Contemporary Sports Issues – Page 60

Olympism for the 21st Century: New Life to a Timeless Philosophy

Submitted by: Deborah J. Hunter

Introduction

The Olympic Movement, sometimes referred to as Olympism, is a universal concept that is not defined simply. It is a philosophical ardor for life and the uncompromising pursuit of excellence. Just as individuals operate with a personal philosophy that guides their decision-making, Olympism, too, is philosophically directed through the elevated dimension of quality in how an individual conducts his/her life.

Olympism is an inner faith of a man in himself, a constant effort of physical and intellectual enhancement (Filaretos, 1993 p. 61). It is a general concept which emphasizes not only development of bodily strength, but generally healthier individuals with a happier attitude and a more peaceful vision of the world (The International Olympic Academy, 1997, p. 10). Olympism recognizes and extols individual effort and accepts no discrimination among nations, races, political systems, classes, etc. (The International Olympic Academy, p. 9). As we build awareness and highlight our commonality as human beings, we must realize we are all interconnected in this world. Though these connections are sometimes complex, elusive and difficult to recognize, examining our own patterns of behavior as world citizens will reduce our distance and allow us to find our common ground. All become part of the whole when members of nations learn about global perspectives and become familiar with national issues — this has been a long and historical pattern of the dynamics of relationships among many different people. The fact remains, Olympism involves not only active participants of the sport movement, but also the general public (The International Olympic Academy, p. 9). All people are relevant and interconnected among the diverse cultures of the world.

A Viewpoint on Olympism

The good intentions of Olympism are indeed well-established, but not necessarily well known. A prevailing challenge in today’s world is how to capture people’s attention long enough to convey important and life enhancing messages. Being the difficult job it is, merely sharing information only illustrates the size of the challenge it is to effectively educate people. Education takes quality time and the perception, too often, is that simply receiving information is the same as education. Education is the process of learning conceptual ideas that leads to behavioral awareness or change. A clear distinction needs to be understood on this matter; learning occurs only through practice. Our desire to educate young people regarding the values within the Olympic Movement runs deep and has long existed within a few select people all around the world. Accomplishing the goal of educating others about the Olympic Movement requires recognition of the major reorganization that must occur: 1) there must be an open willingness for revision of the Movement’s principles/values to be better understood in today’s reality; 2) we must package the valuable principles/values in numerous effective ways for appealing delivery; 3) advocates must first educate the deliverers (e.g., teachers, coaches, administrators, etc.) on the importance of the values within Olympism; 4) we must interrupt long existing educational patterns by convincing these systems to provide a window of opportunity for educational time to be devoted to the teaching of Olympism.; and 5) we should provide simulated, lifelike environments in which to apply the practice of the principles/values.

What is Valuable about Olympism Today?

Olympism encourages exploration of self and how self relates to community in a local sense. The smallest local actions accumulate and make an important global contribution. Also, Olympism is a tool that can better unify the people of the world. As experience is gained, the ability to see and think about the global picture becomes a natural outcome. Finally, everyone could be a role model to someone. If we have more people living with the concepts of Olympism in their daily lives, the philosophy will permeate our world at an exponential rate.The evolution of the principles of the Olympic Philosophy is essential. More importantly, there are necessary changes to be made in the moral standards and the values of people, their mentality and sentiments. The inherent values of Olympism that seem to have lost their meaning in our changing society must be identified and revised so that they match the continuous advancement of today’s world. People gain experience and perspective as they advance along the continuum of life. The birth of the Modem Olympic Games spawned a formal sporting event and the growth and change that has occurred from 1896 until today is almost immeasurable. As philosophy directs individual lives and the spirit of Olympism affects those lives around the globe, the common thread the two has is embedded in founding principles. These principles are anchoring and timeless values that have endured. From where or whom we are born, the principles of life that parents teach affect their children throughout their future. The Olympic Movement is much more than just the parent of the Modem Olympic Games, it is a choice that people can undertake by which to conduct their lives.

