24 Jul 2016

School sports players may be drug tested

9:46 pm on 24 July 2016

Drug Free Sport is considering testing high school and age-grade sports players for drug use.

sport doping

Photo: Supplied Photo: 123rf

This year the government almost doubled Drug Free Sport's funding to help it reduce illegal drug use in sports, and purchase testing and education services.

Its chief executive Graeme Steel said he was worried about the increasing pressure young sports players are putting on themselves.

He believed drug testing in high schools would happen in time, but the organisation would work with schools to make sure it was agreed on.

"We are concerned about the potential for a relatively small group I suppose, but some of them, to be using drugs while they're at school," Mr Steel said.

"I think everybody that's followed sport at all is aware of the pressure on, for example, some of the first XVs these days to be successful, and to be successful you've got to be bigger, stronger and faster.

"The potential is there for them to be using them while they're still at school."