SUP & Performance Enhancing Drug Testing: Part 2

DANA POINT, California - Last year Supconnect posted a brief article with news that the Battle of the Paddle had decided to test athletes for performance enhancing drugs.  The article was titled: SUP & Performance Enhancing Drug Testing: Part 1

Today we bring you SUP & Performance Enhancing Drug Testing: Part 2.

With the Battle of the Paddle 2013 just one day away, it is absolutely clear that Rainbow Sandals, Inc. has created a contract with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), to demonstrate a commitment to a fair and drug-free competition.

The Battle of the Paddle website states that, "Any athlete competing in the ELITE RACE at the Rainbow Sandals Battle of the Paddle may be subject to blood and/or urine testing for any substance or method on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List http://www.usada.org/prohibited-list/. In addition to testing, USADA is available to provide educational information and will have jurisdiction to handle the results management process."

Simply put, any athlete who participates in the elite races could be tested for performance enhancing drugs.  However, Supconnect wanted to know a little more and better understand how many athletes might be tested and how the process works.

In order to do that, Supconnect had a conversation with Annie Skinner, a media relations manager with USADA.  She was very helpful but also made it clear that no information regarding the actual process of how they select athletes to be tested after a race will be shared.  They do not want any athletes to make decisions based on knowledge they may have about how the process works.  The goal is to keep everyone in the mindset of having an honest and fair athletic contest at all times.

Information on the USADA website sums it up well where it states that the, "USADA’s testing program is widely considered to be among the most effective in sports, and as a result, athletes can rest assured that their rights to compete on a clean and level playing field are being protected everyday."

With that, we at Supconnect say, Good Luck to all the competitors at the Battle of the Paddle this year and may the racing be performance enhancing drug free, fun and exciting.

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