Gain More Widespread Respect For Olympism

To gain placement within an educational curriculum, the Olympic values must be progressive and command widespread public support and respect. For all of the positive stories that exist within the Olympic Movement, unfortunately, those stories told most frequently and with greatest sensationalism are the negative ones. Often this is said to sell more magazines, newspapers, to keep more television viewers, radio listeners, internet browsers, etc. Modem man is easily influenced by the somewhat contradictory information coming from a myriad of sources. This makes the individual lose his/her intellectual and spiritual independence and lowers the level of healthy self-analysis, which is imperative for self-improvement. Such an individual does not concentrate on the personal spiritual world; rather, he/she develops a tendency to suppress the thoughts and ideas that do not coincide with the interests of other people and society in general. The negative stories and constant reliance on other sources is in conflict with the development of a self-determined individual with unwavering moral standards. By the time an athlete becomes an Olympic-level performer, his/her character and value system has long been formed. In turn, these values are the reflection of the moral standards of society where the athlete has been raised. Reality shows that violence in sport and the use by top athletes of prohibited means of increasing their physical capacity are contradictory to the Olympic concepts of excellence and achievement. Contemporary competitive sport, with its emphasis on the materialistic benefits for individuals and societies, can create elite athletes with an individualistic, egocentric mentality and an excessively self-sufficient attitude (Dellamary, 1994, p. 210). So many adjunct sources contribute to the “win-at-all cost” acceptance of the Olympic Games, that the values of Olympism are often overlooked by the participants, spectators and organizers. It seems we espouse philosophical statements and then act contradictorily toward them. We most naturally reward the outcome rather than the process. Life’s journey is a process and cannot be ignored. The values of Olympism can be taught only through constant practice. Theory without practice is utopian. In Olympism, the principles and values that do not have a connection with an application to real life will not live long in people’s minds. When this connection is established, then Olympism will become not just a philosophy, but a beneficial lifestyle.

Improved Ways To Package The Message Of Olympism

Incorporating the values of Olympism into current curriculums and practices that develop athletes is better than to develop something entirely separate. This enhances the already existing curriculums and athletic practices and can contribute throughout the participation phase. Individuals must be practical and conceptual in the process of learning, understanding and most importantly, experiencing Olympic values. The worth of values is determined by their practice. That is why the education of Olympism should not be a promotion of statements; rather, it should teach the implementation of the values in life situations. Create ways to practice and reinforce these values; extend and apply them to today’s real life. Coaches are the instrumental and influential figures in the promotion of Olympism among young athletes. To develop a uniform and global reinforcement procedure has limited feasibility. It is best if the nations contribute within their cultural means and understanding of how to reach and reward their people in the best possible manner. An excellent program that is successfully operating to this end is the United States Olympic Committee’s Champions in Life program, which is targeted to include the disadvantaged children through youth recreational organizations. The program addresses the benefits of staying in school, staying drug-free, avoiding gangs and violence and being good citizens by being the best one can be. The concept of being a productive member of a society should be promoted as the prerequisite to being a good citizen of the world with global awareness. Sports, therefore, offer us a great opportunity to promote Olympic principles and values, but this opportunity is often under-utilized. Constant reminders of what we believe in are needed. Even simple things (T-shirts, pins, posters, banners, etc.) could have messages written in a simple but thought provoking and heart warming way. We should make a point to devote a few minutes at sporting events to recognizing our belief in the importance of Olympic values (messages in game programs, banners in the gym, public address announcements, athlete or coach comments at the end of the competition, etc.). It could be a valuable contribution if famous athletes and coaches, in their interviews, would sincerely include their support of the Olympic Movement in their commentary.

Improved Ways To Deliver The Message Of Olympism

There are three necessary steps in promoting new concepts and values:

Delivery of the message: the message must be clear, simple to understand and deliver the intended values through sport activities at different levels;
Education and reinforcement of the message: the application process should have reinforcement so the message is taken seriously and the learner comprehends the merits of the message and accepts them as desirable guidelines; and
Consistency which promotes the philosophy in all activities: continuous emphasis is a key to show how much the promoters care about their message.

