title: Investigating the use of stimulants in out-of-competition sport samples.
abstract: The List of Prohibited Substances and Methods (the List), an International Standard published yearly by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), determines which substances and methods are prohibited in sport in- and out-of-competition. Stimulants are included within drug class S.6 under  the in-competition testing section of the List. Athletes may be tempted to use stimulants as ergogenic aids in-competition in order to temporarily improve their mental and/or physical functions by increasing alertness, aggressiveness, motivation, locomotion, heart rate, and reducing fatigue.  The Prohibited List Expert Group, responsible for the maintenance of the List, approved WADA funding for a two-year study to determine whether athletes were also using stimulants to benefit from their performance-enhancing effects during the training phase between competitions (i.e., out-of-competition).  This study, involving 11 WADA-accredited laboratories, found that the use of stimulants by athletes during training was not significantly prevalent (0.36% of positive findings), suggesting that this issue does not, at the moment, pose a further challenge to the fight against doping in sport.  In addition, the study supports the current structure in the Prohibited List that differentiates banned substances into the in- and out-of-competition classifications.
authors.affiliation: Science Department, World Anti-Doping Agency, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boghosian
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mazzoni
authors.forename: Osquel
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Barroso
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rabin
mesh_terms: D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004300:Doping in Sports / Q000379:methods / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D013177:Sports / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances