterback, although it is the fans that never give on their team, it is the fans that get people back in to the game, it is the fans the control the game.

35 percent of basketball games are won from comeback victories.

45 percent of the games are come back games in baseball. Six times in the previous 114 World Series has a team rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a World Series, and a team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in six of the 48 LCS that have been played since it was expanded from a best-of-5 to a best-of-7 in 1985.

Evaluate

For every game that has been ever been played, more than one third has been won with the help and support of the fans in the stadium. One of the important factors that affect the betting odds at football betting is the Home and Away wins. If you have a look at the statistics, you will find that around half of the total matches are home wins, the other quarter matches are draws and the remaining quarter are away wins. These statistics are very much same for all the football leagues around the world. Thus, this fact backs that a home team has a better advantage over the away team. This is not just for football but every sport out there such as, soccer, baseball, even basketball it’s all the same.

There are many reasons for a home team to have advantage over the away team. One reason is the presence of the home crowd. The shouting and cheering of the home crowd really motivates the players, as well as make them play harder to win. On the other hand, the away team always has tremendous pressure, when playing away from home. In such situations, the away team tends to create mistakes, while playing.

In any game these days, you will always find that the home team is always the favorite before the start of the game and accordingly the odds are decided. After the kick-offs of any sport, the odds change depending on the situation of the game. In case the home team scores the first goal, home run, or basket, the odds change in the favor of the home team. In other words, if you wish to place a bet on the home team, there are chances that you may win it, since the home team is the favorite and on top of that, it has scored the first goal, home run, or basket also.

Without any doubts the winning teams are the favorites to win no matter, if it is a home or away match or team.

1. INTRODUCTION

Sociologist Aashish Nandy once remarked that Cricket is an Indian game accidentally discovered by the British shepherds. Today, the Indian sub-continent, rather India has become the best market for the game of cricket. Globally, over the last two decades sport has moved from being a pastime to a business as a result of the process of commercialization. The story of cricket is no different. In fact, commercialization of cricket started way back in the 1970’s. In 1978, Kerry Parker, the Australian business tycoon started the Parker series which revolutionized the way the game was played till then. Parker Series, still has its impact in the form of colored jersey, day-night matches etc. The International Cricket Council (ICC) was initially opposed to Parker, but they later compromised for the good of the game. The game has changed by the time the Parker series concluded in the 80’s the game changed forever.

1983 is a landmark year in the history of Indian sports. On the 25th day of June that year India captained by Kapil Dev won the Cricket World Cup. The victory was totally unexpected but the magnitude of it was so much that it changed the sporting interest of a nation. Rarely can such things happen. After that victory, Indian’s fell for the game. In 1987, the Indian sub-continent hosted the World Cup successfully. Nine years later, in 1996, India organized the Cricket World Cup again. This time it was commercially successful as well as took the game to almost every part of the country. India became the best market for the game. The game had such a big impact that, we Indians consider Cricket to be our national game, though Hockey is the national game.

What makes the game of Cricket special? Though diverse answers are possible to this question, I personally feel that it is the game’s ability to adapt to changes that makes it special. Going by the history of the game, this has always been true. For e.g. starting from 1878 till 1960’s test cricket was the only form of the game. The game in the 1930’s underwent modification from being played for unlimited time to a limited time of 5 days. In the 1960’s, test cricket began to look boring. This led to the start of One Day Cricket in England. Eventually, the first One Day International was played between England and Australia at Melbourne in 1971-72. Within 4 years, ODI cricket became the leading form of the game as the first World Cup was organized in 1975. As said earlier, Kerry Parker launched his ODI series in 1978 which revolutionized both ODI and the game of Cricket. In course of time, ODI became sort of boring especially with many lopsided matches and being unable to offer the kind of thrill that it used to offer earlier. This led to the start of a new brand of Cricket called Twenty-Twenty, where each side gets to bat twenty overs each. It is a faster version of the game with all spicy elements in it.

The first T20 was between Australia and New Zealand in 2005.

As always India was a late entrant in the T20 format as well. The turnaround however came in 2007. India was out in the first round of the ICC Cricket World Cup. Talks of organizing a T20 tournament to discover new talents for the team and to improve the existing talents were suggested by Kapil Dev and Subhash Chandra of the Zee TV. They decided to start a T20 tournament named the Indian Cricket League (ICL). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was against a private body taking international players and running a T20 tournament. BCCI in the ICC used its full strength to ban those players who take part in the rebel league. Just as the ODI picked up steam in India, the T20 picked up steam in India when India won the first ever T20 World Cup in South Africa. Soon, the talks of organizing a league parallel to the rebel league arose and it was called the Indian Premier League (IPL). While ICL was launched in December 2007 the IPL was launched in April 2008. The IPL is the brainchild of Lalit Modi. Just as Kerry Parker revolutionized the ODI cricket, Lalit Modi revolutionized the T20 Cricket.

