Greens secure Senate Inquiry into sports science

Australian Greens spokesperson for sport and health, Senator Richard Di Natale, has announced that he has secured support for a Senate Inquiry into the issue of sports science.

Dr Di Natale "the 'whatever it takes' mentality of Australian sport should not come at the cost of compromising the health of our athletes.

"The focus of the current doping scandal has been on whether substances are in breach of the WADA code, but there is a bigger issue at stake here.

"As a doctor I'm really very concerned about potential health impacts of some of the drugs and supplements that have been reportedly used. Using drugs that aren't yet approved for human use, or prescription medications for purposes they weren't designed for, is dangerous.

"Its tempting to blame individual players but an 18 year old kid from the country recruited to an AFL club would find it very hard to refuse a supplement program that was sanctioned by their club and involved their team mates.

"Part of the problem is that there aren't accredited standards around who can call themselves a sports scientist and what sorts of code of conduct they should be operating under. Australia has some of the world's best sports scientists and their reputations also need to be protected.

"I have secured a Senate Inquiry into the issue of sports science because we need to work out what sorts of safeguards and governance structures need to be in place to make sure that players are never again being used as guinea pigs in a sports science arms-race.

"The inquiry will welcome submissions from sports scientists, players, athletes, club doctors and administrators."

The inquiry has been welcomed by Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA), which has long been calling for action to protect both professional players and the sports science industry.

Professor David Bishop, a board director of Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) and Research Leader for Sport at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, issued a statement in which he explained "current ASADA investigations have highlighted the need for such action, not only to protect the wellbeing of our professional sports people but also to protect the credibility of qualified and accredited sports scientists who make such a valuable contribution to teams across the various sporting codes.

"When the Inquiry commences, we look forward to presenting our case to demonstrate how ESSA, as a single independent regulator, can deliver benefits to sporting codes, government bodies and most importantly, to our professional athletes.

"Recent events have highlighted that sports scientists arguably have the greatest contact with and influence over athletes, yet they continue to be the only members of a high-performance team that are not required to be accredited or registered by a professional body or national regulator - an anomaly which no doubt will be highlighted in the Senate Inquiry."

The terms of reference for the inquiry are:

• The current scope of practice, (this includes definition, function and operation) and accreditation and regulation arrangements, for the profession;
• The role of Boards and Management in the oversight of sports scientists inside sporting organisations;
• The duty of care of sports scientists to athletes;
• Avenues for reform or enhanced regulation of the profession;
• Any other related matter.

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