The drug police are coming to this week’sCanadian senior women’s softball championship in Kitchener.

[Al's Fastball News]

Received: 8/12/2009 5:59:50 AM 
From:  "Ray Alviano" <ray.alviano at sympatico.ca> 

 
To:  "Al's Fastball News" <fastball at pmihrm.com>  
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August11, 2009 

By Christine Rivet, Record staff



The drug police are coming to this week’sCanadian senior women’s
softball championship in Kitchener.

And while the sport boasts a squeaky-clean trackrecord when it
comes to performance- enhancing substances, the game of softballcan
ill-afford a failed drug test.

Dropped from the Olympic docket following Beijing, as wasmen’s
baseball, women’s softball has organized a campaign to bereinstated
in time for the 2016 Games.

“That’s one of the reasons why baseballand softball separated
in their Olympic bid — because we had such apositive record in
drug testing,” said Mike Branchauda manager for Softball Canada.

“We are happy to oblige (the drugtesters).”

The recent notification by the Canadian Centre forEthics in Sport
that random drug testing will be conducted in Kitchener sent
tournament officialsscrambling though.

The tournament host committee had to set up animpromptu doping
control station and needed to find security personnel andchaperones
for the tested athletes.

Four athletes will be tested following Sunday’sfinal for substances
on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned listincluding anabolic
steroids and narcotics.

The WADA list is 10 pages long, which could createsome confusion
for athletes unaccustomed to the rigoursof testing.

A tournament organizer, Pete McIlwraith, acknowledgedthis is
a pivotal year for the sport and a flunked drug test would only
provideanother unwelcome hurdle.

“I think Softball Canada is a little uptight aboutthis. It could
be embarrassing for them.”

Should an athlete test positive for a banned substancein Kitchenerthe
CCES would recommend a suspension, though that player’s team
wouldnot likely be sanctioned.

The CCES regularly conducts random testing onnational-calibre
athletes and at events throughoutthe country, so athletes here
shouldn’t have been caught by surprise,said Branchaud.

There’s no coincidence to the timing of thetests and the sport’s
Olympic future, said the CCES’sdirector of communications.

“It was just their turn,” said Rosemary Pitfield.

The nine-team tournament runs Wednesday through Sundayat Peter
Hallman Ball Yard.

crivet at therecord.com

 
 

 Al's Fastball News
*Email: fastball(at)pmihrm.com
   fastball at pmihrm.com
NEWS-1: http://www.AlsFastball.com/
NEWS-2: http://fastpitchwest.com/alsfastball
ISC World Tournament, August 14-21, http://www.iscfastpitch.com/


VIA http://www.webbox.com