2. THE INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE

The Indian Premier League was founded on ‘My City My Team’ principle. 8 franchisees are there representing eight cities namely, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mohali & Jaipur. They were called Franchisees. Each franchisee was bought by a group or individual. There are 8 franchisees. The names of the franchisees and there owning group is given below:

Darbari Lal Foundation or DLF, a real estate company based on Dubai sponsors the entire event. Together, the entire event is called the DLF IPL.

Perhaps for the first time ever in the history of the game, the cricket players registered with the IPL were auctioned. The IPL and the player auction have attracted a lot of attention and comments. The auction for the players underlined the fact that cricket is not just a game anymore and it is a business and a big one at that. Just think of the business concept at its most elementary level – the product is the game, the players are the assets, the spectators inside the stadium and television viewers are the market, the revenues will come from in-stadium advertising, player endorsements, entry tickets, share of television rights and lot, you have a complete business. When we bring the concept down to this elementary level, it may be easier for die-hard cricket fans, to digest a Sachin Tendulkar or a Rahul Dravid being auctioned off like an inanimate asset. Players, much like land or machinery, are assets for the business and just as when a businessman spot a prime piece of real estate that he thinks will be good for his plant or showroom and bid for it, so when he finds a class player on the block he bids for him.

Finally the extravaganza began on 18th April 2008. Though, before the start of the IPL, there were some reservations about the success of the event, especially whether the audience will throng the stadiums or not. But within few days from the start of the tournament all those fears were disproved. Audience came to the stadium in large numbers. IPL thus became a huge hit. Even though this time the IPL is held in South Africa, the local audiences are responding in the same way as Indian audience did. So, the brand of IPL is a huge success. Cricket, as a game and as a business has certainly come of age. But couple of question arises in this regard:

Is cricket losing its innocence?
Does cricket need to be commercialized to such a great extent?

The IPL has caused emotional trauma to some fans of the game who consider themselves as purists and who claim to watch and play the game just for the joy of it. The advent of big money, they say, somehow robs the game of its charm. There is no doubt something to be said for the concept of players donning the national colors and playing the game for their country. But then, the IPL is not going to be a substitute for international cricket played among national teams. It is going to be yet another dimension to international cricket. Of course, the great players are not going to play for national honor but for money. But what’s wrong with that? Why should they be grudged the money they earn for showcasing their awesome skills that gives so much entertainment and joy to millions of people? Why should cricketers not be valued based on their skills just as an investment banker or a CEO is and paid accordingly? We do not complain when we hear of the multi-million dollar salary packages and bonuses earned by top flight investment bankers who may after all have earned that just for lending to sub-prime clients!

Till the advent of the IPL or for that matter the Indian Cricket League of the Zee group, cricketers had a single employer – their respective national cricket boards. Of course, most of these boards took good care of their players but there was never really a market to determine the real worth of a cricketer. And again, talent was at the mercy of the Board and it is not difficult to point out instances, especially in India, where talent was ignored or even suppressed for reasons other than cricket alone. That will no more be possible with a market developing for cricketers, a market that respects performance alone and does not care about anything else. Here, the pioneering initiative of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) should be acknowledged. But for the ICL and the threat it posed to the BCCI, the latter might not have conceived of the IPL at all.

For those bemoaning the loss of innocence in cricket, the answer is that this is the age of free markets and marketing. Cricket cannot remain insulated to market forces when everything around it dances to the market’s tunes. The commercialization of cricket was inevitable after it became a profession years back with players depending on the game for a living. The game ceased to be a gentle sport played for the love of it long ago just as other sports such as football, basketball or rugby. It is just that cricket managed to retain its “innocence” longer than the other sports.

And again, there is also something to be said for cricketers of different nationalities playing together in the same team. At a serious level it will help players understand each other better.

Whatever, be the views IPL is a hit with the masses.

3. SOCIAL IMPACT OF IPL

At its simplest level, the IPL is all about businessmen sensing an opportunity to profit from the game’s craze among a growing mass of people with high spending power. There is big money waiting to be made by all concerned – the businessmen now bankrolling the league, the players, advertisers, the media and, of course, the BCCI. The first edition of the IPL was highly successful. The way it united India for 45 days was simply amazing. Cricket is a game that unites India- whether it is rural or urban. The kind of support that cricketers enjoy in India is unique and unparalleled. Once I met a Bihari worker. He asked me where am I from. I said I am from Kerala. Though he did not know much about Kerala, the first thing that he asked was about Sreesanth and what do you say about the slap that he got from Harbhajan. This is an indication of the kind of support that the cricket players enjoy.