This will require sincerity regarding why one is teaching/coaching and careful rationale as to what one is teaching/coaching. Concentrated educational experiences such as the International Olympic Academy are an effective model for delivery of Olympism as a valuable curriculum to study. The atmosphere and revered respect that the Olympic Movement is afforded changes lives and perspectives in a short amount of time. Undoubtedly, each and every individual who studies at Olympia becomes a lifetime activist for the movement. Disseminate teacher lesson plan guides beyond the formal educational system. Include children’s museums, national chain daycare centers, Girl and Boy Scouts and other youth organizations where quality children’s activities are valued and sought after. Incorporate the teaching of Olympism in the educational background of coaches.

These teachings must educate coaches how purposefully teaching about Olympic values will contribute to more balanced individual athletes and ignite their personal desire to find their own personal excellence and how Olympic values will strengthen and improve team interaction and success. Administrators, teachers and coaches should show personal interest and reward the adherence to the principles and make the experiences personal and valuable. There is a fine line between competition and cooperation — both are essential and the fine line must be identified and honored for sport to be optimized successfully as an asset to society. Today’s Olympic Movement must be challenged to assist with the removal of all barriers in allowing competitive excellence to be available to all. Sport within the Olympic Movement changes lives positively when performance excellence is sharply focused upon and established as a founding principle in life. When the fine line is blurred and disrespected to the point of allowing competition to be used only for personal gain (as in the pursuit of money or recognition), those driving pursuits are shallow and short-lived. They offer no lasting substance for a quality life from which our new generations will be born.

Suggestions For Gaining Educational Time

Traditions are a base for the formation of values. When people forget their traditions, they interrupt the connection between the past and the present and, as a result, lose the values. The revival of the traditions of Olympism will help to return the essence of the true values to our world.

Transcendence

Contemporary Olympism is influenced by the interaction of many factors that may cause its progressive decline (Dellamary, p. 209). There are two major threats that may prevent the progress of Olympism. They are excessive commercialism and the active involvement of governmental politics in sports (Filaretos, p. 61). The Olympic Movement will always be able to be improved. Implications for our Future Will teaching and thus interweaving these values into society uplift us and provide an eagle-eye view so that we may bring solutions to our varied world problems, which include: Asian economic instability, hyper-urbanization in Brazil, environmental degradation in China, civil war in Rawanda, starvation in North Korea, violence and drugs in the schools of the USA? Is Olympism powerful enough to make a difference to the even bigger issues in our world? Adherents of Olympism cannot influence the human tendency for violence, war, destruction and aggression among nations and groups. Advocates cannot stop economical and political changes of nations. They are helpless in the face of the commercialization of sports and the gigantism and luxury of the Olympic Gaines. But with all of their limits, they have a powerful instrument in their hands that can revive Olympism with its unique philosophy of ideal social coexistence. Only through the education of our youth and the establishment of high moral standards that unite the human race and disregard grounds for discrimination can the dissemination of a true universalization of Olympism become possible.

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-27T15:02:50-06:00February 13th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports History, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

A Modern Perspective of the Ancient Olympic Events

Submitted by: Dr. Richard Bell, Ed.D.

Today’s Modern (Summer) Olympic Games have 32 different categories of competitive events. When you consider that of these many, like track and field, have several events within the category and then break down further to men’s and women’s and team and individual competition, it is nearly impossible to keep track of the Games as they progress. Things were simpler in the old days. The Ancient Olympics had 13 events divided into 6 main categories. Of course they were for men only.

The main categories were boxing, equestrian events, pnkration, pentathlon, running and jumping. The Equestrian events were broken down into two sub-categories: chariot racing and riding. The Pentathlon was a combination of five events: discus, javelin, jump, running, and wrestling.

Boxing in ancient Greece had fewer rules than boxing today. There were no rounds and boxers fought until one of them was knocked out, or admitted he had been beaten. There was no rule that prevented a boxer from hitting an opponent when he was down. There was no weight class in either the men’s or boy’s divisions and the contestants were chosen randomly. The boxers did not wear gloves but wrapped their hands and wrists with leather straps called himantes. Their fingers were left free.

Equestrian events were divided into classes of chariot racing and riding. The chariot races consisted of both the 2-horse chariot and the 4-horse chariot and there were separate races for chariots drawn by foals. There was a race of carts included in this event that consisted of competition between carts drawn by teams of 2 mules. The length of the chariot races was 12 laps around the stadium track which was approximately 9 miles.

