Blackrock college safe sport code by Esther Behan

BLACKROCK COLLEGE

SAFE SPORT CODE

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Blackrock College Safe Sport Code Blackrock College believes that enjoyment and success in sport is not dependent, or related to, the use of supplements. Therefore we actively discourage the use by students of any sports or protein supplements while at Blackrock College.

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Blackrock College believes: Young sports players should focus on good eating and drinking practices to support optimum performance. Blackrock College aims to ensure our students train properly and are involved in a programme that makes them healthy individuals as well as better athletes. Our coaches constantly remind the players on the importance of exercise, healthy diet and healthy living.

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The use of any other artificial supplement is actively discouraged by Blackrock College, its coaches, teachers and others involved in the training of young sports players. We recommend a healthy, natural diet only, particularly in young athletes under 18 years of age.

Guidelines and Recommendations for

Healthy Living in Young Athletes BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON SPORTS SUPPLEMENTS

The control over claims as to how the product works is also poor e.g. products sold as ‘fat burners’ will claim to cause ‘dramatic body fat reduction’ and ‘reduce fat storage’ with little or no evidence to support these claims, and no statement as to any adverse affects of the product.

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Sports supplements are manufactured by a large variety of companies. The manufacturing process, labelling and marketing of these products is poorly regulated, if at all, with variable quality control. Unlike medicines, sports supplements are not licensed and regulation regarding their production is limited. This means that supplements may contain ingredients that are not stated on the label, or that the label does not reflect exact quantities of ingredients in the product.

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Dietary supplements and nutritional supplements – these are some of the terms used to describe the range of products that collectively form sports supplements. There is anecdotal evidence that there is a widespread use of sports supplements in sport, which includes use by young athletes.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF SPORTS SUPPLEMENTS IN YOUNG ATHLETES? The risks associated with the use of sports supplements in young athletes have not been adequately studied to provide a detailed answer to this question. This lack of research on the risk to long-term safety of sports supplements use on individuals under 18 years of age has led to a recommendation against the use of aids/sports supplements by children and adolescents (American Academy of Paediatrics, 2005), and a recommendation from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM 2000) that creatine should not be used by anyone under 18 years of age. It is on the basis of insufficient data of the real side effects in the young population (<18 years) that expert groups have made statements against the use of creatine in young athletes.

CREATINE is probably the

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sports supplement that has received most attention in the last 10 years. Some facts about creatine include: ■ Performance benefits can occur in some adult athletes; ■ Its’ long-term safety is not known; ■ Recognised adverse effects can include gastrointestinal discomfort, muscle cramps and headache.

There have been a number of high profile examples where an athlete has claimed that the use of a sports supplement was the reason for a positive doping test. Given the poor regulation of the sports supplements industry, there is always a possibility that a sports supplement will contain an illegal and possibly harmful substance.

What are the important elements that maximise performance in young athletes? It is absolutely clear that successful ■ Talent; ■ Motivation and dedication; individual performance in sport is related ■ Coaching and skill acquisition; ■ Optimal nutrition; to a number of variables that include: ■ Structured training and conditioning; ■ Adequate sleep and recovery. None of these can be replaced by the use of sports supplements. Often the desire to get physically bigger is the reason young players choose to take supplements, which may seem the quick-fix answer for accelerated growth. There is little evidence to support such practice, as young sports people will gain size and strength from well-planned training and recovery, supported by adequate eating and drinking.

SPORTS SUPPLEMENT CLASSIFICATION Sports supplements can be broadly divided into two main categories: ● Dietary Supplements ● Nutritional Ergogenic aids Dietary supplements are often considered less ‘risky’ than stimulant aids, in terms of health, doping outcomes and expense. Some products in this category could be considered useful in helping players meet their nutritional goals, for example, sports drinks during training and matches, sports bars and liquid meal replacements to support high energy requirements. However some dietary supplements, e.g. protein powders, vitamins and minerals are often used without any evidence of need, and are often taken to ‘rectify’ an otherwise poor diet. Excess intake is not beneficial to performance, and could potentially be harmful to the health of young athletes. It is important to be aware that many traditional brands in Ireland, such as Lucozade, now produce products branded under the heading Lucozade (such as Lucozade Recovery and Lucozade Pro Muscle) that contains high amounts of Protein additive and Creatine. Other preparations contain stimulants such as large amounts of caffeine or in some cases Ephedreine. The sports supplement may contain an illegal substance that is not declared on the label or there may be cross-contamination during production due to poor quality control. Ultimately, an athlete is responsible for any substance that they consume and claiming that a sports supplement has been the cause of a positive drug test is very difficult to prove.

Protein powders and other stimulants supplements are quite often encountered by young athletes in gymnasiums that students attend. Blackrock College believes that the best outlet for all young people is to involve themselves in a team sport because team sport helps to develop a social, responsible, supportive, caring and hardworking person. With this in mind Blackrock College would actively encourage young athletes to involve themselves in a team sport and actively discourages individual membership of gymnasiums, at the expense of team sport.

Blackrock College would actively encourage young athletes to involve themselves in a team sport and actively discourages membership of gymnasiums, at the expense of team sport.

BLACKROCK COLLEGE NUTRITION GUIDELINES Dietary education is the key to support good nutrition habits for health and optimal performance, so Blackrock College has put together some food facts to help start that education process. THE CARBOHYDRATE CONNECTION

How to make sure you have a good carbohydrate intake:

Carbohydrate is one of the nutrients found in food and it is a major energy provider in everyday diets. Carbohydrate plays an important role in exercise; it is the major fuel to allow the muscles to work hard.

