Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Respondent after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Cannabis. Respondent admitted the violation and explained he had used cannabis a week before the match during a momentary lapse on a night out. The Tribunal accepted that Respondent did not use cannabis with the intention of enhancing his sports performance.

The Sports Tribunal of New Zealand decides to impose a ban on the Respondent, from 15 February 2007 until 21 March 2008, from competing in any events and competitions conducted by or under auspices of BBNZ.
However, the Tribunal will suspend the ban if agreement is reached between Respondent, BBNZ, the Hawk’s franchise and Drug Free Sport on a suitable drug education programme in which Respondent will participate for a period of not less than one month. This programme will need to be substantially completed by 21 March 2008.
To obtain the suspension of the Tribunal’s ban, Respondent will need to satisfy Drug Free Sport of both his suitability for and commitment to such a programme and that it be of benefit to Drug Free Sport.

Fight against doping : statistical data 2006 / National Anti-Doping Council Portugal. - Lisbon : Conselho Nacional Antidopagem (CNAD), 2007

CAS 2007/A/1318 Anthony Lobello v. International Skating Union (ISU)

Related case:

ISU 2007 ISU vs Anthony Lobello
June 8, 2007

• Skating
• Doping (whereabouts information)
• Standard of proof
• Burden of proof

1. According to Art. 3.1 ISU Rules, the standard of proof in all cases is greater than a mere balance of probability but less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. When the ISU Anti-Doping Rules place the burden of proof upon a skater or other persons alleged to have committed an ISU Anti-Doping Rule violation to rebut a presumption or establish specified facts or circumstances, the standard of proof shall be by a balance of probability.

2. In the context of an alleged failure by a skater to provide whereabouts form to the ISU, the ISU has not proved its case in terms of Article 3.1 of the Rules, if the athlete has produced (although late) a document (a facsimile and its confirmation sheet) establishing that he/she fulfilled his/her obligation to provide whereabouts information to the IF and if the IF has not proven any fabrication of evidence by the athlete.

On 8 June 2007 the International Skating Union (ISU) decided to impose a 6 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete Anthony Lobello after he failed to provide his whereabouts reports three times within six months, despite several reminders and two formal warnings.

Hereafter in June 2007 the Athlete appealed the ISU decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The Athlete claimed that he never received any facsimile, email or other information, either orally or in writing, from either the ISU or US Skating, that the ISU had failed to receive his Whereabouts Form for the first and second quarter 2007.

US Skating confirmed that the ISU had sent to US Speedskating reminders notices for those Athletes who had not submitted their whereabouts forms for the second quarter of 2007. However those reminders notices were not notified by US Skating to some Athletes, including the Athlete Anthony Lobello.

The Athlete’s mother, Sharon Lobello, testified that she sent his Whereabouts Form by fax to the ISU in December 2006 with a facsimilie slip confirmation as evidence.
The Athlete argued that communications from the ISU to individual Athletes were not always received by the Athlete, and that those that were received were not always received in a timely manner.

The ISU denied that it had previously lost or misplaced whereabouts forms sent by skaters, or that it had done so on this occasion.

In addition US Speedskating wrote a letter of support to the ISU dated 3 July 2007:

"As a result of this new information, we believe the second warning issued by the ISU to Mr Lobello on January 19, 2007, should be rescinded and, as a result, he should have no period of ineligibility. He should be placed back in a position where he has two warnings on his record, and not three which would result in a penalty pursuant to Article 2.4 of the ISU Anti-Doping Rules".

The Panel considers that the doubts surrounding the transmission of the whereabouts form lead to the conclusion in this case that it was more likely than not that the Athlete’s whereabouts form was transmitted and received on 13 December 2006.

Thefore on 6 December 2007 the Court of Arbitration for Sport decides :

1.) The appeal filed by Mr Anthony Lobello on 29 June 2007 against a decision of the International Skating Union Disciplinary Commission dated 8 June 2007 is upheld.

2.) The decision of the ISU Disciplinary Commission of 8 June 2007 to impose a period of ineligibility on Mr Lobello is reversed and annulled.

3.) This award is rendered without costs except for the Court Office fee of CHF 500 (five hundred Swiss francs) already paid by Mr Lobello, which shall be retained by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

4.) Each party shall bear its own legal and other costs.

5.) All other or further claims are dismissed.

Federal Law about Physical Culture and Sport in the Russian Federation / Governement of the Russian Federation. - (Russian Federal Law No. 329-FZ dated December 4, 2007)

The present Law establish legal basis, organization, economy and social basis for activities in the field of physical culture and sport in the Russian Federation. It also defines the basic principles of legislation in the field of physical culture and sport.

