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The web site AltitudeForAll.info has organized a writein campaign to lobby WADA not to ban altitude tents.
See article, Live at Altitude? Sure. Sleep There? Hmm from the New York Times.
The following note on altitude tents is from the Peak Running Performance Newsletter:
Altitude Tents, Should they be Illegal?
Dr. Joe Vigil, coach to Deena Kastor and contributor to Peak Running Performance, claims: “Ninety-five percent of the medals that have been won at Olympic Games have been won by people who train at or live at altitude.”
But soon, altitude tents and rooms (used to simulate living at altitude) may be banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA. The agency recently announced that the tents and rooms violate “the spirit of sport.”
The agency will reach a decision in September about whether to include altitude tents and rooms on its List of Prohibited Substances and Methods for 2007.
Alberto Salazar, running legend and regular contributor to Peak Running Performance, thinks a ban on altitude tents would bring unwanted consequences to the sport: “Any athlete who wants to be competitive in the world scene would have to move to altitude or cheat by using an altitude room or taking illegal drugs.”
Subscribe to their newsletter at: PeakRun.com.
The letter is reprduced below:
Dear Athlete,
As fellow athletes who support a rational anti-doping policy we ask your support.
At its next executive meeting on September 16, WADA intends to ban altitude tents because they provide a “passive
benefit”. (see July 26th NY Times article .) WADA claims that “passive benefits” violate the spirit of sports. The principle of
“passive benefit” could lead WADA to outlaw other common training and recovery methods. We can succeed in
preventing this ban, but only if we act now. Several key groups have already expressed opposition to the ban including:
Scientists and Bioethicists - 76 scientists and bioethicists from 24 countries have signed a letter in opposition to the
proposed ban, stating, “In our opinion, the passivity argument is biologically naïve, logically inconsistent, and scientifically
untenable.”
Athletes – A poll of 2,800 athletes shows that 85% are in opposition to the proposed ban. One athlete commented,
“Hopefully WADA will be intelligent enough to drop this. There is a huge doping problem that needs to be addressed and
distractions like this contribute to the credibility problems that WADA has created, opening doors for dopers to attack the
system as prosecutorial and ridiculous.”
Legal Experts– The Duke University Center for Sports Law and Policy, states, “The distinction the (WADA) panel draws
between ‘active’ and ‘passive’ uses of technology fails as a rule to determine whether something violates “the spirit of
sport” because it is overbroad and otherwise impossible to sustain.”
Sports Physicians and Medical Experts – In research and in practice altitude tents have been proven to be safe.
Athletes have logged more than 10,000,000 hours of use with no reports of health problems or side effects. The leading
scientist in the field of altitude physiology stated “…there is no evidence that simulated altitude environments pose any
medical risk when properly used.”
Ethicists – Respected ethicists from several countries have written to WADA stating, “We disagree strongly with the
scientific and ethical aspects of the ‘passivity’ argument and contend that the use of real or simulated high altitude
environments as adjuncts to training are highly ethical and consistent with other environmental manipulations widely used
in sport.”
Tell WADA that you oppose a ban on altitude tents by completeing the form at:
Athletes' letter to WADA
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