Riding was the other equestrian event and the course was 6 laps around the stadium track which equaled 4.5 miles. The jockeys rode without stirrups and the races were broken down into competition between foals and full-grown horses. Because it was so expensive to train, feed and equip the participants the owners were awarded the olive wreath of victory instead of the riders.

Probably the most physical event of the Ancient Olympic Games was the pankration. This grueling event consisted of both boxing and wrestling. The hands were not wrapped in the leather himantes. The only limitations on physical brutality were the rules against biting and gouging the opponent’s eyes, nose, or mouth with fingernails. Kicking in any part of the body was allowed. There were separate divisions for men and boys, but like in boxing there was no weight division and the opponents were chosen at random.

The pentathlon, like the modern event, consisted of a 5-event combination. The 5 events of the Ancient Olympic Games were discus, javelin, jumping, running and wrestling. The Greeks considered this the most beautiful of the contests because it combined the endurance of the race course and the bodily strength necessary for the other physical events. The discus was made of iron, stone, bronze, or lead and was shaped to resemble the discus of today. The sizes varied and the boys competed with a lighter weight than the men. The ancient Greeks thought the precision and rhythm of an athlete throwing the discus as important as his strength.

The javelin was a throwing event as in the modern games and like the discus the competition was based on the distance the object was thrown and in the case of the javelin the precision. The javelin was made of wood, with either a sharpened end or an attached metal point. The javelin had a thong for the throwers’ fingers that was attached close to the center of gravity of the instrument that increased the precision and distance of the throw.

The jump event was similar to the modern long jump but with a major exception. The jumpers carried stone or lead weights called halteres. These weights, shaped like telephone receivers, were carried out in front of the jumper when they jumped the weights were thrust backward and dropped during the descent to increase the distance of the jump.

Running was broken down into 4 types of races in the Ancient Olympic Games. The stadion was the oldest of the events and consisted of a sprint covering one stade (192 meters) which was the length of the stadium. Other races were the 2-stade race and the long distance run ranged from 7 to 24 stades. The most grueling of the races was the warrior race designed to build and test the speed and stamina Greek men needed for military service. The race was 2 to 4-stades in distance and was run by an athlete wearing armor. The standard armor of that time weighed approximately 50-60 pounds and of course included a helmet and shield.

Wrestling was similar to the modern sport in that the athlete was required to throw his opponent to the ground landing on a hip, shoulder, or back for a fair fall. To win a match required 3 fair falls or throws. Genital holds and biting were not allowed and breaking your opponent’s fingers was also not permitted.

The art and sculpture of ancient Greece is alive with the depictions of the Olympics and the events described in this article. One can feel the excitement and spirit of the Ancient Olympic Games in that art. In modern games the spirit of the Olympism of old is recreated in the ceremonies and competitiveness of the event.

U.S. Sports Academy2015-10-24T01:31:30-05:00February 13th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports History|Comments Off

Sports History? Sports Archives!

Submitted by: Cristina Bianchi, Archivist Olympic Museum

The scarcity of professional literature about sports archives confirms what I have noticed since I entered the world of sports through the International Olympic Committee and its Olympic Museum, both located in Lausanne, Switzerland. The awareness of the richness that sports and Olympic archives can bring to an institution, a sports club or an amateur organizing committee is only emerging nowadays, with all the gaps and losses it implies. The concept of archival obscurity that Richard Fagan uses for Australia can be applied to many countries in that respect and trying to compile information on sports archives is somewhat akin to hitting the metaphorical wall of the marathon runner 1. Relatively few sporting organizations have established archival programs; the personal records of individuals involved with sport do not appear to have a high priority among collection institutions; records of government sport administrative bodies seem to be scarcely represented, or mixed with other subjects, in governmental archival repositories. It is an area of society, maybe because of its connotation of leisure and recreation, that has not been adequately documented. The tendency is reversing now, incredibly media-conscious, but records usually focus on only the most popular athletes and sports. Broadcasting and archiving images of sporting events has, contrary to administrative records, become a powerful money-maker. Specialized institutions have therefore developed these recent years to collect and diffuse still and moving images to the world, with copyright attached to them. What can we do as a paper archivists working in small and large sports institutions to improve the situation of records and give a fair access of the available material to an ever-growing number of sports historians?