India is a diverse country. Unification of the country thus becomes very different. Divided by religions, languages and many other factors, we need something that can unite us. Cricket is the only sport capable of doing it. The role played by IPL in that regard is spectacular. For e.g. Jaipur blast occurred a few days before a Rajasthan Royals match in Jaipur. It was presumed that the turn out will be low following the blast. But that was not supposed to be. Sports are a good heeler and IPL proved it when people dared to come out of their households to support the team. This incident can be analyzed at another level also- IPL as an instrument of strengthening regionalism. As I have seen over the last few days, people supporting the team from their region like a person from Kolkata for Kolkata Knight Riders, a Rajasthani for the Rajasthan Royals. This strength is in a positive sense. But regionalism is not regionalism as in the case of a language or culture as manifested by the MNS or other such organizations. The reason behind this is that even though the team or franchise hail from a region, the number of players speaking the language and sharing the culture is very few. For e.g. the Kolkata Knight Riders claiming to represent the city of Kolkata, has 4 people from Kolkata, namely Saurav Ganguly, Ashok Dinda, Wridhiman Saha and Arindam Bose. Then how does IPL strengthen regionalism when there is hardly anyone from the region? The answer is that even though there is hardly anyone from the region, it is ensured by the team owners are that the regional tastes are catered. This is done through the icon player, who happens to hail from that city. Secondly, the home matches of the teams which were played at their home grounds. All these are good ways to throng the audience to the stadium. For e.g. whenever a Kolkata Knight Rider match was played at the Eden Gardens, the atmosphere was electric and hardly any seats were empty. Similar was the mood in Chennai as well.

IPL was not about any nationality, it liberated us from that moral restriction. It was acceptable to cheer Shane Warne or Adam Gilchrist performing well, especially against India. Earlier what used to be the case was that there was that moral restriction, which prevented us to some extent from cheering a foreign player openly. It is only post IPL that we have really started enjoying cricket more as a sport. IPL strengthened the relations among countries. Cricket diplomacy is something that has become synonymous with Indo-Pak relations. Though the relations among countries at the higher level may be worse, the lower level may not be the same. In 2008, the Pakistani players were cheered by the Indians especially players like Akthar, Tanvir, Asif etc. Later, when IPL decided to organize the Champions League, i.e. a tournament featuring top two T20 sides from India, Pakistan, Australia and England, Pakistan willingly sent its teams. However due to Mumbai blast and consequent events, the Champions League did not become a reality. This year it is the diplomatic relations at the top level and some security issues in Pakistan prevented Pakistani players from taking part in the second edition of IPL. Nevertheless, IPL and Indian fans miss Pakistani players.

IPL also changed the T.V. viewing habits and strengthened the depth of cricket in rural-urban India. Last year, during the 45 days of IPL, the TRP i.e. television rating of IPL was very high. It was a good break from the T.V. sops focusing on ‘saas-bahu ‘and other family themes. People sat in front of the T.V. sets, whether it be a posh hotel in Mumbai or an ordinary tea stall in the rural area of U.P. or Bihar, to watch an IPL match and encourage their favourite players and teams. IPL was the bigger threat to multiplexes than the recession. All in all IPL was a tremendous success with the masses and will always continue to be a huge success.

4. CONCLUSION

The Australian Airline company QANTAS has an amazing tagline which reads: “It is the spirit that brings us home”. Going by that style, IPL should have a tagline that it is the spirit that connects us. Cricket is the best healer in a country like India divided by languages and cultures. If there is anything on which the rich and poor can have a commonality in India, it is Cricket and Cricket stars. This unity, though for short time is achieved by IPL. If not IPL and cricket, then what else can unify the country?

In 2009, due to General elections in India, IPL is being played in South Africa. South Africa is one country with whom India has a great relationship with. By taking the IPL abroad, Indian culture and tastes are given a global appeal. Even though, the game is played in South Africa, there is no dearth of excitement for it in India. Every evening all of us sit together and watch the match. The reaction if the favourite team loses or the favourite players perform badly is that of one of sadness and disappointment. This is what happened two weeks back during a match where the pendulum was swinging either ways and after an intense finish in which his team lost, a supporter was very sad. So sad to such an extent that another supporter commented that the reaction is as if his dad’s money is involved in it. Such is the emotional attachment one feels to a team. Cricket is being discussed wherever you go. From tea stalls to posh hotels, from markets to super markets, among the rich and the poor, rural and urban India, IPL is a super hit with the masses. It is the perfect example of marrying business with sports and thereby uniting a country. Entertainment has thus achieved a new name.

IPL has thus changed from Indian Premier League to India Patriotically Liberated.

