Safety and Security

2.1 Core concepts

• Safety and security of children is very important while playing games/sports; injuries lead to fearful emotional or psychological phobia, so simple safety rules must be applied by PE teachers, trainers, coaches, school administrators and equipment manufacturers (NCERT §Safety Measures in Playgrounds…, p. 251).
• Sports ground: must be free of high-tension electric line, barbed wire, bushes, wild grass, close walls with hard surface; surface to be safe, clean, free from stones/broken bricks. Chain link fencing/stairs for spectators and trainers should be at least 6 meters away from the end lines of the play field (NCERT §Sports ground, p. 252).
• Field: separate sitting area for extra players; spectators’ sitting area away from playing area; trees/bushes shifted from play field to avoid collision; sufficient warming-up area; broken glass and sharp-edged stones removed (NCERT §Field, p. 252).
• Safety regarding sports instruments: manufacturers must give priority to ‘concept of safety to sportsperson’; material of high standard; damaged equipment must not be used; playing surfaces for different games to be constructed separately as per official guidelines (NCERT §Safety regarding sports instruments, p. 252).
• Safety regarding uniforms: light coloured T-shirt fabric (does not absorb sweat) is better due to weather variations in India; sweat-absorbing fabric may cause allergy/skin problems (NCERT §Safety regarding uniforms, pp. 252–253).
• Shoes: objectives of wearing properly manufactured shoes are (i) comfortable feeling (ii) proper ankle support (iii) proper balance (iv) avoiding leg injury due to uncomfortable shoes (NCERT §Selection of the shoe, p. 253).
• Gymnasium injuries may occur due to: unsafe keeping of equipment, lack of proper place for exercises, lack of warm-up area, old equipment, unsafe electrical fittings, uncleaned/slippery surface, poor lighting, poor sanitation, not observing safety during lifting weight barbells, lack of knowledge of using equipment (NCERT §Safety measures in relation to Gymnasium, pp. 253–254).
• Swimming pool safety: separate pools for beginners and advanced swimmers; trained life-guards equipped with long stick, rope, whistle, life-saving jackets, swimming pads and kicking boards; water treatment plant operational; chlorination of water removes accumulated algae; swimming only in presence of life-guards (NCERT §Safety measures in relation to swimming pool, pp. 254–255).
• Why sports injuries occur: poor equipment/surface, lack of knowledge of rules, lack of technical/tactical knowledge, lack of fitness, not observing safety in gymnastics/diving/judo/wrestling, lifting heavy weights without helpers (NCERT §Why do sports injuries occur, p. 255).
• Prevention of injuries (competition): proper warming up (enhances reflex actions, reduces chances of injury), safety gears/clothing, following rules, thorough equipment check, evaluation of arena by officials (NCERT §Prevention of injury related to competition, p. 256).
• Technical measures: working on fitness/conditioning to avoid tiredness; practising difficult movements before active participation; coach guidance; proper nutrition (repairs and builds ruptured muscle fibres); right shoe and uniform (NCERT §Technical measures…, pp. 256–257).
• Alcohol & tobacco: adolescents are particularly vulnerable; alcohol and tobacco (pan masala, gutkha, khaini, cigarette, beedi) are the two most misused substances (NCERT §Dealing with Alcohol…, p. 257).
• Tobacco harms: nicotine is highly addictive, raises blood pressure; ~4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke; carbon monoxide is highly poisonous; tar is similar to coal tar used for roads; smoking causes lung cancer; pan masala, gutkha, khaini cause oral cancer (NCERT §Why is tobacco use unhealthy, pp. 257–258).
• Effects on women: smoking causes infertility, delays in conceiving, increases risks of premature delivery, still birth and death, and cancer of the cervix (NCERT §Effect of tobacco abuse among women, pp. 258–259).
• Doping (IOC definition): “the use of any method or substance that might harm the athlete, in a quest to gain an unfair advantage over his or her fellow competitors”. Training at altitude is allowed but using drugs for the same result is unethical (NCERT §Doping, p. 263).
• Notable case: Ben Johnson (1988) won 100 m sprint at 9.79s, tested positive for steroids, lost gold and world record (NCERT §Doping, p. 263).
• WADA is a foundation created through a collective initiative led by IOC (NCERT §Do You Know box, p. 264).
• Two principal categories of performance-enhancing substances: (1) Dietary supplements (2) Injectable supplements — Hormones and Drugs (NCERT §Classifications of Doping, p. 264).
• Testosterone is the most commonly used hormone — produces strength and stimulates skeletal muscles with higher energy; hormones stored and employed by athletes are called ‘Ergogenic aids’ (NCERT §Hormones, pp. 264–265).
• Narcotics: injected, ingested or absorbed; reduce, eliminate and hide pain; examples are morphine and methadone; common in football and hockey (less recovery time). Side effects: decrease heart rate, nausea, vomiting (NCERT §Narcotics, p. 265).
• Anabolic-androgenic steroids related to testosterone; developed in 1930s; side effects include heart attacks, strokes, liver/kidney damage, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B/C (via needles) (NCERT §Steroids, p. 265).
• Gene doping banned by WADA in 2002; almost impossible to detect; side effects include abnormal growth, unwanted hair, heart problems, nervous breakdown, cancer (NCERT §Gene Doping, p. 266).
• Blood doping: increases red blood cell mass; common in cross-country, cycling, swimming. EPO (Erythropoietin) is a peptide hormone released from kidneys, acts on bone marrow to stimulate red-blood-cell production; misuse leads to heart disease, stroke, embolism. In blood doping 1 to 4 units of blood is taken out (NCERT §Blood doping, p. 266).
• Doping control tests: (1) In-Competition Testing (at venue) and (2) Out-of-Competition Testing (no advance notice, any location/time) (NCERT §Testing In-competition and Out-of-competition, p. 268).

