The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has officially released an application that can be downloaded from Apple’s iPhone App Store. The application is simply a mobile-friendly version of the “List of Prohibited Substances and Methods” that appears on the orgnization’s website.
WADA provides the following description in the App Store listing:
The List of Prohibited Substances and Methods (List), is the International Standard that designates what is prohibited in- and out-of-competition. The List also indicates whether particular substances are banned in particular sports. The List is updated annually.
While the convenience of a “WADA Prohibited List 2011” app may be of some value to coaches and athletes, we can continue to dream of more sophisticated applications that exploit the potential of modern-day internet-enabled mobile devices.
For example, it would be nice to have a Prohibited List application that can scan UPC bar codes and cross-references databases listing ingredients in various products (e.g. dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals) with the banned anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancers that may inadvertently leads an athlete to fail anti-doping controls.
Of course, in the perpetual cat-and-mouse game between athletes and anti-doping agencies, the WADA App will probably be followed by an app with technical information to help athletes use performance-enhancing drugs while avoiding detection!
The “WADA Prohibited List 2011” iPhone app can be downloaded here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wada-prohibited-list-2011/id408057950?mt=8
About Millard Baker