How clean is snooker?

[calebk]

some of those who get caught may not have taken a drug for its beneficial effects, but rather for leisure or kicks... they so get caught in the process when having to take a drug test with enough concentration still in their organism!!!

still they should be role models.....especially snooker players.....since it is a so called gentleman's game
it wouldnt surprise me if that applies to pool players though....some of those road players go through a lot

[hegeland]

Very true Sam. Cannabis can still be detected after nearly 4 weeks in some cases. And some medications can give a false positive, also.

Sure, but that doesn't explain why cue sports has such a high percentage compared to other sports.

[MrRottweiler]

Its argued that THC which is the active ingredient of cannabis never leaves the brain after being first induced. Hair testing and detailed blood sampling can detect THC up to 3 years after last used and pin-pointed to within weeks.

[Ekphantos]

Sure, but that doesn't explain why cue sports has such a high percentage compared to other sports.

I think it is difficult to explain anything without knowing the details behind the 9.xx%. I don't know enough about the other games, which makes it hard to compare them. Really the only thing the springs to my mind is the money involved, if you can get more you take more risks. This in combination with less public awareness of doping in the cue sports might lead to the high number. Just speculations though...

[MrRottweiler]

Snooker is a very physically and mentally demanding sport and I can't imagine how any top level player could think a controlled substance is going to be of benefit. The only drug thats useful is caffine because that can be used to assist in long practice sessions but even that can make you shake which in Snooker is not good.

Like in all sports I imagine there is some drug use among the entry level players either as recreational or specifically to enhance their game but not the experienced players. They have forged a stable career on hard work so why wreck it. Why risk a lifetime ban, sponsorship deals drying up and becoming disliked by the public. Financially it doesn't make sense and its money that makes so many people turn to drugs.

[Robert602]

Sure, but that doesn't explain why cue sports has such a high percentage compared to other sports.

I'd guess it's largely recreational. One reason might be that cue sports don't demand high levels of physical fitness. Other sportsmen have more reason than most to avoid recreational drugs because of the longer term health effects of many of them.

There's also the fact that most cuemen will have spent many a late hour in seedy pubs and clubs. Quite often there's a hint of cannabis in the air at my local club, it just goes with the territory.

We know of a number of snooker players who've been caught over cocaine or canabis. I can only think of Neal Foulds who's taken anything else and that was for a medical reason. Performance enhancing drugs just aren't justified in snooker, the relatively small potential gain doesn't warrant the risk of getting banned.

[Monique]

The only drug thats useful is caffine because that can be used to assist in long practice sessions but even that can make you shake which in Snooker is not good.

You forget Red Bull!
For the rest of the post I agree. I can only harm their game ... That's why I found the numbers so puzzling. And why I don't believe that those players take these substances to improve their game, except maybe the young inexperienced ones.

[Ekphantos]

I agree with your posts, but this doesn't explain the difference between cue sports and the rest. You have young and unexperienced players in all of them.

What Robert said about physical fitness sure is true, but they also had sports like Bowling or Boules which I guess are similar to snooker in that respect. Still they have much lower %...

[Sam147]

I agree with your posts, but this doesn't explain the difference between cue sports and the rest. You have young and unexperienced players in all of them.

i guess the atmosphere where Snooker & other Billiards games are played has a big effect (the dark-ish, smokey pubs/clubs, late nights) as opposed to other sports mostly of outdoor nature and practised in more regular hours.

What Robert said about physical fitness sure is true, but they also had sports like Bowling or Boules which I guess are similar to snooker in that respect. Still they have much lower %...

btw, Bowling is a physically demanding sport when played professionally... needs strong back, arms, legs, abs... the whole body basically!!

& MrRottweiler: nice avatar

[Monique]

and thailand is well known of their black magic in asia..i thought it could help supoj like it helped james wattana last time

by Nardiello - bold added by me.

Well, well, welll ... What have the authorities to say to this? It looks pretty serious to me. Is that "clean snooker"? Can it be detected? Does WSA intend to hire psychics to help? Or the bookies?







(Sorry for this digression on an otherwise serious and interesting thread ... coudn't resist! )

[moondan]

Just a comment on beta blockers, they are banned in snooker, that ruling shortened Niel Foulds career.
Time is a snooker players greatest enemy, practice over and what do you do?
its a killer, sounds great but there is something to be said if you have to do a full days work. Match days are great for a snooker star but the in betweens can be very boring. Treble the tournaments and then all would be happy and a spliff might not be so attractive.

[nardiello]

by Nardiello - bold added by me.

Well, well, welll ... What have the authorities to say to this? It looks pretty serious to me. Is that "clean snooker"? Can it be detected? Does WSA intend to hire psychics to help? Or the bookies?

(Sorry for this digression on an otherwise serious and interesting thread ... coudn't resist! )

well..james wattana won 2 ranking titles in his home,thailand.when u come to asia..especially in south east asia..ull know that thailand is the best in this.u can check the statistic of premier league's club when they play in thailand..you westerner might not believe in this.. but its true..

[JanieWatkins]

I can't believe B blockers are banned, I mean I would test positive for crying out loud!
Wouldn't a prescription from a cardiologist be accepted if a player has a specific heart condition?

That was the case wtih Neal Foulds (and not as someone said a body tremour)
Neal had an irregular heart beat and was prescribed one of the beta-blocker.

WSA and IBSF and all the regional and national governing bodies operate under the WADA rules and in the case of WSA administered through the British Sports Councils.

Their testers attend all events, including qualifiers at Pontin's. As far as I know it's a random selected for testing - certainly not all players, and I've never heard of anyone being tested away from a tournament or in the close season.

[Semih_Sayginer]

do snooker players get drug tested 'out of season'?

[Belloz22]

as stated before, alot of drug testing in snooker is random, however, you will probably find that the most in the public eye you are the more you are likely to get tested. The problem i see is that alot of professional players start there careers out as young kids playing snooker, they see they have some ability, so they devote there time to the game, this can lead to them dropping out of school (did you know in a recent psychology study, snooker players were named as the snookers player with the least intelligence????)

Anyway, snooker can be a very demanding gaming, mentaly exhausting, fustrating, that is the only reason i can see any reason for drug abuse. I could see any benefits drugs could have in snooker, however, i think the players who have got caught or do do it, do it too relieve the extreme pressure players can go through, which i think is a bad thing. Surely if it is prodiminant in snooker, then surely the WBSA should provide some form of councelling or relaxation therapy. I know from personal experience how snooker can get you down......

In my local club, there is a high abundance of cocaine abuse, esepcially among the snooker players, it personally makes me feel disgusted that a sport of gentlemen is treated in such a way.