The Association of Surfing Professionals may create a wrong public impression, introducing a new steroid program in this sport

Anabolic steroids are utilized by surfers too. Sport governing body announces that prohibited preparations are an essential problem in this sport. That’s why the Association of Surfing Professionals made a decision to implicate testing for anabolic steroids and other forbidden products that are used for enhancement of performance.
The Association of Surfing Professionals led several discussions with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They asked how they could implicate testing for prohibited products into surfing. Since anti-doping program of the WADA is claimed to be the best policy, the surfing organization wants to apply this protocol. It goes without saying that this is the next victory of the WADA which induces the opportunity to manage anti-doping programs in sports.
It is known that surfing is a competitive sport. So, strength, speed and endurance are main skills which promote winning. So, surfers could decide that usage of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs contributes in success greatly. It is also necessary to take in consideration that amount of money that is got by winners is large. Winners receive no less than 100, 000 dollars. Desire to receive money could lead surfers to decision to use anabolic steroids.
Nevertheless, it is said that intake of anabolic steroids and other medicines which enhance performance is not widespread in surfing. A lot of persons believe that intake of recreational drugs is more widespread among surfers than intake of steroids. Sport of 1970s and 1980s was frequently associated with marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Current facts justify this impression. The number of surfers that are caught taking marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine is quite high.
The professional surfer Andi Irons died in November 2010. The reason of his death was a heart attack caused by drug abuse. It was determined that steroids hadn’t been implicated in this case. Traces of methamphetamine, cocaine and methadone metabolites were found in his system.
Another surfer, Peter Davi, died in December 2007. High levels of meth were also found in his system.
As for the professional surfer Anthony Ruffo, he was caught selling meth.
Only Neco Padaratz, a professional surfer from Brazil, was caught using steroids. He received a one-year ban. This person tested positive for prohibited products in 2004. This person said that he had used these drugs to receive a complete recovery from back injuries. In spite of his defense, he was sentenced to a ban. He was the first individual that was caught administrating steroids by the Association of Surfing Professionals. According to many sources, he remains to be the only surfer that has ever been caught by the ASP.
The ASP has already the initial budget to introduce the WADA steroid program into surfing.
While it is unlikely that steroids represent a problem in surfing, the new anti-doping program may create a wrong public impression.