Can one be DQ'd at a USMS sanctioned meet if your suit falls off upon diving in and you find yourself nude? Or if it starts to slide down, down, down during a race until, oops! it's off?
I know my options if my suit were to malfunction during a race and I wished to continue would be to (a) stop in the middle as long as I didn't touch the lane lines or put my feet on the bottom of the pool, or (b) stop at a wall and do all adjustments there.
But if it plumb came off, would I get DQ'd?
Curious, here.
You never can predict a race.
Izzy
I'm trying to post a poll but may not be able to figure out how, re suit malfunctions.
I would think that if it came off as you hit the water , you can still finish the race. I seem to remember a high ranking lady swimmer had her suit rip open at the butt area & they allowed her to change into a new suit quickly.
I'm a swimming official (the Australian equivalent of USAS, not Masters). I wouldn't DQ someone for their swimsuit accidentally coming off, but not sure if the scenario is covered in the FINA rules.
I'm usually a lurker, but had to reply to this one...
There's an article (with pics!) on swimswam of Nathan Adrian splitting the back of his jammers open as he started his dive. He finished the race. Not quite sure what race and where, as my attention wasn't on that detail.
Of all the things that can happen in a meet, the top ones are probably missing your event, goggles coming off/down, cap comes off, suit malfunction, and perhaps a super huge cramp in a non-toe location. I say you can train for no goggles, no luck on missing your event, Igor-stroking with a cramp, mop impersonation with hair going everywhere, but make a mental decision NOW, that if you have a suit malfunction, then GO FOR IT! It's the one time you will do a race and never feel the pain, as you are too preoccupied with modesty issues. So decide NOW to LET IT RIP, literally and figuratively, if and when that happens.
Of all the things that can happen in a meet, the top ones are probably missing your event, goggles coming off/down, cap comes off, suit malfunction, and perhaps a super huge cramp in a non-toe location. I say you can train for no goggles, no luck on missing your event, Igor-stroking with a cramp, mop impersonation with hair going everywhere, but make a mental decision NOW, that if you have a suit malfunction, then GO FOR IT! It's the one time you will do a race and never feel the pain, as you are too preoccupied with modesty issues. So decide NOW to LET IT RIP, literally and figuratively, if and when that happens.
As someone who wears contacts under goggles, that's would definitely be a dealbreaker for me. I guess in the rare case I was swimming a 50 I could survive, but pretty much anything more and I'd stop to fix them, or take a DNF.
I have developed cramps while swimming in a few meets, and I've always been able to work through them. I may take a little extra at a wall (kind of spring off it more) to work out a leg cramp.
As to the suit...there have been times when it started to go down. But as someone else said, you'd have to really try to have it come completely off. Generally most people wear a tight suit for a meet (even if not a tech suit). If it takes 5-10 min to squeeze into a jammer, you can imagine it takes some time to get out of it.
A brief is a bit easier, and that's when I could feel it sliding down. I've always had time to adjust before I pull out, and never had anyone say anything.
Not quite sure what race and where, as my attention wasn't on that detail.Well known suit splits:
Nathan Adrian - 2012 Indianapolis Grand Prix – 1st place 100 free 48.62
Ricky Berens - 2009 World Championships, Rome – split 48.19 on qualifying 400 free relay
Flavia Zoccari's 2009 Mediterranean Games, Italy – DQ’ed for inappropriate swimwear not allowed to swim
Very interesting. Ricky was motivated to work very hard after his suit malfunctioned:
www.youtube.com/watch
And absolutely no fair! Same thing happened to Flavia Zoccari and she's DQ'd, as knelson stated.
sport.msn.co.nz/.../swimmers-wardrobe-malfunction.glance
I'm still curious if there is an official rule on this if it's inadvertent.
How it *could* happen to a woman. Say, for example, I was frustrated with my "race" suit at a meet due to crappy times in said "race" suit, and so changed into my practice suit, somewhat baggy with loose straps, to take away the pressure of "racing," and say, for example, one strap decided to bust, and the whole suit could have gone south, all inadvertent, this all being hypothetical, etc.
Izzzy
So the take away is it's ok when a guy's suit rips, but girls get DQed.
I've been to a lot of meets in my life and I've got to say I've never seen anyone's suit come completely off. It seems like you'd almost have to try to do that!
ditto threelilbears, I'm usually a lurker too but somehow this thread called out to me.
More dramatic than Nathan Adrian's suit mishap was Ricky Berens suit splitting all the way down his back. It was when they first started gluing the seams instead of stitching them. He too still swam the whole race. Ladies this one's worth googling.
As to the original question, if you're a girl it would be a little hard for a suit to fall all the way off, and if you're worried your suit might do this, I'd probably buy a tighter suit.
Back when all the guys wore briefs in meets losing one's suit was not unheard of.The most famous time was by a Univ. of Texas swimmer.I don't remember all the details(I only read about it,I was not at the meet.)I believe it was in the mid 80s at NCAA Nationals.He was anchoring the 400 FR and dove out of his suit.He finished the swim and I think they won.I know his quote when asked what he was thinking about as he fisished the race:He replied "I was just glad I wasn't swimming backstroke."
