BEING A CLUB CHAMPION
A swimmer’s guide to alcohol and other drugs
swimming.org.au
BEING A CLUB CHAMPION
The Club Champions and Illicit Drugs in Sport Programs aim to enlist
sporting organisations and sports people to reduce the levels of binge
drinking and illicit drug use in the community.
This booklet provides information about the impact of alcohol and other
drugs on the functioning of your body and mind and also your ability to
train and compete at optimal level.
Swimming Australia Limited (SAL) has a zero tolerance to illicit drug use
policy as well as a dry team policy with regard to alcohol. This means
that when the team is assembled to prepare for, attend and participate in
an event, members are not allowed to drink alcohol or consume illicit or
prohibited drugs.
As a swimmer you are already committed to taking
good care of your body. When the difference between
winning and getting a place can be less than one
hundredth of a second, a healthy mind and body are
the key to achieving your full potential.
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Alcohol intake negatively impacts on a variety of
fine motor skills essential for successful swimming
performance including:
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Reaction time, accuracy and balance
Hand-eye or foot-eye coordination
Visual tracking and searching
Alcohol is a diuretic which means that it affects the
efficiency of the kidneys to reabsorb water.
Studies have also found that moderate amounts of alcohol (2 standard drinks at night)
can affect:
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REM sleep – the deep sleep needed to recover from training
Recovery – the body needs to refuel, rehydrate and repair itself after training
Risk of sporting injuries – impulsive behaviours when drinking can lead to serious injury or make existing injuries worse
Recovery from injuries – alcohol increases blood flow to an injured area and limits quick recoveries!
This can lead to dehydration and make it difficult to
recover from a hard training week.
What is a standard drink?
Alcohol differs in strength. Usually beers range from 1%-6% alcohol content; wines are between 12%-14%
and spirits (like vodka, bourbon and Jägermeister) range between 20%-40% alcohol content.
Alcohol is measured in ‘standard drinks’. A standard drink contains 10mg of alcohol. All cans and
bottles are required by law to list the number of standard drinks. Remember the drinks you purchase or pour
for yourself generally contain more than one standard drink.
DID YOU KNOW?
Having five standard drinks or more in one session can
impair your brain and body activities up to three days later.
Having two big nights in a row can take up to five days for
the body to completely recover.
Mixing alcohol with
energy drinks
Energy drinks provide users with a boost of energy, alertness and stamina. The active ingredient in most is caffeine; but some also contain
guarana (a South American plant which contains high levels of caffeine), taurine (an amino acid purported to improve athletic performance),
vitamins and herbal supplements, and sugars or sweeteners.
Energy drinks sold in Australia are restricted to 320 mg of caffeine per litre. A 250ml energy drink contains 80 mg of caffeine - equivalent to
approximately one serve of strong coffee. A 500ml can contains double that. The recommended maximum daily intake in Australia
(as identified on product packaging) is 500ml or 150mg caffeine.
Although there isn’t a lot of conclusive research evidence about the harms of combing alcohol with energy drinks some studies have found
people drink more alcohol on a night out and also likely to take more risks than if they consumed alcohol alone.
Sobering up
There is no quick way to sober up from alcohol and no amount of food,
physical activity or sleep will speed up the process. The only thing that
works is TIME.
It takes your body approximately 60 minutes to process one standard
drink. For women this can sometimes take up to 90 minutes!
Alcohol and mental health
Alcohol enjoys a strong association with celebrating and socialising but sometimes people drink to relieve stress and
cope with bad situations. This only provides temporary relief by masking the issue at hand and can actually make
feelings of depression and anxiety worse.
Healthier strategies to clear your mind include chatting to someone you trust, listening to music, getting some fresh air
or even keeping a journal to see if something is triggering stress. Don’t be afraid to reach out for professional support
too, it’s free and confidential.
Kids Helpline- 1800 551 800 / www.kidshelp.com.au
Bite Back - www.biteback.org.au
Youth Beyond Blue - www.youthbeyondblue.com
Headspace - www.headspace.org.au
Alcohol and social media
Most people have cameras on their phone these days. If you are caught being drunk or abusive in public,
it could be uploaded on to the internet. Avoid texts, Twitter and Facebook if you have been drinking. Taking
this risk could not only embarrass you but it could potentially damage your career and jeopardise your
swimming dreams in years to come.
Staying Safe
It’s important to remember that it’s OKAY to say no to a drink. Plan in advance what you might say to friends if
they pressure you into drinking. You already have the best excuse as a swimmer who has to get up early in the
morning.
If you decide to drink, be responsible and accountable. If you or a friend gets into a dangerous situation from
drinking remember:
1.
2.
3.
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Help them get home safely and take their keys so they aren’t tempted to drive
Don’t give them anything in an attempt to sober them up (such as bread), they could choke. Only give them small sips of water if they are conscious
Never leave them on their own. I.e. Don’t put them to bed or leave them in the shower – stay with them to make sure they don’t pass out and injure themselves
If they are unconscious but otherwise breathing normally, make sure they are in the recovery position and call 000
RECOVERY POSITION
Chin up and
mouth facing
downward to
clear airway
Arms and legs locked to stabilise position
One Australian
teenager DIES
and more than 60
are hospitalised
each week from
alcohol-related
causes.
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It’s illegal to possess, supply or drink alcohol before you’re 18 in Australia. Getting someone over
18 to buy you alcohol isn’t such a great idea either – you and the person supplying the alcohol
could end up pocketing a $2,500 and $5,000 fine.