Create a network of sports archival repositories
Exchange information, inventories, microfilms
Implement archival programs

Without archives, there is no history. Partial archives create partial history. Let us create a network of repositories containing sports related records, in order to complement each other and know which archives have what records. Students, scholars and historians will then be able to concentrate on a repository, and receive information on where else to continue their search. As the archivist of the historical records of the IOC, which hold more than a century of documents concerning the renovation of the Olympic Games and the implementation of sports activities throughout the world, I suggest we start this network at once by providing information to the author*. All the information about sports/Olympic related records you have come across as a historian, a sports administrator or an archivist should be described in a few words: Fonds, repository name, inclusive dates, state of indexing if known. This data will be compiled and redistributed in a second phase. The International Council on Archives has agreed to support an Initiative Committee for Olympic and Sport Archives Section, officially created in 1996, of which the IOC archivist is part. Its mission is to overcome the important obstacle of information among the world of archives and of sports, and to collect information both from the public and from the private sector. Please let me know your interest as a representative of sports archives; the new section needs people with experience and ideas. It will take part in the project of network. Once the information is compiled and the network established, it would be interesting to exchange information through the usual archival means like published inventories and microfilms, but also through new and quicker means like Internet. Let it be clear that the idea is not to centralize all the records in one place. How could the IOC, just to give you an example, absorb more than 20,000 boxes of archival material related to the Olympic Games of Los Angeles in 1984? Without even evoking legal problems, it is much more interesting to know that they were well-organized at the time by a joint group of people from the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee and from the Special Collections of the University of California Los Angeles Library, where they are deposited now. A detailed inventory was completed two years after the Games, and will soon be put on the Net. This is the kind of information we have to gather to enrich the pool of information about sports related records. Finally, ideally, strong sports institutions should help smaller ones implement an archival program. Every organization, be it of three or two hundred people, produces its own original records: application and lists of membership, results of competition, selection of representatives, insurance, drug testing, accreditation, sponsorship, ephemeral, etc. Staff should be trained and given advice in appraising and keeping meaningful sport related records. The archivist of the Sports Archives of Finland explains what kind of solutions his country has found. Since its creation in 1985, this specialized sports archives has the support of government, sports organizations and the archival administration. Not only does it keep the records of all Finnish central sports federations, local sports clubs and sportsmen, but one of its main goals is to educate sports organization in archival matters. For the moment, help us create a general raising of awareness among both the archival community and the sporting community by combining our knowledge on sports related records@ thank you in advance for providing this author with valuable information. Comprehensive sports history equals a network of sports archives. Notes: 1. Richard Fagan, Acquisition and Appraisal of Sports Archives, in Australian Society for Sports History, Bulletin No. 16, April 1992, pp. 36-47. 2. Kenth Sjoblom, ATaking care of Sports Archives – Whose Responsibility?, in Canadian Journal of History of Sport Vol. XXIV, No.2, December 1993, pp. 91-93. For more information on how to take part in this important project contact Cristina Bianchi at cristina.bianchi@olympic.org.

U.S. Sports Academy2016-10-12T11:45:58-05:00February 13th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Facilities, Sports History|Comments Off

It’s Time to Work Together to Stop Doping in Sports

Submitted by: Richard Bell, Ed.D.

The greatest threat to international sport isn’t the pay offs in Salt Lake City, but the use of dangerous performance-enhancing drugs. Their use threatens the very foundation of sport. The integrity, the image and even the existence of elite-level international competition is in jeopardy. Every world-class event is somehow tainted by “doping”, the use of illicit performance-enhancing drugs.

Charges continue to fly among world governing bodies as they try to shift blame and responsibility for the sullied reputation of international competition. In the aftermath of what is arguably the most successful Olympic Games ever, accusations persist that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) routinely turns a blind eye to evidence of doping and that its drug-detection methods are ineffectual. Perhaps overly sensitive to continued criticism about drugs in the Olympics, IOC leaders ripped the United States Track and Field Federation. They accused them of turning a blind eye and being in a “state of denial” about the use of performance-enhancing drugs by C.J. Hunter, the world shot-put champion and husband of Olympian Marian Jones. The IOC has even been accused of “covering-up” the drug epidemic in sport, but critics contend that the organization has sometimes discarded positive drug test results in fear that the image of the Games would suffer.

