All-Star Substance Free Programs

[dawgshow]

I'm mostly interested if they found out if this girl was alone when she did or if therevwas someone with her.

Don't know how intense this is in US, but at clubs over here we have a problem with guys buying girls drinks and putting different kind of drugs in it without the girl noticing. He will then take her home and everyone can think about the rest of the story.


It's nothing "new" that boys try to influence the mood of a girl with alcohol. But giving someone drugs without them knowing is always a big risk, especially if the person is taking medication, has an allergic reaction, some disease and so on.

Just saying that she might have died by an overdose, but there are so many possibilities of how it happened.


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Sadly, it happens here too, especially in the college crowd. It was rampant 20 years ago when I was in college, so I don't see this particular stupidity ending anytime soon.



Tough love found here

 

[Official OWECheer]

I am so angry and heartbroken right now... to think that gym owners are willing to sweep drug use under the rug speaks more than volumes about their attitude toward the sport and its participants.

 

[kristenthegreat]

there were 34 (found and treated, so probably many more) drug overdoses in New Jersey this weekend at one of those electric music festivals. almost all of the documented overdoses were children under the age of 18. i honestly think it's more of an issue in the senior age bracket than college. college most certainly has drugs present, but i have never seen it this rampant in the high school crowd. scary.

we always say nothing will happen until there is a tragedy, but is this girl's death not a tragedy? this was a high profile athlete at one of the best college programs in the country that received national media attention. is it only a relevant tragedy if she seized in the middle of a stunt sequence and dropped a stunt? when suzie's parents try to sue because a high kid dropped her and she got hurt, then will we care?

Oh those Molly babies- except what they THINK they're getting is Molly, but is instead a random assortment of everything from baking soda to heroin. It's like Russian Drug Roulette.

Two kids died last year at Electric Zoo from overdosing, so they cancelled the second day. I shudder to think what might happen this year.

ETA: USASF can technically only insist on drug testing at Worlds because it's their official competition. Although I do agree that insisting on random testing at Worlds Bid Events would be a good idea as well..also ICU.

 

[Helen uk uni cheer]

If I ever coach I would like to get everyone to sign a contract so if I needed to or randomly I could breathalyse athletes. Cheer is a team sport I would much rather if someone failed a drug or alcohol test to pull them from the routine even at comp and rework it on the spot than turn a blind eye at a risk of injury to any other team mate it also would give the message that your actions affect the team and hopefully have alot of dislike that they wouldnt do it again. I would most like do first time pull from routine for the nearest comp and if they ever do that again remove completyl


I used to drink (legal age 18) quite often but as I have got more serious with cheer I don't like to drink even when I dont have practice the next morning as I take my role seriously and want to be on my best form because when things go wrong you need to be alert.

 

[Senior5Allie]

@Senior5Allie I tagged you because you said "I just wanted to suggest that we watch what we are saying in this thread as some things can be giving kids more info on drugs than they need to know," which would seemingly relate to how you feel about kids wearing red to memorialise a girl who overdosed. We aren't telling anyone HOW to overdose, or HOW to take drugs, and presumably neither are gyms having that discussion with junior aged athletes.

This thread is no more giving kids info on drugs than gyms nationwide having kids wear red. The internet is a dark place, my friend. If anyone is getting drug info from the fierceboard, they're doing the internet wrong.

I never said anyone was telling kids how to overdose . My only point was to watch what we say cause even though kids or anyone else may be able to find info somewhere else, I didn't think it should be available info to them on FB. You just never know if someone was afraid to take a drug (for fear of how they thought it had to be administered) finds out it comes in another form and decides to try it. You also don't know if drug testing would have caught them and maybe stopped a path of destruction for that person but now they saw on here how long it takes for it to get out of their system so they avoid getting caught and find a way around the testing. I'm not even saying that's exactly what was said on here. I'm simply just throwing out a caution sign for all of us to not use specifics. I think you may have taken what i said the wrong way. Trust me, I am fully aware of what can be found on the internet. I even said that I, myself, have read things on the internet that weren't meant to give tips on certain things but inadvertently did. Doesn't mean it's ok that they can also find it on FB even if they aren't looking. Like I said, I was just cautioning in case any of us maybe weren't realizing that twe were giving info that kids didn't need to know. It was the specific mention of certain drugs I was warning about. Not the discussion at all be it here or in gyms. My post definitely had nothing to do with how I feel about wearing a color to memorialize a person who may have died from drugs.

ETA- I think this has been a great thread and that everyone has been good about what they are saying.

 

[ScottyB]

What??? If the coach is "unaware" as you stated...HOW can they do ANYTHING about it? Coaches are sometimes the last to know. The NCAA and governing bodies drug test for BOTH safety and fair play. To put that liability on coaches who cannot possibly be privvy to every athlete's bad decision is one reason why drug testing has evolved in sports . The AAU, as stated in an earlier post does drug test for wrestling and are more than likely working with WADA (World Anti Doping Agency). To suggest to people that it is solely the responsibility of a coach or parent to know every move and that a sanctioning organization has no recourse is unfair to all parties as they can apply for insurance as a governing body that asks specific questions on drug testing, background checks and more. Their questions are extensive: www.amerspec.com/applications/amateur/ngb_app.doc

There are organizations that assist programs in developing strategies: Overview - The National Center For Drug Free Sport, Inc. -

Doping testing is different from recreational drug testing. They are looking for unfair competition from PED use.

