SPORTS: CCES ADDRESS DOUGLAS STUDENT ATHLETES

Wednesday, September 17 marked the kick off of the Douglas Athletics
year. It's true that the many teams have been working hard and even
playing games until that night but this was also the first time all
(or most) of the athletes were in one place.

The Centre for Sport, Recreation and Wellness took the time to address
the athletes new and old. Centre Director and Fearless Leader Lou Rene
Legge introduced herself to the crowd, and then the audience stood up
in groups to show off the 2003/2004 rosters.

From baseball to wrestling, Centre for Sport Webmaster Brian McLennon
snapped headshots of individual athletes before the assembly.

Check out the current rosters and ugly mugs of your favourite
athletes.

The more serious matter on the table for the assembly was the topic of
drug testing. Corey Andreychuk of Kwantlen University College spoke on
behalf of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport about the processes
of drug testing, rules of conduct, and responsibilities of the athletes.

For athletes new to the college level, the practice of drug testing
can be alarming. The manual provided by the CCES lists in detail all
banned and restricted substances. For the most part the crowd listened
like a student pretends to listen in class, and they laughed when the
PowerPoint presentation showed a picture of a man peeing into a cup.
Andreychuk attempted to instill the seriousness of the matter with her
presentation. It may be hard for the athletes to recognize how serious
it is until they are asked to pee in a cup themselves.

In January 2004, the list of banned and restricted substances is going
to be updated.

The crowd reacted unfavourably to Andreychuk announcing that marijuana
will likely be included on the list. Since the Winter Olympic scandal
that almost lost Canada a gold medal in snowboarding, it has been a
grey issue.

The governing body has chosen to put all substances up to a measure of
three tests.

If the substance meets with two of the three tests, then it is a
banned or restricted substance.

Marijuana under their idea meets two of the requirements. The use of
marijuana has the potential to do physical harm (which is entirely
true) and it is in conflict with the spirit of sport.

The latter variable leaves a lot of room for dispute.

It sounds more like an attempt by the governing body to find a
backdoor to the fact that marijuana is not a performance-enhancing
substance.

To say it is in conflict with the spirit of sport is an arbitrary
decision, unless there is some valid argument to back it up.
Andreychuk was not in a position to answer this for the crowd. (More
information can be found on www.cces.ca).

After the presentation, Lou Rene Legge took the floor again to address
the department's financial situation or lack thereof.

Like many facets of post-secondary life there is always need for more
money to make programs run. When put to a vote, the crowd accepted the
financial position and Legge asked for the group to take part in
fundraising. Funds are required to finance road trips, jerseys, and
anger management training for the coaching staffs.

After the assembly finished, the athletes were treated to a barbecue
where they could stuff themselves full before running off to practice.
Barf.