Dope tests come to World Ice Fishing Championship

The United States Freshwater Fishing Federation has its priorities.

"We do not test for beer, because then everybody would fail," Joel McDearmon, chairman of the United States Freshwater Fishing Federation, told The New York Times.

But, yes -- real, serious drug testing has come to ice fishing.

So what is an official from the United States Anti-Doping Agency doing on a frozen lake in Wausau, Wis.? The Times is on it:

The leaders of the sport of ice fishing have started a long-shot bid to bring their lonely pursuit to the Olympics. A berth in the Winter Games would come with many obvious advantages, but first there are hurdles to clear. Once the anglers shuffled off the ice and put down their rods, they had to submit to the same examinations as world-class sprinters and weight lifters.

[...]

Fishing officials puzzled over whether doping would even help anglers jigging for panfish, roughfish and crappie. "We kind of joked about that," McDearmon said. "You're obviously not going to have anybody out there oxygen doping or something like that."

The full story is a good, fun weekend read. It's here: Dope Testing in Ice Fishing? Nope, Beer Doesn't Count

It turns out that ice fishing is far from the only niche sport to embrace dope testing in pursuit of a spot in the Olympics. In fact, here is a list of fringe-sport athletes who tested positive in 2011, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (via NYT):

* Two minigolfers
* One chess player
* Two bowlers
* Eight roller sport athletes
* One tug-of-war competitor

What do you think would be the most surprising sport to test for PEDs? Share yours in the comments on on Twitter at @USATODAYsports.