The Federazione Pugilistica Italiana (FPI), the Italian Boxing Federation, has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Athlete Elga Comastri after her A and B samples tested positive for the prohibited substance cocaine. The Athlete admitted she used cocaine a few days prior to the doping test.
Due to no significant negligence the FPI Federal Appeal Court decided on 24 October 2007 to impose a 1 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete.

On 2 November 2007 WADA appealed the decision of the FPI Federal Appeal Court with the CONI Anti-Doping Supreme Court.
WADA requested to set aside the decision of the FPI Federal Appeal Court and argued there were no grounds to impose a less severe sanction on the Athlete.
Considering the circumstances the CONI Anti-Doping Supreme Court decides to set aside the decision of the FPI Federals Appeal Court and to impose a 20 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete.

Detection of dehydroepiandrosterone misuse by means of gas chromatography- combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry / Ute Mareck, Hans Geyer, Ulrich Flenker, Thomas Piper, Mario Thevis, Wilhelm Schänzer

• European Journal of Mass Spectrometry 13 (2007) 6 (December), p. 377-384
• PMID: 18417762
• DOI: 10.1255/ejms.900

Abstract

According to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules (WADA Technical Document-TD2004EAAS) urine samples containing dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentrations greater than 100 ng ML(-1) shall be submitted to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) analysis. The threshold concentration is based on the equivalent to the glucuronide, and the DHEA concentrations have to be adjusted for a specific gravity value of 1.020. In 2006, 11,012 doping control urine samples from national and international federations were analyzed in the Cologne doping control laboratory, 100 (0.9%) of them yielding concentrations of DHEA greater than 100 ng mL(-1). Sixty-eight percent of the specimens showed specific gravity values higher than 1.020, 52% originated from soccer players, 95% were taken in competition, 85% were male urines, 99% of the IRMS results did not indicate an application of testosterone or related prohormones. Only one urine sample was reported as an adverse analytical finding having 319 ng mL(-1) DHEA (screening result), more than 10,000 ng mL(-1) androsterone and depleted carbon isotope ratio values for the testosterone metabolites androsterone and etiocholanolone. Statistical evaluation showed significantly different DHEA concentrations between specimens taken in- and out-of- competition, whereas females showed smaller DHEA values than males for both types of control. Also a strong influence of the DHEA excretion on different sport disciplines was detectable. The highest DHEA values were detected for game sports (soccer, basketball, handball, ice hockey), followed by boxing and wrestling. In 2007, 6622 doping control urine samples were analyzed for 3alpha,5-cyclo-5alpha-androstan-6beta-ol-17-one (3alpha,5-cyclo), a DHEA metabolite which was described as a useful gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) screening marker for DHEA abuse. Nineteen urine specimens showed concentrations higher than the suggested threshold of 140 ng mL(-1), six urine samples yielded additionally DHEA concentrations higher than 100 ng mL(-1), none of them showing positive IRMS findings. These results should be taken into consideration in future discussions about threshold values for endogenous steroids in doping control.

Results of the WADA monitoring program regarding substances which are not on the 2006 Prohibited List, but which WADA wishes to monitor in order to detect patterns of misuse in sport. These substances are:
- Caffeine
- Pseudoephedrine
- Phenylpropanolamine
- Synephrine
- Phenylephrine
- Pipradrol
- Bupropion
- Morphine / Codeine

The psychological and social factors of risk and protection vis-a-vis doping. A study among callers using a national anti-doping hotline "Ecoute dopage" = Les enquêtes épidémiologiques montrent que le dopage sportif est un phénomène massif en constante augmentation dans nos sociétés / Jean Bilard, J. Birouste, Gregory Ninot, A. Pastor, P. Salas

Nous avons vu qu’une politique de prévention du dopage doit s’attacher à connaître les raisons, les motivations, les comportements, les besoins, les attentes des acteurs et que pour cela, nous devions utiliser toutes les ressources disponibles.

Dans ce but, nous nous sommes proposé d’étudier les facteurs de protection psychosociaux vis-à-vis du dopage dans un corpus de données particulier constitué par les fiches d’entretiens téléphoniques du service « écoute dopage ». Nous avons choisi d’étudier les fiches des appelants adultes hommes non dopés et pratiquant les trois sports les plus représentés dans notre corpus: la musculation, le cyclisme et le football. Le contenu de chaque fiche a été interprété par deux chercheurs afin de dégager le ou  les facteurs de protection sous jacents référés dans la grille de cotation établie à partir des facteurs de protection psychosociaux vis-à-vis du dopage relevés dans la littérature et d’une pré-analyse des fiches d'écoute. Nous avons établi les occurrences de chaque
facteur en fonction de la population globale étudiée et pour les trois types de sports. Parcette recherche exploratoire quantitative et qualitative, nous espérions aboutir à des résultats originaux par rapport à ceux des études épidémiologiques.

