….. there is an incentive (financial and otherwise) for PA not to allow the opportunity for a positive test to be returned.
…...Historically this is the problem with any organisation that self-polices.
...You have to admit that in the case that PA mandates X amount of tests per year or allots a specific monetary amount to testing, testing an athlete monthly over a period of a year is at the very least irresponsible administration, and regardless of whether or not it was the purpose, increases the chances that an athlete who was using PEDs would not be tested. …... If in fact the testing regime is coordinated by PA itself (as opposed to say ASADA or an independent 3rd party) it is a significant procedural flaw,
…….a truly robust, independently scrutinised and well designed testing process is likely to be of far more benefit, instil more credibility in the federation, and provide more incentive for athletes to be clean than effectively using testing as a big stick, or token bannings for PED use.
I have selected part of your answer to point out a possible misunderstanding.
PA do not select anyone for anything when it comes to testing. The athletes to be tested are based on random selection by ASADA (or the country testing authority in a foreign country).
Also in an international comp, all winners also tested. I may be wrong there but it may be all podium winners are chosen as well (silver and bronze).
Plus all lifters setting world records are tested. In IPF regulations a masters lifter does not need mandatory testing for a masters only world record. They can be, but it's not mandatory. But they must be tested if he/she sets an open record.
PA or the IPF do not chose who gets tested, and more importantly, who does not get tested. That would be like the local pub selecting who gets a breath test.
Also,
The example provided above seems to ring true with the opinion voiced to me in conversation that PA is a more political federation that CAPO or GPC, can be cliquey, and if an athlete falls out of the good graces of the powers that be, then pressure can be applied through means such as above.
I don't know where this comes from. In any organisation, from the Federal Government to the local bowls club, there are people who make decisions and people who resent those decisions. A great parody of that was the movie Strictly Ballroom.
So you are always going to have people at the top of any organisation with who are going to be slagged by those who have had their nose put out of joint. Someone has to make those hard decisions and usually they get flack for that if it does not suit the whims of some members. That's how organisations work.
I personally have had no issues at all with politics or nefarious dealings in PA. I pay my membership fees, I pay my comp fee, I turn up and do my thing. I go home and eat a bucket of KFC with a beer. End of story.
I could waffle on about small groups and their spats but the bottom line is that there are two sides to every story. Every divorce has two people at fault. Always. No matter how close you are to your mate, his opinion or viewpoint of an event is just one side of the story. So if someone had directly complained to you about politics in PA, there is another side of the story.
If you are getting rumours 3rd hand, then forget it. That's how wars start.
If PA does chose athletes for testing, I'm gonna go buy some lube and a couple of litres of Test Cyp. New world champ coming up. Should be epic, bro.
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