The Australian National University

Vanessa McDermott Canberra ACT 0200 Australia PhD Candidate School of Social Sciences Telephone: +61 2 6125 0323 ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences Facsimile: +61 2 6125 2222 Copland Building Number 24 Email: [email protected] www.anu.edu.au

An Examination of Sport Governing Bodies, Legitimacy and Performance Enhancing Substances

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in a survey about perceptions of the legitimacy of sport governing bodies (SGBs). This study is interested in examining whether the legitimacy of SGBs is perceived as being in ‘crisis’ as a result of the continued use of performance enhancing substances (PES). The study has been granted ethics approval by the Australian National University Human Research Ethics Committee.

In modern sport, claims that doping is prevalent have led some to argue that a ‘culture of doping’ exists, with some sports (such as athletics and cycling) attracting particular scrutiny. To address the issue, SGBs focus on deterrence-based testing, sanctions and education. Individuals who fail to adhere to this regulatory framework are sanctioned and/or banned from participation.

However, some commentators claim that doping persists because the organisations governing sport no longer enjoy the legitimacy and moral authority to create an anti-doping culture. For example, the world swimming organisation, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), has been criticised for failing ‘to make even the most tentative gesture to keep substances from our sport’(Leonard 2001). This study is exploring the possibility that the continued presence of doping presents a crisis of legitimacy for SGBs.

To participate in this study, please take a few minutes to fill out the online survey located at https://apollo.anu.edu.au/default.asp?pid=2566.

The survey will be supplied to athletes, coaching support staff, medical staff as well as sporting administrators. It is important to include as many groups within the sporting community as possible in order to achieve a systematic selection of individuals from different settings and perspectives. For example, the inclusion of sporting administrators represents an opportunity for SGBs to provide input into research goals of this project while the inclusion of athletes provides the same opportunity for these individuals. The purpose of such an approach is to identify any similarities or differences as well as any ‘unique features’ in terms of individuals’ perceptions of the legitimacy of SGBs in various sporting contexts. The survey is completely confidential with the results being sent electronically directly to the researcher. Responses will be kept confidential to the extent that the law allows.

Questions or concerns If you have any questions or concerns about any part of this research please contact the researcher, Vanessa McDermott (contact details below) or her supervisors - Dr. Alastair Greig, Australian National University (contact details below) or Dr. Jason Mazanov, University of New South Wales at ADFA (contact details below).

1 Should you have any problems or queries about the way in which the study was conducted and do not feel comfortable contacting the researcher or the aforementioned supervisors, you may contact the Australian National University Human Research Ethics Committee (contact details below).

2 Contact details:

Researcher: Vanessa McDermott PhD Candidate School of Social Sciences Building 24, Copland Building The Australian National University, ACT 0200 Phone (02) 6125 0323 or Email [email protected]

Supervisor: Dr. Alastair Greig School of Social Sciences Building 22, Haydon-Allen Building The Australian National University, ACT 0200 Phone (02) 6125 4913 or Email [email protected]

Supervisor: Dr Jason Mazanov Senior Lecturer, School of Business UNSW@ADFA Phone (02) 6268 8071 or Email [email protected]

The Secretary, Human Research Ethics Committee: Research Office Chancelry 10B Australian National University, ACT, 0200 Phone (02) 6125 7945 or Email: [email protected]

Your time and valuable contribution to this research are much appreciated.

Thank you

Vanessa McDermott PhD Candidate Australian National University

3 References

Leonard, J. 2001 Doping in Elite Swimming: A Case Study of the Modern Era from 1970 Onward in Wilson, J. & Derse, E. (ed) 2001 Doping in Elite Sport The Politics of Drugs in the Olympic Movement, Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc: Champaign, IL, pp225-39.