They gotta be pulling my leg...

[TJQ]

WAUSAU, Wis. — The ice fishermen spent a week on the frozen lake, and on the last day, after emptying perch and bluegill from their buckets and scrubbing bait from their hands, several winners of the World Ice Fishing Championship were ushered into their rooms in the Plaza Hotel.

There, an official from the United States Anti-Doping Agency ordered them to provide urine samples for a surprise test to detect steroids and growth hormones — drugs not normally associated with the quiet solitude of ice fishing.

“We do not test for beer, because then everybody would fail,” said Joel McDearmon, chairman of the United States Freshwater Fishing Federation.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/sports/ice-fishermen-not-immune-to-dopings-reach.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0

[kemper]

Came across that yesterday, good for a laugh!

 

As long as they don't test for beer...

[OhioFisherman]

We all know what really goes on in them ice huts! LOL

[Twocoda]

yep....im an athlete....Ice fishing an olympic sport....whats next.... dominoes?

[Rod Caster]

"we don't test for beer, they would all fail"

[fishing n autograph]

You gotta be kidding????!!!!

[kickingfrog]

As the article mentions this is being done in an effort to be recognized, and later, enter the olympics. Interestingly enough (and without any appearance of irony) later in the same article they list the reasons why an icefisher would be unlikely to benefit from using a PED.

 

I love fishing. I even watch other people do it on tv sometimes. It is not a sport. It can be a competition (as is debating), but that doesn't make it a sport.

[moxie]

Another case where the truth is stranger than fiction.

[Rich]

As the article mentions this is being done in an effort to be recognized, and later, enter the olympics. Interestingly enough (and without any appearance of irony) later in the same article they list the reasons why an icefisher would be unlikely to benefit from using a PED.

 

I love fishing. I even watch other people do it on tv sometimes. It is not a sport. It can be a competition (as is debating), but that doesn't make it a sport.

I was wondering who was the authority on that. Obviously it's you. Everyone else just has an opinion, but you straight up set it right there as fact.

 

I agree, its not a sport. Its not a bunch of immature, overpaid, brainless and skill free kids that never grew up chasing balls and pucks around like idiots.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Rich

[mike rousseau]

They test in billiards....

 

I wouldn't exactly call playing pool a sport....

[capt_hooked]

do they test the fish? some of those muskies I've seen lately look like they are on steroids...?

[kemper]

Anyone who has climbed the Niagara gorge knows that steroids are a distinct advantage.

[Acountdeleted]

Oh shoot, I gotta stop taking HGH. Set the hook once and ripped a Suckers lower lip right off. :S lol what benfit would you possibly get from steroids in fishing?

[Roy]

lol what benfit would you possibly get from steroids in fishing?

 

You wouldn't need a tow vehicle for your boat nor your hut.

 

You'd probably be able to sing falsetto as well.

[manitoubass2]

Other doping agents I could really see helping (ie Modanifil) but not steroids or growth hormones. Also, nootropics and anxiolytic drugs could help an angler in a tourny IMO

 

But I just have to laugh at the notion of using drugs to fish. So rediculous

[kickingfrog]

I was wondering who was the authority on that. Obviously it's you. Everyone else just has an opinion, but you straight up set it right there as fact.

 

I agree, its not a sport. Its not a bunch of immature, overpaid, brainless and skill free kids that never grew up chasing balls and pucks around like idiots.

We know what you are an authority on. Facts are facts, disagreeing with them doesn't change them. The quality of the people who are good (or bad in some cases) at sports does not change the fact that they play a sport, or not.

