title: Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine position statement: athletes at high altitude.
abstract: Many sports incorporate training at altitude as a key component of their athlete training plan. Furthermore, many sports are required to compete at high altitude venues. Exercise at high altitude provides unique challenges to the athlete and to the sport medicine clinician working with these athletes. These challenges include altitude illness, alterations in training intensity and performance, nutritional and hydration difficulties, and challenges related to the austerity of the environment. Furthermore, many of the strategies that are typically utilized by visitors to altitude may have implications from an anti-doping point of view.This position statement was commissioned and approved by the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine. The purpose of this statement was to provide an evidence-based, best practices summary to assist clinicians with the preparation and management of athletes and individuals travelling to altitude for both competition and training.
authors.affiliation: *School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; †Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ‡SHSC Emergency Department, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; §Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and ¶Canadian Sport Institute Pacific-Vancouver Campus, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Koehle
authors.forename: Ivy
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sporer
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000502:physiology*; D000531:Altitude; D000532:Altitude Sickness / Q000517:prevention & control*; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001834:Body Water; D002170:Canada; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000528:radiation effects; D007501:Iron; D064797:Physical Conditioning, Human / Q000502:physiology*; D012143:Respiratory Physiological Phenomena; D012890:Sleep; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013178:Sports Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D007501:Iron