It is also illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol and in most States if you’re a learner or
provisional driver, it is illegal to have any alcohol in your system. If you drink the night before
driving you may still be over the limit the next day.
Ask yourself if you’re willing to risk killing or seriously injuring yourself or another person, losing
your licence, being fined, having a criminal record or even going to jail?
Losing your license from drink driving or having a criminal record from alcohol-related assault
will limit job opportunities and any dream of international travel in the future. Similarly to alcohol, illicit drugs can impact on
your functioning and sporting performance.
The following things are at stake if you use illicit drugs:
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Your sporting and personal success
Your health
Your membership of a team
Your reputation and that of your team and club
Your career
The respect of your family, friends, fans and the community
A criminal record
IT’S ABOUT MAKING
GOOD CHOICES
Swimming Australia has adopted and implemented an anti-doping policy and rules which conform to
the rules established by the World Anti Doping Authority, the International Olympic Committee, FINA
and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority. The policy prohibits the in-competition use of performance-enhancing and other illicit drugs.
For further information about banned drugs see: Article 8: Swimming Australia Limited Illicit Drugs
Policy. www.swimming.org.au
All Swimming Australia athletes are subject to
random anti-doping and drug testing. A positive
test could ruin more things than your career.
For information on anti-doping and banned substances, contact the Australian
Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) on 13 000 ASADA (13 000 27232) or visit:
www.asada.gov.au
Stimulant drugs
Illicit drugs and sporting performance
Psychoactive drugs primarily fall into three categories depending
on how they affect the central nervous system.
Stimulants speed up mental processes, depressants slow them
down and hallucinogens can greatly distort your sense of reality.
The main illegal stimulant drugs include ecstasy, cocaine and meth/amphetamines (speed, base and ice).
Generally these drugs (temporarily) increase your heart rate, blood pressure,
metabolism, body temperature, sweating and lactic acid production. They also
suppress sleep, appetite and energy levels – affecting your ability to recover and
refuel optimally when training or performing. Use of stimulant drugs can also
impair your memory and increase nervousness and irritability making it hard to
concentrate on training and performing. Long term use of these drugs can also
result in dependence and other psychological problems.
Depressant drugs
Hallucinogens
The main illegal depressant drugs are gamma hydroxy-butrate (GHB) and opioid
drugs such as heroin.
The main illegal hallucinogenic drugs are LSD and magic mushrooms.
Generally these drugs slow down a person’s breathing and heart rate. They also affect
a person’s decision making ability, memory, concentration, balance, coordination and
response time to unexpected situations. These drugs can also decrease the body’s
ability to feel pain and exacerbate soft tissue injury by increasing blood flow in injured
areas. Use of these drugs will also decrease the likelihood of carrying out appropriate
recovery strategies – such as staying rehydrated and eating properly.
These drugs alter a person’s thinking and distort their sense of time, space, memory,
sensory processing and reality. They can cause hallucinations – where people see and
hear things that aren’t really there. This can be disorientating and very distressing and in
some cases may require medical intervention. Hallucinogens are also known to reduce
coordination and reaction time and result in blurry vision and dizziness. The use of these
drugs will affect energy levels and the ability to recover and perform at your best.
The psilocin and psilocybin in magic mushrooms can cause stomach cramps, nausea
and vomiting.
A word on CANNABIS
Cannabis doesn’t fit neatly into any of the above categories and has a mixture of effects
on the body. It is the most widely used illicit drug worldwide and approximately one in
ten Australian’s over the age of 14 reported they used it last year.
Because the drug is primarily smoked, use of it can affect your lungs which are vital for
being a world class swimmer. Most people don’t realise that one bong or joint is the
equivalent of up to five cigarettes in lung damage. The drug can also make you drowsy
and distort your sense of time and space. It also slows down your reaction time and your
ability to perform at your best. Long term and heavy use of the drug can lead to
demotivation, dependence and mental health problems.
It is also important to note that the metabolites in cannabis store in your fat cells and
therefore can be detected in urine drug tests for up to one week if you smoke a small
amount of cannabis, or longer if you are a heavier smoker.
Illicit drug use can affect your:
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Sporting performance
Physical and mental health
Ability to study and work
Personal relationships
Quality of life
The best way to protect yourself from the impact of illicit drugs is to decide not
to use them. To do this you will need to prepare yourself with some strategies
to support your decision.
Decide what you will say and
do if you are offered drugs:
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“No thanks” or “No thanks, I need to train tomorrow”
Walk away
Keep yourself busy – dance, play pool, etc.
Try to stay away from people who are likely to be using illicit drugs
Go out with people who are unlikely to be using illicit drugs
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you think you may have a problem with alcohol or other drugs or know someone who has, the first
step is to start talking. Have a chat with a friend, family member or coach. Alternatively you may
want to seek the help of a counsellor or health professional.
You can also:
Think about your sporting dreams and goals and consider how poor choices, behaviour and
performance will impact on you achieving these.
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Visit www.idis.gov.au to learn more about the Australian Government’s IDIS initiative;
Check out www.australia.gov.au/drugs;
Contact the Alcohol and Drug Information Service in each State and Territory of
Australia or DirectLine (Vic/Tas.) for 24/7 free, confidential information and
counselling about alcohol and other drugs.
Illicit drug use is more than a breach of a sporting code of conduct – it may result in a criminal
record, unwanted media attention, loss of sponsorship and ultimately the loss of your dreams.
To find out more about Swimming Australia’s IDIS activities please contact the Athlete Wellbeing
Coordinator on 02 6219 5600 or check www.swimming.org.au
Prepared by Annie Bleeker www.anniebleeker.com