[Cyberyeti]

 lalldonn, on 2012-August-28, 17:47, said:

Of course the analogy of the golfer is off for several reasons. It's not clear whether or not walking between shots is actually a part of "golf", and also the PGA tour was his workplace, which is in fact why he won in court. Neither of those things could be said in this case.

It was in the PGA's statutes that walking was part of the game, and you walk maybe 5 miles so in 100 degree heat, this does sap stamina. If you are a professional athlete, the pro meets are your workplace.

[Fluffy]

if the blades do give advantage, you do not need to cut your legs in order to use them, so maybe some people will try them

In the past we had this issue, remember the body swimsuits? they got banned in the end. Same will happen if the blades start annoying.

The only real reason why Pistorious was allowed to compete was because commercials during his participation were more expensive thanks to him. Money is everything, never forget it.

People talking about unfair and fair advantages.... lol.

[Fluffy]

BTW, what happens when people live in the Moon and Mars? there you will see unfair advantages, so unfair that they will have to make different cathegories from women and paralympic.

[billw55]

Ultimately the question is, who could run faster: Oscar Pistorius-legs+prosthetics, or Oscar Pistorius with normal legs? I believe the latter, those articles notwithstanding. Of course we will never know for sure, since we can't race them against each other.

The body suits in swimming is a peculiar case. Anyone could wear them, so there was no advantage over other competitors. I got the feeling they banned them mostly to protect the comparability of record times. There was a similar issue with the "clap skates" in speedskating at one time .. not sure how that was resolved, or if those skates are allowed now. Then there is tennis, which has changed really dramatically with evolving racquet technology.

The funny thing is, in other ways olympic sports don't mind buffing records with improved equipment. Running has high tech composite tracks (versus old style cinder tracks), skintight suits, better shoes, etc, which have certainly contributed to the decrease in record times. Speedskating has engineered, smoother race surfaces, plus racing indoors which is a big advantage too. Not sure what the difference is versus the fullbody swimsuits, I guess each sport has its own ideas.

[Cyberyeti]

Golf as well restricts the elasticity coefficient on the drivers, and now the type of grooves on irons, and may restrict the long putter in the future.

I did wonder whether in theory having an extra long driver or putter with a 20' shaft was in fact legal. You never use it but your 2 clublength drops get you back on the fairway much more often.

I think in swimming the "shark suits" were expensive so at regional level they wanted the sport still to be cheap and not a "rich kids win" scenario.

[blackshoe]

 Stephen Tu, on 2012-August-28, 17:32, said:

As far as I can tell, some scientists have published papers arguing he has an advantage, but other scientists have published rebuttals saying that he doesn't. Until stronger scientific consensus emerges, I think benefit of the doubt should be given to allowing the athlete to compete. Revisit the subject when more conclusive studies come in, or if competitors are starting to say they are considering voluntary amputation so they can win?

I think he's causing all this global warming we're hearing about.

[Mbodell]

 Cyberyeti, on 2012-August-29, 08:10, said:

Golf as well restricts the elasticity coefficient on the drivers, and now the type of grooves on irons, and may restrict the long putter in the future.

I did wonder whether in theory having an extra long driver or putter with a 20' shaft was in fact legal. You never use it but your 2 clublength drops get you back on the fairway much more often.

I think in swimming the "shark suits" were expensive so at regional level they wanted the sport still to be cheap and not a "rich kids win" scenario.

Not just the regional level either. Plenty of countries struggled to get the swim equipment, and I think people were also worried that it would turn in to a war of suit manufactures so if one country was always 2-4 years ahead of the other rich countries, and the poor countries were 10+ years behind, it would be even more stratified than now where the top tier countries (US/Australia/etc.) always win.

[JLOGIC]

 mike777, on 2012-August-26, 22:07, said:

I would expect all or almost all will as memory enhancing drugs become ...cheap, safe and effective.

lol...I mean...the starbucks at nationals are always filled up. Caffeine was actually a banned substance in the world championships (LOL trying to get into the olympics), but then they unbanned it because lavazza was the main sponsor and had arranged for tons of free lavazza espresso/coffee stands all over. I swear...only in bridge.

Anyways, as far as these bridge performance enhancing drugs what are they plz? I know of caffeine and energy drinks (aka caffeine + sugar!). As wyman implied, all other drugs I see used are hardly performance enhancing lol. I guess gettin hammered in order to sleep before a big match is performance enahncing.

On thatnote gotta play meckwell-levin weinstein in a regional tomorrow, ship bein up at 2:30 and drunk as fk PERFORMANCE ENHANCING ALCOHOL FTW

[paulg]

 JLOGIC, on 2012-August-31, 00:32, said:

lol...I mean...the starbucks at nationals are always filled up. Caffeine was actually a banned substance in the world championships (LOL trying to get into the olympics), but then they unbanned it because lavazza was the main sponsor and had arranged for tons of free lavazza espresso/coffee stands all over. I swear...only in bridge.

Anyways, as far as these bridge performance enhancing drugs what are they plz? I know of caffeine and energy drinks (aka caffeine + sugar!). As wyman implied, all other drugs I see used are hardly performance enhancing lol. I guess gettin hammered in order to sleep before a big match is performance enahncing.

On thatnote gotta play meckwell-levin weinstein in a regional tomorrow, ship bein up at 2:30 and drunk as fk PERFORMANCE ENHANCING ALCOHOL FTW

The WBF and EBL both follow the same WADA rules as the Olympics and other sports. Caffeine was removed as a banned substance by them a long time ago, so I doubt that it was Lavazza's influence

In terms of PEA, I think you should really ensure that your opponents are also in the bar until you leave - good luck today.

