Lure of Olympics has ice fishermen taking drug tests

[Scott M]

Lure of Olympics has ice fishermen taking drug tests

by James Card, New York Times

Feb. 23, 2013

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.

With doping a rampant problem throughout sports, drug testing has arrived at the most unlikely places, including the chilly Big Eau Pleine Reservoir, where competitors hide fish in their pockets and prize patience over power.

The leaders of the sport of ice fishing have started a long-shot bid to take their lonely pursuit to the Olympics. A berth in the Winter Games would come with many obvious advantages, but first there are hurdles to clear. Once the anglers shuffled off the ice and put down their rods, they had to submit to the same examinations as world-class sprinters and weight lifters.

In sports like ice fishing, where speed and strength are not necessarily at a premium, an agent from an international antidoping federation can seem like, well, a fish out of water.

After all, ice fishing is not a particularly physical sport. Most days are spent crouched low around the ice hole in snow pants, kneepads and improvised shin guards made out of foam. The hardest part is staying warm — most anglers forgo gloves in order to better feel fish tugging on the rods.

Fishing officials puzzled over whether doping would even help anglers jigging for panfish, roughfish and crappie.

“We kind of joked about that,” McDearmon said. “You’re obviously not going to have anybody out there oxygen doping or something like that.”

Bill Whiteside, a previous gold medal winner from Eau Claire, Wis., said that physical strength often had little to do with fishing success.

“It’s not the best athlete that usually wins the events,” he said. “A lot of times it’s the experienced older guys.”

Ice fishing is not the only fringe sport that has embraced drug testing. Competitors in darts, miniature golf, chess and tug of war were all tested in recent years, according to the sports’ organizers and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Some of those sports are gearing up for long-shot Olympic bids of their own. Others are aiming to ensure that no competitor, no matter the scale of the competition, has an unfair advantage.

“Doping is fundamentally contrary to the spirit of the sport,” reads the World Minigolf Sport Federation’s rule book.

That doesn’t stop some people from trying.

Two minigolfers tested positive for banned substances, out of 76 tested in 2011, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency. That year, one chess player also tested positive, as did two bowlers, eight roller sport athletes and one tug-of-war competitor.

To some of the lifelong fishermen who huddled together in subzero temperatures for the annual event last weekend, the tests served as a reminder of the distance between Wausau, Wis., and Lausanne, Switzerland, headquarters of the International Olympics Committee.

After five days of scouting the ice to get a feel for the lake, fishermen representing 11 countries took part in the two-day tournament, including, for the first time, some from Mongolia and Japan. Anglers pay out of their own pockets to attend the international competition, and the only opening ceremony consisted of a reception at the Fillmor, a pub.

Some anglers said they were astonished, and already drinking cocktails after the competition, when the surprise drug tests were announced.

“I wasn’t drinking out there, but when I got in I had one,” said Myron Gilbert of Brooklyn, Mich., a member of the United States team and a previous gold medal winner. When he learned of the tests, he said he thought to himself, “I’ve got booze in my system!”

The sport’s rules are simple. Fishermen have three hours to catch as many fish as they can; the angler with the heaviest haul wins. They drill holes into the 20-inch-thick ice — there’s no limit to how many — and they are not allowed to leave their rods unattended.

The sport is in many ways a game of strategy. Many European and Asian anglers aim for a huge volume of perch and other small fish; American teams are known for loading up on heavier fish, like crappies.

Secrecy is key. Many anglers keep fanny packs around their waist, where they stash their fish with the furtiveness of a shoplifter in order to keep rivals from noticing and encroaching on a fruitful hole in the ice. As the competition unfolded last week, Big Eau Pleine Reservoir became a perforated chessboard as anglers drilled hole after hole, using subterfuge and misdirection to ward off rivals.

With temperatures dropping throughout the week, the larger fish became less active — a major blow to the Americans.

“Only small fish are biting, and our guys were prepared for the crappies,” said Greg Wilczynski, a former coach who led the United States team to a gold medal in 2010.

At the end, the Americans finished fourth, thanks largely to Chad Schaub, 30, of Greenville, Mich., one of only two competitors to catch 25 fish, Wisconsin’s legal limit.

The Russians were the clear winners, with a four-and-a-half-pound haul.

When the final results were announced inside a hotel ballroom, the Russian fishermen leapt from their seats and exchanged hugs in a scrum.

As the dancing and cheering quieted down, four of the anglers were asked to come forward and take the elevator to their rooms — a private place where they could concentrate on providing urine samples.

[Alagnak]

They can add ice fishing, knitting, skate boarding- I don't give a rats azz. The Olympics lost ALL credibility by dropping wrestling- the sport that defines what olympic competition is about! The do'lympics is now a joke.

When there is no 'athlete' involved, it shouldn't be in the olympics. JMHO

[Jarrid Houston]

Agree...