At the Atlanta Games in 1996 several athletes tested positive for Probenecid, the banned masking agent, but the IOC took no action. Only two Olympians were reported for testing positive for steroids although there were several other unreported positive samples. In spite of its new one million-dollar mass spectrometer, the IOC, afraid of legal challenges from athletes, discarded the results. The motivation, say critics, for the IOC’s soft policy on doping is the fear of loss of sponsorships resulting from a tarnished image. How much more tarnished does the image need to be before they put their considerable weight and influence behind an international independent drug testing and enforcement agency? At a meeting in 1999 at the IOC’s World Conference on Doping in Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, the representatives of different sports federations from around the world failed to reach agreement for instituting a meaningful policy in drug enforcement which included a mandatory 2-year ban for doping. The delegates didn’t agree on a policy, ostensibly because the IOC insisted on control.

Historically, the IOC would appear to be a leader in the war against doping. It was the IOC that first defined and banned doping in 1967. The first drug tests in international sport were administered for research purposes by the IOC at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. No athletes were punished for positive tests. The motivation for drug testing was based upon suspicions about drug related deaths among cyclists and soccer players and rumors about widespread drug use among Eastern European athletes. Rumors subsequently were verified after the fall of the Berlin Wall and world access to secret records detailing significant and long-term performance-enhancing drug use among East German athletes.

In 1982 the IOC added testosterone to its list of banned substances. More and more athletes tested positive for drug use in a wide range of amateur and professional sports as the investigations into drug use in sports came under closer public scrutiny.

As testing methods and the detection of banned substances became more familiar to athletes and the professionals that helped them with doping, the better the methods to avoid detection became. In the mid 1980’s steroid users turned to unbanned masking drugs or switched to harder to detect substances such as human growth hormone, hGH. The most recent substance to be added to the “doper’s pharmacy” is Erythropoietin (EPO), a form of protein that stimulates the formation of red blood cells and therefore boosts the oxygen-carrying capacity of an athlete’s blood.

There may be solutions out there to stem the wholesale use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport besides detection and punishment. Indeed, education and public condemnation is the best long-term idea, but something drastic needs to be done to stop doping now. Drastic measures are called for. The IOC and other international governing bodies in sport need to set their self-interests aside and form a united front to fight doping at every level.

The development of drug tests and administering the tests is expensive. On some scales it is cost prohibitive. Purchasing and developing equipment to administer effective testing is also costly.

Why not pool the drug testing financial resources from the different organizations around the world? Set aside self-interest, pride and arrogance and develop an independent body financed by a consortium of the IOC and world sports organizations. Solicit sponsors to raise money. Give the independent body worldwide jurisdiction to test randomly anywhere in the world. Vest it with enforcement authority at all levels and provide for serious, mandatory penalties. Then constitute a tribunal to hear and decide appeals. There has been enough fingerpointing, accusations and shifting blame and responsibility. Let’s unite to send a message that the world sport community is finally serious and will do whatever it takes to get the “doping” problem under control.

This solution would lead to state-of-the-art technology, remove politics and bribery from the equation and allow for swift and sure punishment. Let’s put a “zero tolerance” policy in effect for doping and then have guts enough to enforce it!

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Richard Bell, Chair of Sport Management, One Academy Drive, Daphne, AL 35626-7055, (334) 626-3303, email: rbell@ussa.edu.