2.2 Definitions to memorise

2.3 Diagrams / processes to remember

• Fig. 7.1 (p. 263): Medicine label showing date of manufacturing (D.O.M.) and expiry date (Exp.) — illustrates the importance of checking both dates before consumption.
• Table 1 (p. 258): Constituents of cigarette smoke — Constituents (Toluene, Carbon monoxide, Butane), Cancer-causing chemicals (Vinyl chloride, Benzene, Polonium 210) and Toxic metals (Arsenic, Chromium, Cadmium).
• Pictorial warnings on cigarette packets — Activity 7.4 (p. 259): mandatory in India.

2.4 Common confusions / NTA trap points

• 6 meters is the minimum distance of fencing/stairs from end lines of the play field — not 5 or 10 (p. 252).
• Light-coloured T-shirt is recommended (does not absorb sweat) — students often mix it up with the opposite (p. 253).
• Pan masala / gutkha / khaini cause ORAL cancer, whereas cigarette smoking is most associated with LUNG cancer — both are about cancer, but the organ differs (p. 258).
• Tar = burning of tobacco leaves, similar to coal tar of roads; Nicotine = addictive substance in tobacco leaves, also used as insecticide/pesticide. Don't swap them (p. 257).
• WADA was set up by IOC initiative (not by WHO); Gene doping was banned by WADA in 2002 (not 2001 — 2001 is when IOC Medical Commission discussed it) (pp. 264, 266).
• Two categories of performance-enhancing substances = Dietary supplements + Injectable supplements (Hormones & Drugs). Don't confuse with the wider list of basic doping drugs (narcotics, steroids, etc.) (p. 264).
• ~4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke — the number is in the thousands, not hundreds. Frequent CUET trap.
• Carbon monoxide is the highly poisonous gas inhaled with cigarette smoke (it binds haemoglobin); confusion with carbon dioxide is the usual NTA distractor.
• Anabolic steroids developed in the 1930s — not 1950s or 1960s.
• Blood doping volume = 1–4 units of blood removed and re-infused — not 0.5–1 or 5–10 units.
• Narcotics side effects = decreased heart rate, nausea, vomiting; steroid side effects = heart attacks, strokes, liver/kidney damage, HIV/Hepatitis via needles. NTA frequently swaps these.
• In-Competition vs Out-of-Competition Testing — both are conducted; OoC testing is unannounced and can happen anywhere/anytime.
• Ben Johnson lost his 1988 Seoul Olympic 100 m gold (9.79 s) for steroids — not Carl Lewis or Justin Gatlin.

2.5 Key concepts table — safety standards, harms, doping classes

2.6 Extended discussion — safety architecture, substance-abuse pathway, doping ecosystem

The logic is prevention-first, detection-second. Prevention operates at three concentric rings — environment, equipment and the athlete. Environment-level prevention means safe playgrounds (no high-tension lines, no barbed wire, no broken glass, 6-m fencing setback), safe gymnasiums (lighting, sanitation, weight-lifting protocol) and safe swimming pools (chlorination, separated beginner and advanced lanes, certified lifeguards with the standard rescue kit). Equipment-level prevention means certified material, separately constructed playing surfaces per game, light-colour sweat-rejecting T-shirts and properly manufactured shoes whose four design objectives are comfort, ankle support, balance and leg-injury prevention. Athlete-level prevention means warm-up that primes reflexes, fitness/conditioning that delays fatigue, nutrition that repairs muscle fibres, and rehearsal of difficult movements under coach supervision before competitive load.

Next is the substance-abuse pathway specific to adolescence. Two substances dominate: tobacco (nicotine + tar + ~4000 chemicals including carbon monoxide, vinyl chloride, benzene, polonium-210, arsenic, chromium, cadmium) and alcohol. The downstream pathology splits by route — inhaled tobacco smoke causes lung cancer; chewed tobacco (pan masala, gutkha, khaini) causes oral cancer. For women, smoking adds reproductive harms: infertility, delayed conception, premature delivery, stillbirth and cervical cancer. Also note inhalants (kerosene, fuel, paint thinners) for their flammability and central-nervous-system toxicity.

The doping ecosystem is the most exam-yielding micro-section. The IOC's working definition pivots on two elements — unfair advantage and potential harm. WADA, set up by IOC initiative, coordinates global anti-doping policy and maintains the Prohibited List. NCERT splits performance-enhancing substances into two principal categories: (1) Dietary supplements (refined products masquerading as food) and (2) Injectable supplements — Hormones and Drugs. Within the hormone-and-drug class, four sub-types appear repeatedly in CUET: narcotics (morphine, methadone — pain suppression in football/hockey; side effects = ↓ HR, nausea, vomiting), anabolic-androgenic steroids (1930s, testosterone-related; side effects = cardiovascular failure, liver/kidney damage, HIV/Hepatitis through needles), gene doping (banned by WADA in 2002, near-undetectable, causes abnormal growth, heart problems, cancer), and blood doping with EPO (1–4 units of blood removed and re-infused, or kidney-derived peptide hormone EPO injected to stimulate marrow RBC production; misuse → heart disease, stroke, embolism).

Detection has two arms — In-Competition Testing (at the event venue, immediately after performance) and Out-of-Competition Testing (unannounced, at any place and time). Ben Johnson at Seoul 1988 (100 m sprint, 9.79 s, gold and world record stripped after a positive steroid test) as the paradigmatic example of detection in action. CUET examiners frequently combine an athlete's name, sport and substance into a single recall question — students should remember at least one named case from each substance class.