[TJQ]

Its a funny thing that this "defintion" thing comes up... Avery was home this week from university, most of his courses are geared to encourage critical thought on issues. He was telling me that one of the reasons that governments are dysfunctional is that they are arguing over terms/words, that cant be defined, or are defined differently by everyone. Words such as freedom and justice, words that means something slightly different to everyone. So therefore, your not arguing about the same concept, cause both parties interpretations of the word is different. AS for fishing being a sport... im unsure, im sure thats another word that people have a difference of opinion on.. Is fishing a sport to me... not sure. I think a sport is where the winner is just a better player and the field is level. Not sure thats the case with. Personally I think fishing tournaments are more of a Competition than a Sport, BUT those who define "Sport" differently than I would disagree. The thing I find funny here, is that Ice Fishing is Vying to become a more serious sport while the Olympics are gonna drop "Wrestling".... unreal.

[kickingfrog]

Avery cannot be in University… and that is also a fact.

 

Whether or not something is a sport doesn't impact, or change, my enjoyment of it.

[Roy]

The thing I find funny here, is that Ice Fishing is Vying to become a more serious sport while the Olympics are gonna drop "Wrestling".... unreal.

I find that to be only fair as ice fishing is at times more closely related to synchronized swimming than it is to wrestling.

[grimsbylander]

Definition of sport

noun

1an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment:

team sports such as soccer and rugby

[mass noun]:

I used to play a lot of sport

(as modifier sports)

a sports centre

(sports) British an occasion on which people compete in various athletic activities:

I won the 200 metres in the school sports

[mass noun, usually with adjective] success or pleasure derived from an activity such as hunting or fishing:

I have heard there is good sport to be had in Buttermere.

 

I don't see how someone can say what is and is not a "sport" without having performed the event at an elite level. Is the decision based on how much exertion is required? Such as hockey? Soccer? or like sailing or curling? Maybe it's technical skills that curling and sailing require? Vast knowledge is required on both these areas to be among the elite.

But if I look at the elite bass tourney fisherman I see similar traits. Countless hours of learning and practice, long hours on the water during the tournaments and prefishing, punishing days of rain, snow, wind and heat, the unpredictable elements of water, wind and fish. Does that make it a sport? To each their own.

[Rod Caster]

Definition of sport

noun

1an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment:

team sports such as soccer and rugby

 

 

But if I look at the elite bass tourney fisherman I see similar traits. Countless hours of learning and practice, long hours on the water during the tournaments and prefishing, punishing days of rain, snow, wind and heat, the unpredictable elements of water, wind and fish. Does that make it a sport? To each their own.

Unless you can lose weight or gain a meaningful amount of muscle by doing an activity, I don't consider it a sport. Sure some guys try to stay in top shape for fishing, but that's just their choice. I expect someone to rebut with "baseball"...and, well, I agree.

[kickingfrog]

Many things can be completive without ever being a sport. And that is not meant to belittle them. It's a classification, a grouping.

[kickingfrog]

Stimulants maybe.

[manitoubass2]

The sport / competition debate aside - PED's could give an advantage to tournament fishermen.

 

Do you fish better, with more concentration at the beginning of the day, or 8 hours in? How does your body feel early in the day vs. the end of the day? Does it affect your decision making?

 

As much as I love to fish, sometimes I am sore and tired at the end of the day, especially if it's been a long day. I think most people would have the same experiences.

 

It sounds funny at first reading, but it's not that far out there.

thats exactly what I was referring too.

 

Imagine the nerves associated with say the Bassmaster Classic? All those anglers are very talented anglers, but a benzo or anxiolytic agent takes the nerves off, what are you left with? A confident angler

 

And kickingfrog, thats why I mentioned modafinil. It's used as a stimulant but also increases focus. In a big tourny situation, that would certainly be a huge benefit. Hell even fighter pilots use it, is that considered a "sport"? lol

[manitoubass2]

Even 'roids - help repair muscle. Not just for bodybuilders. Think of a 50 year old guy with a sore back and arms trying to keep up with 20-30 somethings.

Yessir!

 

Even HGH helps rejuvenate joints/ligaments/tendons/synovial fluid etc

 

I think that could certainly help a person that spends literally thousands of hours standing in a boat, year after year, for many many years