Shred With A Clear Head: Pro Surfers Subject To New Anti-Doping Policy
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) has announced a crack down on the world's best surfers, enforcing an anti-doping policy to force professional surfers to be more, well, professional.
“This policy represents a consensus among our surfers, events and administrators in evolving the sport of surfing to a more professional level,” Richard Grellman, ASP executive chairman, said in a statement, reports ASP. “The desire to initiate this kind of policy has existed within ASP for several years now and with the approval of resource and budget allocation at the November 2011 board meeting, we are pleased to announce its activation. We believe this to be an important further step in enhancing professional surfing.”
Designed to "protect the Surfers' fundamental right to participate in doping free sport and thus promote health, fairness, and equality for Surfers worldwide" and "ensure harmonized, coordinated and effective anti- doping programs at the international and national level with regard to detection, deterrence, and prevention of doping," the policy states that it will fulfill said commitments by "educating and informing Persons about drugs in surfing as a sport" as well as "imposing effective sanctions on Persons who commit Anti-Doping Rule Violations."
The policy incorporates the Prohibited List, as published by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which serves as "an International Standard identifying substances and methods prohibited in-competition, out-of-competition and in particular sports," per the WADA website. The following recreational substances are also prohibited at all times: alcohol, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cannaboids, cocaine hydrochloride, methamphetamines and narcotics.
The policy will apply to ASP Top 34 and ASP Top 17 members competing on the ASP World Title Series and ASP Women's World Title Series. ASP surfers reportedly played a crucial role in the policy's inception and fully support it.
The policy will be activated for 2012 ASP World Title season. Per the ASP World Tour schedule, the competition takes on California at Trestles September 28, 2012 through October 8, 2012.
