Devon children try their hand at London 2012 anti-doping science

‘Scientists in Sport’ is a nationwide schools outreach programme run by London 2012 partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and devised with King’s College London, a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory.

The day provided pupils with a unique university experience, inspiring them to study science and pursue a science-related career.

A study conducted to coincide with the start of the programme found that 83 per cent of secondary school pupils in the South West are now worried about getting a job in the future.

The study asked 1,000 11-16 year olds across the UK about their career and education aspirations. When asked specifically about science 87 percent of young people in the South West region stated that they ‘enjoyed’ science lessons but only two percent aspired to a career in science. This is despite the UK being Europe’s top location for investment in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development.

Each ‘Scientists in Sport’ event offers local school children the opportunity to experience a day at a university and through a series of sport science themed lectures and interactive workshops, aims to inspire 11-14 year old students to study science and pursue a science related career.

Students from schools across the region were invited to the University of Exeter’s School of Sport and Health Sciences to see how science will be used during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - from anti-doping drug tests to understanding how athletes can boost their stamina by drinking beetroot juice. 

The University also demonstrated to students how eye tracker scanning could improve football teams’ performance in penalty shoot outs and how golfers can improve their putting. 
 
The programme launch follows GSK’s recent commitment to encourage the very best graduates, including science graduates, into careers at the company by reimbursing 100 per cent of uncapped tuition fees for all undergraduates recruited in the UK from September 2012.

GSK Director of Academic Liaison, Malcolm Skingle, CBE, said: “Young people in the UK clearly have an enthusiasm for practical, hands-on science. ‘Scientists in Sport’ demonstrates how business and academia can work together to harness that initial enthusiasm and encourage more young people to study science at university. This should help deliver the science graduates who can drive forward the UK’s science base and provide potential recruits for academia and researched based organisations like GSK. Our London 2012 partnership has inspired us to strengthen our relationship with King’s College London and create a unique programme to support science education together.”

Associate Professor Craig Williams, Director of Postgraduate Studies in Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Exeter, said: “This was a great opportunity for us to show the significant role science plays in sport and also to introduce young people to the fantastic sports science facilities here at the University of Exeter. Many of our researchers are involved in discoveries that make a real difference to professional sport ¬ from helping golfers improve their accuracy through our eye-tracking research to giving cyclists the edge over their competitors with shots of beetroot juice – and we were delighted to be able to share these insights with school pupils from across the region.”

Scientist in Sport events will also be held at universities across the UK including Loughborough and Liverpool John Moores, and will be delivered by faculty staff, student ambassadors and GSK scientists.

A new website gives teachers and students across the region the instructions and resources to replicate the experiments in their own classrooms to inspire the next generation of expert scientists.
 
‘Scientists in Sport’ is funded by GSK and was inspired by its London 2012 partnership. As Official Laboratory Services Provider for London 2012, GSK has formed a partnership with King’s College London to provide facilities and equipment to enable King’s College London to operate a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory during the London 2012 Games.

Seb Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, said: “Science will play a crucial part in the London 2012 Games, from the training and nutrition programmes which keep the athletes at peak performance to the anti-doping tests which will help to make the Games as clean as possible. The GlaxoSmithKline ‘Scientists in Sport’ programme is a great way for young people across the UK to learn about the science behind the Games and open their eyes to the huge array of scientific careers both on the track and in the lab.”

The ‘Scientists in Sport’ programme is supported by UK Anti-Doping which is delivering an anti-doping debate workshop as part of the series. UK Anti-Doping is the national body responsible for the implementation and management of the UK’s anti-doping policy mission to protect the rights of athletes to compete in drug-free sport.

Andy Parkinson, Chief Executive UK Anti-Doping, said: “UK Anti-Doping is delighted to join forces with GSK and King’s College London and to be involved in the Scientists in Sport programme. The fight against doping will only be won through instilling the values of clean sport in young athletes and utilising cutting edge scientific techniques to catch those that are determined to cheat.”