Or nos résultats soulignent plutôt la prédominance de facteurs de protection classiques considérés par certains comme peu inefficaces. Notre étude confirme la prévalence du facteur « préoccupation pour la santé » comme protecteur vis-à-vis du dopage et donc l'importance de la prévention par ce canal. Les facteurs « respecter la loi », versant internalisé et «existence de contrôle par l’environnement », apparaissent comme bien plus importants que ne le décrit la littérature. Ils engagent les pouvoirs publics à poursuivre une attitude ferme (sanctions) et répressive (contrôles et investigations de la police). Nos travaux montrent par ailleurs que la "loi" sportive et sociale est un appui fort pour cadrer les conduites de santé même dans les milieux considérés comme peu sensibles (bodybuilders; cyclistes). Nous avons souligné quelques facteurs importants peu mentionnés dans la littérature comme l'attitude dubitative des sportifs vis-à-vis de la connaissance des médecins. Nous avons montré qu'il fallait développer la réflexion critique sur l'efficacité des produits et sur les conduites dopantes (balance risques / effets). Ce dernier point ouvre sur des actions de prévention telles que l'éducation à la santé, la mise en place de groupes de parole mais aussi sur des messages très spécifiques en fonction des sports pratiqués. Nous avons pu ainsi souligner le paradoxe des messages de prévention vis-à-vis des cyclistes axés sur les effets néfastes pour la santé des médicaments (corticoïdes) alors qu'ils en prennent pour rester en bonne santé. De la même manière nous avons vu de quelle façon les 33 anabolisants apparaissent pour les bodybuilders un excellent moyen de se donner une bonne image d'eux mêmes et donc de contribuer à leur santé mentale!

Notre recherche a surtout permis de distinguer des dynamiques différentes autour de la thématique du dopage et d'orienter les actions de prévention à partir du vécu et des représentations de la population sportive. Nous espérons enfin avoir ouvert des pistes de recherche pour des études cliniques complémentaires.

Bain J.
Clin Interv Aging. 2007;2(4):567-76.

Testosterone is more than a "male sex hormone". It is an important contributor to the robust metabolic functioning of multiple bodily systems. The abuse of anabolic steroids by athletes over the years has been one of the major detractors from the investigation and treatment of clinical states that could be caused by or related to male hypogonadism. The unwarranted fear that testosterone therapy would induce prostate cancer has also deterred physicians form pursuing more aggressively the possibility of hypogonadism in symptomatic male patients. In addition to these two mythologies, many physicians believe that testosterone is bad for the male heart. The classical anabolic agents, 17-alkylated steroids, are, indeed, potentially harmful to the liver, to insulin action to lipid metabolism. These substances, however, are not testosterone, which has none of these adverse effects. The current evidence, in fact, strongly suggests that testosterone may be cardioprotective. There is virtually no evidence to implicate testosterone as a cause of prostate cancer. It may exacerbate an existing prostate cancer, although the evidence is flimsy, but it does not likely cause the cancer in the first place. Testosterone has stimulatory effects on bones, muscles, erythropoietin, libido, mood and cognition centres in the brain, penile erection. It is reduced in metabolic syndrome and diabetes and therapy with testosterone in these conditions may provide amelioration by lowering LDL cholesterol, blood sugar, glycated hemoglobin and insulin resistance. The best measure is bio-available testosterone which is the fraction of testosterone not bound to sex hormone binding globulin. Several forms of testosterone administration are available making compliance much less of an issue with testosterone replacement therapy.

Facts
The French Cycling Federation (Fédération Française de Cyclisme, FFC) charges respondent M54 for a violation of the Anti-Doping Rules. During a cycling event on January 14, 2007, respondent didn't attend the doping control.

History
The respondent was reminded of his obligation, but later his phone was in answering machine mode, therefore he couldn't be summoned for the doping test. Also he claims not to have known where the doping test took place. However, the information about the doping test location was readable on bill-boards and also announced by microphone. The respondent must have deliberately put his phone in answering machine mode to avoid the testing. He allready had received a sanction dated September 11, 2000, by the disciplinary committee of the FFC for the same issue.

Decision
1. The sanction is a period of ineligibility of three years in which respondent can't take part in competition or manifestations organized or authorized by the FFC and the French Cycle Tourism Federation (FFCT).
2. The decision starts on the date of notification.
3. The period of ineligibility will be reduced by the period already served by the sanction from the disciplinary committee of the FFC, dated April 20, 2007, and the time served in voluntary suspension.
4. The decision will be published and sent to the parties involved.