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Adolescents - Steroids /
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NJSIAA sets standard on steroid issue
NJSIAA sets standard on steroid issue, By: Greg Mattura
July 12, 2007
High school athletic organizations across the country are paying close attention to New Jersey's first-in-the-nation steroid-testing policy and eagerly await the official results scheduled for release in September.
New Jersey should be proud to be in the forefront on this issue.
The 88th annual summer meeting of the National Federation of State High School Associations ended last week, and steroid testing – and how the Garden State is implementing it – was a hot topic in Palm Desert, Calif.
"Several states are on the cusp of having steroid testing," said Steve Timko, executive director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. "And they're using the New Jersey model to follow, if they do get involved in testing."
Texas, a mecca for scholastic sports, passed legislation that paves the way for testing, Timko said. Florida, another sports hotbed, and Illinois also are moving in that direction.
"Some people are very anxious and want to get involved in it," Timko said. "Some people are very skeptical and are afraid. For them, they think legal issues are going to be a problem for us."
New Jersey, guided by the State Legislature, has treaded cautiously into these waters. During the 2006-2007 school year, the NJSIAA randomly tested a small number of players (500) during championship events for most sports, including football and wrestling. The punishment is a one-year suspension from athletics.
The NJSIAA has declined to make public the results after each season, Timko said, "because we're trying to maintain confidentiality." He said the NJSIAA's report will be delivered during an Executive Committee meeting Sept. 12.
Once results are made public, New Jersey and the rest of the country will have a clearer understanding of the dangers of steroids, and the benefits of steroid testing.
"It shows that interscholastic high school athletics is concerned about the health and welfare of our student-athletes, and I think that has to be the No. 1 concern with everything," Timko said.
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