[theharvester]

what a waste of money

[CrewJones]

what a luck they only check for performance ENHANCING drugs.

I could pass that !!

[TruthWalleyes]

I would have loved to hear those fisherman who got tested joke about steroid use and how out gives someone an advantage, it would probablY rank up there auger extension jokes.

Lol

[leechlake]

if you look at photos of Gary Roach 25 years ago compared to today it's obvious he's been using the Antler Spray. Doping and fishing has been a problem for years thank God they are finally addressing it.

He should be taken out of any Hall of Fame he is in...

[flyfisher03]

Do they use a hand-auger or a gas auger.....might make a difference in drilling those holes a little faster.

[Scott M]

All my heroes are falling: Big Mac, Lance, Mr. Walleye. Now you're going to tell me that Hulk Hogan was using...

[DTro]

They can add ice fishing, knitting, skate boarding- I don't give a rats azz. The Olympics lost ALL credibility by dropping wrestling- the sport that defines what olympic competition is about! The do'lympics is now a joke.

When there is no 'athlete' involved, it shouldn't be in the olympics. JMHO

^^^ This ^^^

[flyfisher03]

I think it isn't a smart move removing wrestling from the olympics, but it all comes down to rating and money. Not a lot of interest in watching greco-roman wrestling anymore.

[going4it]

But there is for the pentathalon, race walking, and team handball? Let's get real here.

[pushbutton]

You forgot.....

[Alagnak]

I think it isn't a smart move removing wrestling from the olympics, but it all comes down to rating and money. Not a lot of interest in watching greco-roman wrestling anymore.

Well, for me it's not at all about ratings. With that one simple move to remove wrestling the do'lympdicks COMPLETELY lost my respect. And, I doubt I'll ever watch much of any of it. I can't be the only one. They might as well call it the 'O' Games then if it's only about ratings anymore.

I use to think it was about determining the best athletes in the world in individual and team competition. It doesn't get more cut and dry in terms of who is the best athlete than wrestling or a sprint. Can you imagine if they cut all sprinting events. That's how foolish this has become.

[grapeapplepie]

Anybody else at first glance think the article was written by somebody from The Onion?!

[PurpleFloyd]

They can add ice fishing, knitting, skate boarding- I don't give a rats azz. The Olympics lost ALL credibility by dropping wrestling- the sport that defines what olympic competition is about! The do'lympics is now a joke.

When there is no 'athlete' involved, it shouldn't be in the olympics. JMHO

This^^^^^^^^^^^

[RiverFish]

Do they use a hand-auger or a gas auger.....might make a difference in drilling those holes a little faster.

Hand auger and no electronics. Technically if you have a little more muscle mass on you, you could drill faster. Funny though that they actually test for roids.

On a side note, I have been trying to get an answer(with no luck), why the BEP was picked as the water to be fished. There are so many lakes in the midwest to pick that would be better for anglers and fans.

[PurpleFloyd]

I was waiting for a link to The Onion.

[DrJuice1980]

So did the Russians pass the random test?

[Cyberfish]

Hand auger and no electronics. Technically if you have a little more muscle mass on you, you could drill faster. Funny though that they actually test for roids.

On a side note, I have been trying to get an answer(with no luck), why the BEP was picked as the water to be fished. There are so many lakes in the midwest to pick that would be better for anglers and fans.

They wanted a lake where teams could catch unlimited amounts of fish like in their own countries, panfish you could only keep 25. BEP was a good candidate because of abundant carp and other rough fish. many were caught during practice, but none were caught in the competitions and only 2 panfish limits were to be had, so it turned into a non issue.

[RiverFish]

Cyberfish,

If that is the case, there are so many other better choices. Even within 60 miles of the BEP. Just a few off the top of my head: Pete, Castle, Dubay, Lake Wausau.

The BEP just had a huge fish kill a couple of years ago. It just does not make sense to have this calibar of a tournament on the BEP to me with so many other options.

[James_R]

Just goes to show that we can't possibly reduce the federal budget now when our freedoms are being threatened by plaid wearing ice fisherman applying antler cream to their arms. If we start allowing our fishermen to juice then the terrorists will win.

[candiru]

I would think that it would also be important to test the bait for performance enhancing substances. It would be unfair if some ones bait had extra wiggle to it because it was juiced.

[James_R]

Sir, our U.S. Anti-Doping agents, while executing one of their warantless searches discovered an additional performance enhancing substance in your tackle stockpile. Please put your fishing weapon on the ice and place your hands behind your head.

[dougger222]

Ya, I could see a group of guys hopped up on uppers, one hand drilling hundreds of holes through 3ft of ice and the others going behind him jigging not stop. They could fish 3 days straight with no sleep and of course wouldn't need to stop for food either...