Greetings, all: WAVA President Torsten Carlius of Sweden is running unopposed for his second and final term of office at the Brisbane General Assembly in July. But that doesn't mean he won't face a fight. Carlius has taken a hard stand against doping in masters track, even with evidence that the most prominent case -- American Kathy Jager's -- involved medical necessity and not an attempt to gain advantage. But in his official report to the biennial assembly, Carlius says: "If we were to take a soft stand, we might assume that the athletes were unaware of what they were taking. However, I feel that the tough stand is more realistic, i.e. that the forbidden drugs were taken with full awareness that they were forbidden and performance enhancing. "Be assured that we will continue to have drug testing at all our WAVA Championships and it is my further hope that our Regions will also have such tests." George Mathews, chairman of USA Track and Field's Masters T&F Committee, would beg to differ, however. Interviewed in Fast Forward, the official magazine of USATF, Mathews says his goals as masters chair include "(bringing) about changes in our masters anti-doping policies. We must have some exceptions for medications needed by our athletes as they grow older." Asked what role he will play at the 14th World Veterans Athletic Championships, Mathews told Fast Forward: "I will lead our WAVA delegation to Brisbane. I plan on being very active in this organization to see that we are dealt with fairly and our interests are represented properly." Mathews, who will compete in the hammer throw and weight pentathlon, may find another rival in Canada, which has proposed even stronger steps to fight doping. Canada contends that, since testing began for masters, 10 athletes have been penalized for breaking IAAF doping rules. One case has been appealed, Canada says, "and the basis of that appeal has been that only trace amounts of a listed substance were found, resulting from prescription use related to the age of the competitor. "The IAAF knows that trace amounts of known performance-enhancing substances often indicate earlier heavier use. Therefore, the IAAF maintains a zero-tolerance policy except in very rare, accidentally occurring cases. Further, it is clearly understood at the open level that it is the responsibility of the athlete to ensure that no medication or dietary supplement contains a listed substance. "Only by firm application of these principles has rampant drug abuse been prevented. Other major sports take the same approach. Even given such well-motivated policies, there is ample evidence at the open level that some individuals and groups still seek to gain unfair advantage. "Due to the number of positive tests already occurring at the masters/veterans level, we must assume that the potential for abuse exists also in our own ranks. Some demand that masters should be freed from strict controls, on the grounds that age may result in necessary use of prohibited performance-enhancing drugs. "On the other hand, many competitors have expressed dismay at the thought that while they themselves obey the spirit and letter of anti-doping regulations, they may find themselves in competition against others who do not. "A dispute may arise from ignorance or carelessness or `prescription.' Nevertheless, the listed drugs are so listed because of known enhancement effect when used improperly, and sadly we cannot place total, unquestioning reliance on the honesty of a competitor. We wish we could!" Canada contends that "if we are to prevent abuse, we have to agree on the principles we will apply to detection of performance-enhancing drugs." Among other steps, Canada would like WAVA to permit random drug testing before the WAVA World Veterans Athletic Championships. Canada's motion makes no effort to explain how WAVA, with a biennial budget of about $200,000, would pay for out-of-competition drug testing. Canada further "wants this Assembly (to affirm) that it is the sole responsibility of the competitor to avoid prohibited methods of performance enhancement." The WAVA General Assembly will meet July 11, 2001, at the Carlton Crest Hotel in Brisbane, Australia. WAVA W55 world sprint champion Jager, meanwhile, is poised to resume competition when her two-year doping ban expires in August. Jager, a nurse from Glendale, Arizona, has fought for a medical waiver -- a request still in limbo -- for more than a year. She seeks permission to take a hormone replacement medication to control symptoms of menopause, a drug called Estratest that contains trace alounts of methyltestosterone, a synthetic testosterone on the IAAF banned list. Ken Stone http://www.masterstrack.com
