Should Energy Drinks/Caffeine Be Banned From Competitions?

[PhillipEspinoza]

Hello all,

I was wondering as another year of regulations approaches, what you all thought about the use of energy drinks and caffeine by competitors at competitions. I might be mistaken but as it is now there is no regulation of "performance-enhancing" products. I know it seems kinda ridiculous for speedcubing, but I wanted to know if it will ever get to the point where stuff like Monsters/Rockstar energy drinks will be banned from competitions. I personally use energy drinks during competitions because I do feel they help wake me up. Does this mean that I, as well as others who use energy drinks and caffeine, have an unfair advantage in my solves? Or are energy drinks and caffeine just getting rid of a disadvantage?

I started thinking of this because I was once again thinking about how ridiculous the ban on headphones are. People argued that listening to certain music can increase memory and therefore be considered "performance-enhancing". To which I ask, should practice at competitions be banned as it could be considered "performance-enhancing"? What exactly would be considered "performance-enhancing"? What could be considered an "unfair advantage"?

EDIT: I would also like to open up the discussion to the opposite of energy drinks, things that are meant to calm you down. What about if a competitor takes non-prescribed Ritalin? Would that be acceptable?

 

[SpeedSolve]

I've only had one Monster, and I fell asleep afterwards. Eh, I don't think they should be banned. Practicing is warming up.

 

[Sa967St]

NO.

 

[Specs112]

How is this even a question that deserves to be asked?

 

[emolover]

Although it is a "performance enhancer" for some people, for some it is detrimental to there solving ability. Personally I can think well when I have excess sugar in my system.

 

[Escher]

I agree that there should be consistency. Imo there should be zero banning of substances until something emerges that increases performance significantly.

I definitely think that the ban on listening to music while you compete is ridiculous (aside from BLD events, obviously).

The music rule to me just seems like another part of the WCA rulings that is defendable, but arbitrary in light of other weaknesses.

 

[MiPiCubed]

I agree with Rowan. At this point there is nothing that provides a significant enough advantage to be considered for banning. Also, music can put you in the cubing zone, but only if you've practiced enough to get in that zone in the first place.

 

[jrb]

Definitely not IMO. As Escher said, it doesn't increase performance significantly or even noticeably.

 

[thackernerd]

No.

 

[Weston]

A5b) While inspecting or solving the puzzle, the competitor must not have any assistance from anyone or any object (other than the surface).
Penalty: disqualification of the solve.

I guess its this rule at we are talking about?
Glasses are against the rules too.

 

[chrissyD]

no... they don't even help.

 

[Dave Campbell]

I think I'd quit cubing if I wasn't allowed to have my morning coffee before coming to compete. And as a delegate/organizer, that's the last thing I need to be worried about. "Is the huge slurpee cup Sarah has actually filled with juice or something with caffeine?"

 

[DavidWoner]

What could be considered an "unfair advantage"?

EDIT: I would also like to open up the discussion to the opposite of energy drinks, things that are meant to calm you down. What about if a competitor takes non-prescribed Ritalin? Would that be acceptable?

1. There is no way to enforce a ban on substances so the whole argument is pointless anyway.
2. An unfair advantage is something only a few people can do. Caffeine is available to everyone, so if someone gained something from it, it would be a fair advantage.
3. People who take Ritalin/Adderall unprescribed likely do not have a condition that would require them to take it. In these cases it acts like an upper (they are just amphetamines after all) similar to high doses of caffeine. These drugs have their own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to cubing and it cannot be clearly shown that on the whole they are beneficial. Then again, see #1.

 

[Rama]

Coffee = my breakfast <-- You want to deny me my breakfast?
Coffee = my brunch <-- You want to deny me my brunch?
Coffee = my lunch <-- You want to deny me my lunch?
Coffee = my ''nightcap'' <-- You want to deny me my nightcap?

 

[ben1996123]

You cant stop people.

 

[qqwref]

If there is any advantage to be gained here, it is certainly not an unfair one, considering the incredibly wide availability of caffeine: for only a few dollars (or less) anyone can buy an energy drink, soda, or tea/coffee. Plus, there are many people who drink tea or coffee as part of their daily routine, and forbidding it would give them an unfair disadvantage.

The case of amphetamines/uppers is a little trickier, but at that point we have to think about another issue here: how are we to test for ingested substances? The equipment and testing is expensive (remember, cubing has no money) and time-consuming, especially if you want to prevent the well-known ways of cheating the test. Plus, if you test people beforehand you have to very carefully police them during the competition, and if you test people afterwards you have to ensure that nobody leaves early, and deal with possible retroactive disqualifications, which isn't fun for anyone involved. I'd say it's a big hassle and is only even remotely realistic when very large amounts of money are on the line.

 

[Achifaifa]

Doesn't sound reasonable IMO, unless something or someone proves that those drinks actually affect the results significantly.

 

[chrissyD]

unless something or someone proves that those drinks actually affect the results significantly.

What would be wrong with energy drinks improving times? Things like lubix are used to improve times so why shouldn't cube lube also be banned?

 

[4.]

It doesn't give you an unfair advantage if it's easily available to anyone.

 

[Achifaifa]

What would be wrong with energy drinks improving times? Things like lubix are used to improve times so why shouldn't cube lube also be banned?

Just to make a comparison (And in my opinion), it would be like using drugs for cycling/running/other sports. If it improves the performance, what's wrong with it? As for lubix and other stuff, there is a difference between making your tools better and using drugs to make yourself better. Even if those drugs were available for everyone it would not be fair. In my opinion cubing, like sports or other competitions, depends on the cube and the cuber's skills. And the only thing that should improve that skill is practice.

In this particular case I don't think caffeine should be banned because, as someone has already said, there are people who take it in a daily basis, and denying them that could result in a worse performance, and because that particular substance does not improve the performance of the rest significantly.