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Competition Rule Verification
A lesser known use of the polygraph is to verify that winners of competitions did not cheat. For example, polygraph examinations are sometimes required of the winners of weightlifting and fishing contests. Competitions of those types often have very large prizes for the winners, creating an incentive to use illicit methods to gain an advantage. Without the polygraph, cheating might be hard or impossible to uncover. For example, weightlifters might use performance-enhancing drugs that are difficult to detect using bioassay methods, or the drugs are discontinued far enough in advance as to be out of the body during the pre-contest drug testing. Those who sign up for the competition are advised that the winner would be required to take a polygraph examination over the use of banned substances. This tends to deter entrants who have used these substances, and affords an opportunity to identify cheaters that might have otherwise gone undetected. Some of the larger fishing contests have a related problem of dishonesty, prompted by prizes worth tens of thousands of dollars. Anglers have been known to stash fish in hidden locations to be retrieved during the contest, or groups of fishermen will sometimes give their fish to a single fisherman who uses the aggregate catch to win the prize. Polygraph testing is used to keep these contests fair, and to discourage dishonest fishermen from competing.
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