Within the study of electrofishing and fishery habitat management, there are specific guidelines which the management professional must adhere to in order to protect the safety of the wildlife, the boating participants, and the participating patrons. Such guidelines are industry standards and should be understood by all professionals who are participating in the fishing process. To ensure such failsafe mechanisms are in place on a consistent basis, activities must follow a professional and pre-determined path while preparing gear, loading into the watercourse, and performing electrofishing tasks. Professionals will understand that these steps cannot be ignored due to the need for similar results over an extended period of time. Given the adherence to such measures, the potential for a pure data stream and analysis is greatly improved.

Given the scope of lake fishing operations, there are several key safety checks which must be performed prior to placing the boat into the water. Figure 1 demonstrates a standard safety check of the engine and generator systems on a typical electrofishing boat. Boat standardization across the industry is consistent; however, the components will often vary, requiring safety examinations which are constantly aware of standard features. Generally all boats will include a power supply and a power conditioner which are designed to meet the requirements of the specific body of water. By ensuring that the boating materials are properly calibrated for the specific investigation, researchers will ensure that their performance is not inconsistent with previously tested results.

Participants in the electrofishing process will include the boat handler or driver and two additional participants for actually performing the fishing process. It is important that each individual is aware of the expectations of the task prior to moving into the water so that standards systems remain active. The handlers are responsible for placing the seining instruments into the lake for continuous shocking of the fish population. The stun process will involve retrieving the fish via net and charting their data aboard the boat. To ensure that such procedures are accomplished with limited negative affect on the fish, handlers must use care and be actively aware of their shocking methods. Niemla et al. (2000) challenge that within the electrofishing process that there are oftentimes inconsistencies in the population estimation process which can be minimized through a standardized and non-random selection process over a small number of suitable sites. There are alternative mechanisms which can also be used, including a random process or area sweep; however, what is important is that such procedures generate comparable results over time.

One of the most significant challenges given the breadth of the lake environment and results driven electrofishing is to ensure that transets are predictable and time based. In successive examinations, researchers recognize that removal methods will oftentimes underestimate the actual fish population, due to a reduced catchability based on removal statistics (Gatz and Loar, 1988). To ensure that such deviation does not occur, the seining gear must be placed in approximately the same spatial area as participants navigate the lake. Extending the gear to a specific length, i.e. 10 feet, ensures that with each subsequent transet, fish are compared to the previous guidelines and not to a new set of unpredictable data. For appropriate fish sampling, a multiple pass system as highlighted by Kimmel and Argent (2006) may be used for accuracy’s sake; however, standardized systems will focus on length versus width consistency or a linear sampling distance.

Recognizing that fish demographics offer substantial insight to fishery professionals, comparison data is often drawn using specific tools and tracking methods. A length board is a handy and standard tool which is used to compare fish throughout the study. Weight can be charted frequently or at regular intervals in order to gain a sampling of the representative fish population. Data regarding the water quality, temperature, and chemical composition should also be attained during this process through standard testing which includes the use of a dissolved oxygen probe. Implications of such study will become obvious during subsequent examinations and data comparison.

During the multiple pass system, transets are established by visual shore markers which enable the consistent analysis over a period of time. Study of historic data trends by Humpl and Lusk (2006) demonstrated that singular pass systems were oftentimes inaccurate and could not provide researchers with adequate samples for long term comparison. Upon collection of data samples, the return process and docking procedure should mimic that of the initial boat placement, including the shutoff of all powered components prior to exiting the boat. Cataloguing data using visual methods and consistent charting materials enables long term comparison and researchers will be quickly able to identify any inconsistencies in the lake or habitat area.

Considering the variability of lakes and the changing fishing population, such standardized electrofishing techniques ensure that results may be compared based on regular intervals. As biologists continue to develop more standard technologies for fishing bodies of water, integration of standard procedures the process, regardless of materials must be ensured. In this study, the underlying safety checks for the boating system were addressed, highlighting those key points where failure to investigate could mean a failed experiment and a stranded craft. Fishery management involves a relationship between the natural habitat, the visitors, and the investigating professionals; through well directed, consistent efforts, the information gathered can directly assist in charting the long term sustainability of a fish population as well as the surrounding ecology.

References

Gatz, A.J; Loar, J.M. (1988) “Petersen and Removal Population Size Estimates.” Environmental Biology of Fish, Vol. 21, pp. 293-307.

Humpl, M; Lusk, S. (2006) “Effect of Multiple Electro-Fishing on Determining the Structure of Fish Communities in Small Streams.” Folia Zoology, Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 315-322.

Kimmel,W.G; Argent, D.G. (2006) “Efficacy of Two-Pass Electrofishing Employing Multiple Units to Assess Stream Fish Species Richness.” Fisheries Research, Vol. 82, pp. 14-18.

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