The management of anti-doping: An on-going challenge for sport.

In recent years the punitive “law and order approach” (Waddington, 2000) to dealing with doping in sport has not been working as many had expected. This approach seeks to develop testing regimes that seek to find athletes who are taking performance enhancing substances. If caught athletes face suspension in the first instance and expulsion in the second. However issues over the use of performance enhancing substances still pervade sport, recent instances include the 2006 Tour de France, or the positive tests of Jamaican sprinter Steve Mullings (his second occurrence) in 2011 highlight that there are still many athletes competing in high profile sport who are willing to take risks and try to outwit the system. The personal memoirs of cyclist Paul Kimmage (2007) and sprinter Dwain Chambers(2009) highlighted the ever-present moral dilemma of knowing the professional and social risks of taking performance enhancing substances, but both felt there was no other way to succeed.This chapter will provide an overview of the industry of doping. A critical discussion of the organizational-cultural context for doping will establish the foundations for further discussion. Following this we will review the structure, function and key policies of the World Anti-Doping Agency who establish international doping-policy and procedures. The battle to prevent, or even eradicate doping in sport is not just fought against athletes and their coaches but against science itself. The challenges science presents for policy makers is also discussed. International media-outlets have had mixed responses to the issues of drug in sport, ranging from blasé to ‘moral panic,’ however as attitudes are changing amongst a more informed public so too as media viewpoints. This chapter will then critically examine the efforts of WADA to ensure that the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games are the toughest yet for any parties who believe they can cheat the system. This chapter will conclude with how individuals from the field could deal with the situation.