[phil_20686]

 JLOGIC, on 2012-August-31, 00:32, said:

lol...I mean...the starbucks at nationals are always filled up. Caffeine was actually a banned substance in the world championships (LOL trying to get into the olympics), but then they unbanned it because lavazza was the main sponsor and had arranged for tons of free lavazza espresso/coffee stands all over. I swear...only in bridge.

Anyways, as far as these bridge performance enhancing drugs what are they plz? I know of caffeine and energy drinks (aka caffeine + sugar!). As wyman implied, all other drugs I see used are hardly performance enhancing lol. I guess gettin hammered in order to sleep before a big match is performance enahncing.

On thatnote gotta play meckwell-levin weinstein in a regional tomorrow, ship bein up at 2:30 and drunk as fk PERFORMANCE ENHANCING ALCOHOL FTW

Ritalin is reported to be widely used by students to improve exam performance. (Its a drug designed to treat attention deficit disorder).

[semeai]

 paulg, on 2012-August-31, 01:16, said:

The WBF and EBL both follow the same WADA rules as the Olympics and other sports. Caffeine was removed as a banned substance by them a long time ago, so I doubt that it was Lavazza's influence

 phil_20686, on 2012-August-31, 04:08, said:

Ritalin is reported to be widely used by students to improve exam performance. (Its a drug designed to treat attention deficit disorder).

Yep, IMSA (International Mind Sports Association) uses the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) prohibited substances list. Caffeine and nicotine are mentioned as part of the "2012 Monitoring Program" but are not prohibited substances. Ritalin (methylphenidate) is a prohibited substance.

[billw55]

 phil_20686, on 2012-August-31, 04:08, said:

Ritalin is reported to be widely used by students to improve exam performance. (Its a drug designed to treat attention deficit disorder).

This does not necessarily mean that it *actually* improves performance. Placebo effects can be very strong. For example, see NBA players that were wearing those "magnetic" bracelets or whatever they were called.

I wonder how many placebo enhancers are on the banned list.

[Cyberyeti]

Did you know that chilli is a banned substance ? However capsaicin the active ingredient is only banned in horses. Apparently one of the ways of persuading your horse not to knock poles off in the showjumping is to rub their legs with chilli during training to sensitise them and make them feel that it's going to hurt if they do.

Beta blockers are a banned substance because they aid you in sports like shooting and archery. They're also taken by a number of older people including I suspect a fair few bridge players.

Caffeine I think was only ever banned above a pretty high level which I believe was available from coffee but you'd have needed a lot of it.

[sfi]

My personal favourite prohibited substance story from the Olympics concerned Ross Rebagliati. He is a snowboarder who won gold in the Nagano Olympics and was subsequently stripped of his medal after a drug test. He won the appeal, mainly by pointing out that they had omitted to put marijuana on the banned substance list.

Someone else tried to claim the 'too much coffee' defence. I think the dose equated to about 30 cups that morning, so he didn't avoid disqualification.

[JLOGIC]

 phil_20686, on 2012-August-31, 04:08, said:

Ritalin is reported to be widely used by students to improve exam performance. (Its a drug designed to treat attention deficit disorder).

Yeah, Adderall is quite popular here for students (same as ritalin but more methy I think?). I think those should be banned, I do feel like I play bridge better on it since I am more focused, but it does have some downsides (you get impatient/try to do to much). I'm not sure that I actually do play better on it so I don't (since it's also illegal in USA at least if you don't have a prescription), but I agree with ADD meds being banned.

Quote

Caffeine and nicotine are mentioned as part of the "2012 Monitoring Program" but are not prohibited substances.

Does this mean you can take caffeine pills? Or does it just mean some of it in your system is ok, but if you take caffeine pills and have a ton in your system you can get in trouble? That seems reasonable to me.

[Phil]

 JLOGIC, on 2012-August-31, 00:32, said:

lol...I mean...the starbucks at nationals are always filled up. Caffeine was actually a banned substance in the world championships (LOL trying to get into the olympics), but then they unbanned it because lavazza was the main sponsor and had arranged for tons of free lavazza espresso/coffee stands all over. I swear...only in bridge.

The 41st World Team Championships brought to you by......Adderall!!

[paulg]

 semeai, on 2012-August-31, 04:51, said:

Caffeine and nicotine are mentioned as part of the "2012 Monitoring Program" but are not prohibited substances.

 JLOGIC, on 2012-August-31, 10:53, said:

Does this mean you can take caffeine pills? Or does it just mean some of it in your system is ok, but if you take caffeine pills and have a ton in your system you can get in trouble? That seems reasonable to me.

It means you can have any level of caffeine. The monitoring program means that they will record the level "in order to detect patterns of misuse in sport", which might lead to it being banned in the future.

[jonottawa]

Oops. Oscar Pistorius loses 200 Paralympic in stunning upset, then complains about winner’s blades.

[ggwhiz]

 jonottawa, on 2012-September-02, 19:57, said:

Oops. Oscar Pistorius loses 200 Paralympic in stunning upset, then complains about winner’s blades.

I played bridge out of Pretoria from 1997 - 2000 and felt that there are no more competitive people on the planet. Formula 1 racing is a prime sport there and they all drive like they are in it. After x number of years barred from high level bridge competition, they immediately made the 1/4 finals of the Bermuda Bowl.

Having a golfer nicknamed The Big Easy is more surprising to me than this.

[billw55]

 ggwhiz, on 2012-September-02, 21:14, said:

... After x number of years barred from high level bridge competition, they immediately made the 1/4 finals of the Bermuda Bowl.

I didn't know about that, what's the story? Why were they banned?