ATP Task Force on Supplements Submits Report
• Group of players along with medical and nutrition experts recommend comprehensive program for education, testing and quality assurance • Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to pro- actively address athlete needs for reliable supplement supply chain
Houston, Texas, U.S.A. – The ATP Task Force on Supplements has completed its work with a recommendation for a sweeping and mandatory player education program on supplements, diet and nutrition, coupled with a commitment from a major multinational pharmaceutical company to produce, test and supply reliable sports nutrition products to ATP players.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), through its Lucozade Sports Science Academy, will produce a limited range of sports nutrition products for ATP players and have committed to stringent quality control and testing procedures in conjunction with a laboratory affiliated with WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). This arrangement and a mandatory player education program were approved by the ATP Board of Directors.
“As a member of the Task Force, I’m pleased to deliver on a promise to our fellow players to work with the ATP and outside experts to find a way to deal with the supplement contamination concerns affecting not only tennis players but all professional athletes,” said Andre Agassi. “The Task Force’s objectives were reached, and now all ATP players will benefit from its work. I learned a lot about nutrition, health and anti-doping matters during the Task Force process, and hope my experience will be shared by all players who undergo the education programs that will be put in place.”
Added Tim Henman, another member of the ATP Task Force: “We need to use sports nutrition products to compete at our best, but we have been understandably too afraid to take anything. Now we can have the greatest confidence possible that the line of products stemming from this partnership will carry a reduced risk of contamination with banned substances.”
The importance of nutritional supplements to athletes recently was recognized at the International Symposium on Supplements in Sport, organized jointly by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) held in Montreal this past summer. The symposium recognized that good nutritional habits are essential, athlete education on supplements is critical, athletes must be well informed, and that in certain circumstances food and nutritional supplements supplementation may be appropriate for high-performance athletes. The symposium further recommended that support personnel be provided with reliable information on nutritional supplements and athletes consult a sport nutrition expert for professional individual advice if they believe they need to use supplements.
The ATP Task Force on Supplements was formed in mid-February with the primary goal of providing tennis players with practical advice on how to reduce the risk of inadvertent doping associated with dietary and nutritional supplements. The Task Force was comprised of a leading group of players, tournament representatives, coaches, medical and nutrition experts and ATP personnel. A key objective of the Task Force was to identify partnerships with leading pharmaceutical manufacturers who would manufacture nutritional supplements to a rigorous quality assurance and testing standard.
“We are very pleased and grateful for the dedicated work of this Task Force,” said ATP Chief Executive Officer Mark Miles. “Chairman Jan Leschly, Vice Chairman Chris Clouser and the entire Task Force have authored a program that will benefit the players and the sport of tennis.
“Athletes face a dilemma. On the one hand, athletes competing at elite levels and the experts who advise them see a real need for sports nutrition products to round out their nutrition program and meet the tremendous physical demands of their sport. On the other hand, a number of very reputable studies have highlighted how over-the-counter supplements can be contaminated in the manufacturing and packaging process, resulting in positive doping tests. This initiative substantially reduces the chance that a player who uses only these products will return a positive from supplement contamination.”
Leschly, a former Top 10 player from Denmark who served for five years as Chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and previously served as CEO of SmithKline Beecham, said: “The ATP’s partnership with GSK is a key development in our quest to maintain the integrity of the sport, protect our players from inadvertent doping and raise awareness among players of the risks involved in consuming supplements.”
Other sports bodies also have addressed the problem of contaminated supplements. The Netherlands Olympic Committee, which found that 22 percent of supplements submitted by its athletes before the 2002 Winter Olympics contained unlabeled doping substances, developed a security system for its elite athletes. Under the NZVT system, approximately 50 companies/producers follow special procedures for the purchase of raw materials, production and labeling of nutritional supplements and adhere to quality control standards. In the U.S., the National Football League (NFL) Players Association have begun a program to certify manufacturers whose supplements pass third-party testing conducted by the independent testing agency NSF International.
Leaders in professional tennis and sports have reacted positively to the Task Force’s work. “The ATP Task Force has made an important first step in the fight against contaminated supplements and we fully support their initiative to implement a more comprehensive educational program for tennis players on this subject,” said ITF President Francisco Ricci Bitti. “Like WADA, the ITF believes that taking supplements involves some risk. However, the commitment by this major pharmaceutical company that the products it provides to tennis players will be produced under stringent controls is encouraging. We are confident that the results of the ATP Task Force will be sent to WADA to add to their considerable and on-going research into this topic.”
“This is a perfect example of how industry can use its technology and expertise to help athletes and ensure sport remains fair and drug-free,” said British Sports Minister Richard Caborn. "It’s great to see sport and manufacturers working together to help athletes make informed choices about what they consume. I am delighted that Lucozade Sport has teamed up with the WADA approved lab in Newmarket to help reassure tennis players that Lucozade Sport is free from prohibited substances.”
GSK products to be made available to ATP players are: Lucozade Sport orange and lemon body fuel drink mix, Lucozade Sport Hydrate Performance drink mix, Lucozade Sport Recovery drink mix, Lucozade Sport carbo gel and Lucozade Sport energy bar.
GSK will implement a rigorous product quality assurance program that will include third-party batch testing at a WADA accredited laboratory, and work with the ATP to conduct player workshops and other components of a mandatory nutrition education program. The program will be in place for the 2005 tennis season.
Graham Neale, General Manager of GSK Nutritional Healthcare, said: "GSK is uniquely positioned as a leading pharmaceutical corporation with a significant expertise in sports science to deliver this agreement. Through the Lucozade Sport Science Academy (LSSA) we have gained considerable experience working with the world of elite sport, developing and tailoring safe sports nutrition products and education services for this complex arena. We are committed to providing ATP players with the highest quality nutritional products made to exacting quality control standards."
Leschly and ATP Properties Chairman Chris Clouser were joined in the ATP Task Force on Supplements by an international cross-section of active ATP players that included Andre Agassi (U.S.), James Blake (U.S.), Albert Costa (Spain), Fernando Gonzalez (Chile), Tim Henman (U.K.), Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia), Mark Knowles (Bahamas), Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia), Max Mirnyi (Belarus) and Rainer Schuettler (Germany). Other members included ATP Board Member Players Representative Bob Brett, former player and coach Alberto Mancini, and former player and tournament representative Jaime Fillol. Medical and nutrition experts on the Task Force were Dr. Andrew Pipe, Medical Director, Prevention and Rehabilitation, University of Ottawa Heart Institute; R.H. Barry Sample, Ph.D., Director of Science and Technology for Quest Diagnostics’ Corporate Health and Wellness division; and Dr. Gary Windler of the ATP Medical Services Committee.
Note to Media:
A copy of the ATP Task Force on Supplements Report, and other related information on the work of the Task Force, is available for your information at www.ATPtennis.com/en/antidoping/taskforce.asp
Media Contacts:
ATP: Graeme Agars, ATP Vice President, Media Relations, [email protected]; Tel: +1 904 285 8000
GSK: Peter Laundy, Lighthouse Communications, peter.laundy@lighthouse- world.com; Tel: +44 208 812 3400