■ Focus your meals on starchy carbohydrate foods like potatoes, bread, pasta, rice, noodles and breakfast cereals. ■ Take a high carbohydrate snack between meals. ■ Use thick slices of bread. ■ Include potatoes – boiled, mashed or baked - avoid chips. ■ Add fresh fruit to your breakfast cereal. ■ Make up your own high-carb smoothie – add fresh, tinned or frozen fruit to some yogurt and then add some honey

Carbohydrates are chains of glucose sugar units. Some carbohydrates are made up of short chains of sugar units and are recognised as sugary foods such as jams, sweets, chocolate and soft drinks. Foods that contain carbohydrates that are made of long complicated chains of sugars known as starches include bread, potatoes, cereals and pastas. All carbohydrates are broken down by digestion into sugar and stored in the muscles, via the bloodstream, as glycogen. Muscle glycogen is a major fuel provider for that muscle to work hard, especially when training or playing hard. With limited space for storage of glycogen, reserves can be used up quickly during long training sessions. Running out of glycogen during training can mean you will feel tired and resultantly will affect performance, so it is very important to refill your stores regularly; also to ensure that you have enough fuel to allow you to work hard in the next session. The way to do this is to include carbohydrate rich foods at each meal and to pay particular attention to recovery.

Make sure you get the timing correct…. One of the aims when training or playing a match is to be well fuelled up. To achieve this you should eat something about 1 to 3 hours prior to exercise; this should contain carbohydrate to top up your glycogen stores. Below are some ideas (to be taken with a drink) 2-3 hours prior to exercise ● Pasta with tomato based sauce and fish or beans ● Baked potatoes with cheese, tuna or beans ● Roll filled with chicken, egg, tuna or peanut butter ● Rice or noodles with chicken or lentils ● Breakfast cereal with milk or yogurt and banana

1-2 hours prior to exercise Yogurt + fresh fruit ● Pancakes and syrup or jam ● Bread with honey/jam ● Pancakes ● Biscuits ●

Refuel to recover…. After hard bouts of exercise, glycogen stores will be low and they will need to be replenished to be ready for the next session. Muscles are like sponges in the first hour after hard exercise and they soak up glycogen more quickly in that hour; this speeds up recovery. The amount needed will depend on your weight and the amount of energy used in the exercise session. Below are a few ideas for recovery, always to be taken with a drink of water: Recovery Meals ● Baked beans on toast ● Baked potatoes with meat/cheese ● Pizza ● Pasta with meat/cheese/tomato sauce ● Desserts – fruit crumble/yoghurts/custard

Recovery Snacks Fresh fruit – bananas, apples, grapes etc ● Fruit yoghurt or yoghurt drink ● Bread with honey/jam ● Pancakes ● Biscuits – digestives/jaffa cakes/fig rolls ●

EATING AND DRINKING FOR ACTION Eating the right foods and enough of them will help to keep you healthy and to perform to your optimum in your chosen sport. To do this you need to eat a variety of foods to make sure you are getting all the correct nutrients. The amount you eat will depend on your bodies’ needs, which are determined by age and activity levels – your appetite is your guide so don’t go hungry and don’t overeat.

THE DANGERS OF EXCESSIVE UNSUPERVISED WEIGHT TRAINING

The bread, cereal and potato group gives carbohydrate for energy and vitamins and minerals. You should try to eat from this group 6 to 8 times daily. The fruit and vegetable group is full of vitamins and minerals that are needed by the body for protection against illness as well as helping to make energy available from your food. You should aim to eat from this group 5 times daily and though this may seem a lot of fruit and vegetable they can be included in different ways; fruits juices, with breakfast cereal, in homemade stews or soups or in smoothies. The meat, fish and alternatives group is the main protein provider. Protein is needed for growth, to make hormones and enzymes that control the body’s functions and to make antibodies which fight illness. Meat, fish and poultry are excellent sources of protein, as are peas, beans and pulses for those who do not eat meat. Protein cannot be stored by the body and excesses consumed simply pass through the body. The milk and dairy group are high in calcium which is essential for healthy growth in bones and are another source of protein and vitamins. Drinking is just as important as eating, some would say more important – you can survive 60 or more days without food but only 4 to 7 days without water. Try to drink 6 to 8 glasses of fluid every day, water as a first choice or diluted squash or fruit juice. Avoid fizzy drinks if you can. On top of the 6 to 8 glasses daily quota, during exercise you should drink small amounts of water regularly; do not wait until you feel thirsty because then your body is playing catch-up on the hydration stakes. The hotter the day, the more water your system will need. A good rule of thumb to use to know whether your are taking in enough fluid is to look at the colour of your urine. The darker the colour the more you need to drink.

Weight training can be very beneficial in developing muscles in a young athlete. However when undertaken in an unsupervised situation it can carry considerable risks. The young athlete is often tempted to perform heavier and heavier weight training in order to achieve fast results and develop muscle bulk rapidly. Weight training in unsupervised gymnasiums carries particular risks to the young athlete. The young athlete has immature bones, joints and cartilages. The excessive use of weight training carries particular risks in this group of athletes and includes stunted growth, damage to joint cartilage and tendons and premature arthritis. Indeed more severe injuries may result from careless use of heavy weights. Weight training and use of gym for the development of the body for the assistance of sporting performance can be beneficial, young people should be discouraged from the excessive use of the gym purely for aesthetic purposes i.e the creation of the “body beautiful” in the absence of sporting performance.

SOME USEFUL WEBSITES Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute Performance Food Sports Dietitians Australia Irish Sports Council World Anti-Doping Agency Irish Rugby Football Union

www.indi.ie www.performancefood.co.uk www.sportsdietitians.co.au www.irishsportscouncil.ie www.wada-ama.org www.irfu.ie