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Year 11
OCR

Drugs in sport

I can identify different types of performance enhancing drugs, their effects, and the reasons for and against taking them.

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New
New
Year 11
OCR

Drugs in sport

I can identify different types of performance enhancing drugs, their effects, and the reasons for and against taking them.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Athletes with a 'win at all costs' mindset may use PEDs to improve performance and gain an unfair competitive edge.
  2. Anabolic steroids are used to increase muscles mass, train harder and recover from exercise quicker.
  3. Beta blockers reduce anxiety and muscle shakes, which can be beneficial for precision sports.
  4. Stimulants impact the central nervous system to reduce fatigue, increase alertness and improve reaction times.

Keywords

  • Performance enhancing drugs - substances used to benefit and enhance performance in sport, often against the rules

  • Anabolic steroids - synthetic hormones that promote muscle growth and enhance performance

  • Beta blockers - a drug used to control heart rhythm and lower blood pressure

  • Stimulants - drugs used to raise physiological arousal in the body

Common misconception

All PEDs are automatically illegal and banned substances.

The use of some PEDs to enhance performance is perfectly acceptable. Many sportspeople use narcotic analgesics to get through an event or drink caffeine for its stimulating effect. WADA is responsible for determining which PEDs are allowed.


To help you plan your year 11 physical education lesson on: Drugs in sport, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

This is a fantastic topic to ask pupils to debate to promote deeper thinking around the subject. You could use the motion that "all PEDs should be made legal" or "we should have separate competitions for people who want to use PEDs" (you may include reference to the 'Enhanced Games' idea).
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
To enhance something means ...
to reduce the effectiveness
Correct answer: to improve or increase the quality
to make sure it remains the same quality as before
to change something completely
Q2.
What is a reason the use of some drugs is banned in sport?
Correct answer: it gives athletes an unfair advantage
they are expensive
they make the performance better
they make the sport more fun
Q3.
If you perform the named sport, what might persuade you to use a performance enhancing drug? Find the best fit.
Correct Answer:archery,a drug that allows you to hold your hand really steady
tick

a drug that allows you to hold your hand really steady

Correct Answer:power lifting,a drug which allows you to train really hard in the weights room
tick

a drug which allows you to train really hard in the weights room

Correct Answer:table tennis ,a drug which helps you to have really fast reaction times
tick

a drug which helps you to have really fast reaction times

Correct Answer:marathon,a drug which helps you to deliver more oxygen to your muscles
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a drug which helps you to deliver more oxygen to your muscles

Q4.
"Bending the rules to their limit but not breaking them in order to gain an advantage" is a description of what?
Correct Answer: gamesmanship
Q5.
In which of these drinks would you find the stimulating substance called caffeine?
Correct answer: tea
Correct answer: coffee
orange juice
Correct answer: energy drinks
Correct answer: cola
Q6.
A drug used in sports which require strength and power is called anabolic
Correct Answer: steroids, steroid

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the performance enhancing drug to its definition.
Correct Answer:anabolic steroids,synthetic hormones that promote muscle growth
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synthetic hormones that promote muscle growth

Correct Answer:beta blockers,medications that reduce blood pressure
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medications that reduce blood pressure

Correct Answer:stimulants,substances that increase alertness, energy and activity
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substances that increase alertness, energy and activity

Q2.
Which of the statements about performance enhancing drugs is true?
all performance enhancing drugs are banned and illegal
Correct answer: many, but not all, performance enhancing drugs are banned and illegal
all performance enhancing drugs are allowed to be used in all sports
Q3.
Reducing muscle shakes is a benefit to the performer if they use which PED?
Correct Answer: beta blockers
Q4.
Match the sport in which performers are most likely to use the PED.
Correct Answer:100m sprinting,anabolic steroids
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anabolic steroids

Correct Answer:motor racing,stimulants
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stimulants

Correct Answer:archery,beta blockers
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beta blockers

Q5.
How might PED use negatively impact an athlete if caught using a banned substance?
Correct answer: banned from their sport
Correct answer: lose sponsorship deals
better performances leading to better contracts
Correct answer: titles/medals/awards stripped from them retrospectively
Q6.
Which of these statements questions the ethics of using PEDs?
Correct answer: the athlete gains an unfair advantage over the clean athletes
the athlete may suffer health problems as result of using PEDS
the athlete may lose their sponsorship deals if they are caught using PEDs