Alcohol and Performance
Many of the studies on the effects of alcohol on athletic performance suffer from one of more defects. Subject numbers are often small, and the lack of a definite outcome may be the result of underpowered studies. The doses of alcohol that have been used in many studies are small relative to those reported to be consumed by athletes The reluctance of investigators to induce inebriation in their subjects, and the reluctance of ethics committees to sanction such studies because of safety concerns, are understandable, but this nonetheless limits the application of the studies to the real world of sport. It is not always clear that subjects have been fully familiarized with experimental protocols prior to measurements of performance, especially when tasks involving complex skills have been used. These factors may lead to performance changes that are of significance to the athlete being dismissed as being of no consequence [10].