Why do they only have control at Worlds?

Because worlds is the only competition that the USASF has their full staff at. Like @SharkDad said, they could test at all USASF sanctioned bid events. The problem with this all being, who pays for this? The parents and the athletes do. This would create an astronomical increase in drug test spending at events across the country which means a hefty increase in USASF membership dues. I'm sure all the parents want that..

 

[ScottyB]

I keep bringing up education and discussion for prevention as opposed to blanket and sweeping testing, but apparently Fierceboard only believes in drug testing as a way of keeping people clean in the sport.

 

[coachrah]

Doping testing is different from recreational drug testing. They are looking for unfair competition from PED use.

Because worlds is the only competition that the USASF has their full staff at. Like @SharkDad said, they could test at all USASF sanctioned bid events. The problem with this all being, who pays for this? The parents and the athletes do. This would create an astronomical increase in drug test spending at events across the country which means a hefty increase in USASF membership dues. I'm sure all the parents want that..

gotcha and thanks...is it the $ that is the same reasoning for mandatory background checks. BTW I understand your logic for everybody being "all in"...but when systems are in place instead of just "word of mouth" threats, I think it is only logical that kids would be on alert for the consequences.

 

[kristenthegreat]

I keep bringing up education and discussion for prevention as opposed to blanket and sweeping testing, but apparently Fierceboard only believes in drug testing as a way of keeping people clean in the sport.

That's rather presumptuous. Maybe that's because we've considered the reality of how much that would help and have summarily dismissed it? D.A.R.E. has been roundly criticized of being a failure and a waste of taxpayer money. You're not telling anyone things they haven't already considered and ignored. These are teenagers/early 20s. They're not 10.

In the discussion of prevention, testing is bound to be a solution. Until your mid-20s, your frontal lobe isn't fully connected and is missing much of the essential myelin to process long-term connection. Meaning- kids don't think about long-term possibilities until/unless you force them to (ie, immediate negative consequences to an action). While I do think that the immediate first step is to send out a notice to coaches about drug use/consequences and CONSIDER testing at Worlds this year, I don't think we're quite ready for drug testing at all Worlds bid events.

 

[CarolinaCheer&Dance]

I would love for the USASF to do this, some of the biggest gyms in the country would come under fire.

 

[Momager]

Oh those Molly babies- except what they THINK they're getting is Molly, but is instead a random assortment of everything from baking soda to heroin. It's like Russian Drug Roulette.

Two kids died last year at Electric Zoo from overdosing, so they cancelled the second day. I shudder to think what might happen this year.

ETA: USASF can technically only insist on drug testing at Worlds because it's their official competition. Although I do agree that insisting on random testing at Worlds Bid Events would be a good idea as well..also ICU.

Two kids died at a concert in Maryland this past weekend- suspected Molly

 

[Cheermom1969]

I keep bringing up education and discussion for prevention as opposed to blanket and sweeping testing, but apparently Fierceboard only believes in drug testing as a way of keeping people clean in the sport.

Well, discussing is nice but enforcement is key. It's like threatening a country that if they cross a "red line" there will be enforcement of a penalty and then watching that country cross the red line and nothing happens. What's the point of discussing, educating, and threatening if there's no teeth behind what you say?

You want education and, yes, we need that but in combination with random testing and penalties. If a few teams get disqualified at Worlds because of drug use, I guarantee you gym owners, parents, coaches, and athletes will stand up and take notice.

 

[SharkDad]

@ScottyB i don't think it has to be sweeping testing of all athletes. Random testing of a handful of athletes at each competition goes a long way toward prevention because it becomes a risk no gym owner wants to accept and hopefully athletes are willing to take.

There are field tests that are simple, cheap, and provide results imediately. A positive test can warrant a more extensive verification. This is just an example of how they could be administered.

A program like this would take licensed testers, and that would be a cost. There is no reason athletes and parents have to bear the extent of the cost. The benefit is for the entire membership in the sport so therefore should be shared by all members of the USASF: EPs, gym owners, athletes etc.

 

[kristenthegreat]

Two kids died at a concert in Maryland this past weekend- suspected Molly

Two kids died last year at Electric Zoo in NYC taking 'Molly' or what they thought was Molly. Whether or not "real" Molly has actual adverse affects on the body is now a moot point- I'd wager a large percentage of the 'Molly' being sold is no longer "pure" and is loaded with extras. Everyone's always like 'Oooh they were just stupid, know your limits, blah blah blah.' But the first time I got actually sick from drinking, was a day where I'd had LESS alcohol than other occasions where I DIDN'T get sick. I didn't mix, I didn't go nuts, and I'd eaten that day- my body just decided it was unhappy.

 

[ACEDAD]

Gotta admit that every time I see this thread title I think of a couple of cheer programs that have no substance.


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