When people imagine the idea of performance enhancing drugs and sport, every person imagines a different sport and a different drug.
It’s a literal game of match the drug to the scandal with some people remembering Tiger Woods best, while others might answer Lance Armstrong – or simply know that steroids, testosterone, coke and caffeine are known to be performance-enhancing to sportspeople and highly prohibited for competition as a result.
The truth is that doping scandals and bridge aren’t what most people would imagine: In fact, it’s much less scandalous and, well, much more chronic. (Pending an answer, I am also sure that Helgemo had been one case of an unfortunate lack of the right paperwork instead of the scandal mainstream media might have jumped to first.)
What if you have to take something that gets you on the Prohibited Substances list?
Sure, drugs like beta-blockers can enhance your performance, but this isn’t why most people have to take them. There are also several different antibiotics on the list that might not enhance your bridge performance, but can still have you on the Anti-Doping list, judged the same way as someone who just chased the dragon in the bridge club’s bathroom.
If you’re taking ANY medications on the Prohibited Substances list for international sports, there’s the Therapeutic Use Exemption Form that can help to clear things up by allowing you to play for medications that don’t directly enhance performance.
Here’s more about the important Therapeutic Use Exemption form any chronic patient is going to need – and why performance-enhancing drugs for bridge might not be what you think.
Welcome to the Jungle, We’ve Got Funny Names
The official Prohibited Substances list is a long one, and it’s likely that you will spot a drug that you’ve taken at least once if you’re a chronic patient of anything.
Even if you don’t take the drug to enhance your performance and barely take it to get high, but instead need it to control or manage a health condition, you’re still on the list and surrounded by other drugs that you might struggle to pronounce or remember.
What this means for bridge is that international competitions are subject to serious anti-doping regulations: The same as many other sports like golf, racing, running and many other ones.
Getting Your Exemption Forms
The way around this is the Therapeutic Use Exemption form, requestable from the World Bridge Federation (or its Anti-Doping partners).. With permission, drugs that obviously control chronic conditions though might still be on the list are allowable.
Without this workaround, we’d be cutting a lot of great players out of the bigger games.
If you’re a chronic patient yourself, you’ll appreciate this bit of information: Remember your Therapeutic Use Exemption form for any drugs that you might be taking for chronic conditions or temporary infections.
The exemption form requires an appointment with your doctor, preferably the prescribing one, to indicate: “I’m taking this medication, and here’s why.” Do you have the right forms in order? If not, make sure you do!