U.S. Sports Academy2017-12-11T11:27:58-06:00February 13th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Model Student Athlete Drug Testing Policy

Submitted by: Hoover City Schools- Hoover, AL

Student Drug Screening

The Board of Education values student athletes not only for their athletic talent but also for their leadership and scholastic abilities. Student athletes, as role models for other students, are a key to our goal of providing the best possible education program for all students. To achieve our goal and to maximize the skills and talents of our students, it is important that every student, and each employee, of our school system understand the dangers of tobacco, drug and alcohol abuse. This policy statement should clarify our position on student athlete tobacco, drug and alcohol use. For the purposes of this policy, school sports teams and cheerleading squads are, therefore, termed student athletes by the Board of Education. In addition, all of these groups perform functions that display them as role models. Participation in extra-curricular activities is a privilege which can be taken away for failure to comply with this policy. The Board reserves the right to depart from this policy where it deems it is appropriate. Except where specifically prohibited by law, the guidelines contained within this document may be changed by the Board at any time. Students covered by this policy will be informed of changes.

Policy Objectives

To create and maintain a safe, drug-free environment for all student athletes
To encourage any student athlete with a dependence on, or addiction to, tobacco, alcohol or other drugs to seek help in overcoming the problem.
To reduce the likelihood of incidents of accidental personal injury and/or damage to students or property.
To minimize the likelihood that school property will be used for illicit drug activities.
To protect the reputation of the school system and its students.

Substance abuse can be a serious threat to the school system, its students, visitors and employees. It is the belief of the Board that the benefits derived from the policy objectives outweigh the potential inconvenience to athletes. The Board earnestly solicits the understanding and cooperation of all school staff, students and parents, especially those participating in student athletics, in implementing this policy.

The Board expects all student athletes to remain tobacco, alcohol, and drug free. No student athlete shall use tobacco, alcohol or other mood altering substances. Outside conduct of a substance abuse-related nature which affects a student athlete’s sports or academic performance or reflects badly on the school is prohibited and will be addressed administratively. Students must inform their coach/assistant coach/director when they are legitimately taking medication which may affect their ability to practice or compete, in order to avoid creating safety problems and violating this Drug and Alcohol Policy.

Enforcement

To better assure these expectations, the Board reserves the right to require all student athletes to submit to drug tests to maintain safety and security. The School Board has developed this student athletic testing program to follow, as appropriate, the process of 49 CFR Part 40 and the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991. The Board encourages and may require its employees to be trained in tobacco, alcohol, and drug usage recognition skills.

Pursuant to Board policy and regulations, students participating in athletics (defined as any student, male or female, in grades seven through twelve, who is a member of any Board sponsored school sports team and cheerleading squads) may be tested prior to beginning a seasonal activity, during the season of the activity, or on a random basis without advance notice. When Board officials (Employees) have reasonable suspicion to believe a student athlete has violated its Alcohol and Drug Policy, they may require the student to undergo drug testing.

A student who has tested positive for tobacco, alcohol, and/or other drugs and whom had the positive test result confirmed by the Board’s Medical Review Officer will be subject to discipline, including suspension from student activities. Refusal to cooperate with the Board in any test investigation will result in discipline, up to and including immediate suspension from participating in student activities.

No student athlete testing positive, refusing to test, refusing to cooperate with testing or being in violation of this policy will be penalized academically. Information, including testing positive, will not be released to criminal or juvenile authorities unless under compulsion by valid state or federal laws.

All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, and test results, either written or otherwise, received by the Board through its drug, alcohol and tobacco testing program are confidential communications and may not be used or received in evidence, obtained in discovery, or disclosed in any public or private proceedings except in the following:

(a) As directed by the specific, written consent of the parent/guardian and/or student authorizing release of the information to an identified person.

(b) To a covered student athlete decision-maker in a lawsuit, grievance, or other proceeding initiated by or on behalf of the student athlete.

Any questions should be directed to the persons assigned as the Board’s Drug Program Coordinator(s).

Note of Clarification:

This policy in no way circumvents nor may be used in place of Board Policy and School Rules pertaining to the use, possession, distribution, manufacturing, of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs at/or away from school, School Board property, or at school sponsored events.

If a student athlete is in violation of such policies and rules, disciplinary consequences will be through normal school channels associated with said policies and rules. The consequences under the “Drug Screening Policy” become secondary.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Hoover City Schools, 100 Municipal Drive, Suite

200, Hoover, AL 35216-5500, (205) 435-1000.

U.S. Sports Academy2016-10-14T10:32:06-05:00February 13th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Facilities, Sports Management|Comments Off