In Association With:

Russian athletes were given a blanket ban from this summer’s Olympic Games in Brazil after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published a damning report on Russian sport, claiming that ‘Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme for four years’. Nevertheless, this ruling was controversially overturned in July by the International Olympic Committee, leaving Russian athletes free to compete as long as their particular sporting federations agreed. The summer proved a turbulent time for the debate over doping in sport, with more athletes found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs at the games themselves.

In partnership with the National Football Museum, Debating Matters is delighted to be running a special showcase debate on the topic of doping in sport. Sixth-form students from Hutton Church of England Grammar School, Preston, and Loreto College, Manchester, will debate the motion ‘We should permit the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport’. The debaters will be pushed to think beyond the headlines by a prestigious panel of adult judges who will put content over style to decide the winner.

Tickets are free, register here.

JUDGES INCLUDE:

Hilary Salt
actuary; founder, First Actuarial

Chris Yianni
senior lecturer in social work, Manchester Metropolitan University

Fabrice Muamba
retired professional footballer; regional education officer, PFA