Craven Week boys in dope scandal
3 Aug 2011
Four Craven Week players have tested postive for anabolic steroids and could face two-year bans from sport.
CEO of the Institute for Drug-Free Sport Khalid Galant confirmed on Wednesday that the drug tests of four boys, who can’t be named because they are still minors, returned positive. This was after drug tests were carried out on 47% of participants during Craven Week in Kimberley at the end of June.
‘Out of the four positives, two results also showed high levels of testosterone and these tests have been sent off for further analysis to Germany to verify whether the levels of testosterone are due to external sources, or naturally produced by the body. Only if the tests confirm that indeed the source of testosterone is from outside of the athlete’s body, will a doping case be opened,’ said Galant.
While there were only four boys who tested positive from the selected group, Galant stressed that it didn’t mean that the others weren’t doping. He said it is possible for boys to stop doping weeks before Craven Week to pass the drug tests. It’s said that one boy’s result showed a low concentration of nandrolone, but not enough for a case to be opened.
The boys under investigation will face an independent tribunal in two months time. Galant said that the punishment for doping at school level can be severe and players should be wary of what supplements they take.
‘The standard sentence is a minimum ban of two years and not less than a year where there are mitigating circumstances,’ said Galant. ‘It will be up to the tribunal to rule on the appropriate sanction.
‘Just because you can easily buy a sports supplement at any grocery store or pharmacy does not mean that the supplement does not contain any banned steroids. Parents have to be more circumspect about the ingredients of these supplements and especially when words such as “testosterone booster” or “growth-hormone accelerator” are used on the packaging of products.’
10 Comments
3 Aug 2011, 20:18 pm
Tragedy dragons
3 Aug 2011, 23:11 pm
They should be banned for two years minimum bloody cheats!
They must also make excamples off them, so the kids wont even think twice about taking these drugs.
3 Aug 2011, 23:13 pm
Eish! spelling should be “example” Its too late after a long day.
3 Aug 2011, 23:30 pm
If 47% gave 4(possibly 5) positives then 100% could have resulted in 9 or more cases(or even less thu unlikely).
I posted a S. African article on scholar doping not more than two months ago on this site and the situation seems to have gotten worse.
Sports sinks into still lower depths and more shame.
4 Aug 2011, 08:16 am
Sad, really.
4 Aug 2011, 08:17 am
@Chris4Lions(Chris4Lions)-2: jaa, public lashings with a cat o nine!! followed by grovelling to all head masters in the country and a 10 year rugby ban , followed by…..
easy son, there is no excuse for this sort of behaviour but we must remember the environment is created in part by the pressure schools and parents place on their players. Having said that they deserve punishment, but what of the schools that bribe players etc.
4 Aug 2011, 08:39 am
just not good, period.
4 Aug 2011, 09:14 am
Good chance that a few of these kids will pay for a coach’s ambitions. I’ve known of many cases where kids were ‘forced’ to take substances otherwise they’ll ‘lose their spot’.
PS: I’m not saying all coaches.
4 Aug 2011, 09:18 am
@Bouts(Bouts)-8: That or an overbearing parent.
4 Aug 2011, 11:11 am
Cheats…calling aussies cheats! Is spies their mentors?
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