Can you sue Speedo, USA swimming and FINA ?

The suit situation is proving to be pretty tricky. Its pretty well established that these suits are having about a 1 second per 50/2 second per 100 effect...so if your talking the senior level where making finals can be a differance in tenths if all things are equal and one swimmer scores a suit but the other can't there's a problem.

Probably not focus on what suits are out there but how well you child swims, good hard work never hurt any swimmer. If you buy the suit and your kid gets beat are you going to sue because your child lost the race? If you bought a Fast Skin for your child and they beat some one with a fast skin does it make it a better suit? it puts a lot of pressure on kids that want to swim faster but can't afford these high end suits. What they probably need to do is go back to basics, this is the standard no frills swim suit issued to everyone, and may the best swimmer win. It seems like year after year that they come out with some new suit that will make you. To me and just my opinion is that all sport should have a standard, I was watching cycling video clip where there is a million dollar bicycle that going to be on the track that's supposed to gaurantee a gold medal ( well at least that's what the company is going for), but I hear you though, good discussion.

Unfortunately in this country you can sue anyone for anything. Now, whether that goes anywhere, that's a different story.

Those time standards were set in the pre-LZR era, after all. I agree. However, when you have two similar swimmers close to Oly Trials cuts - one gets the LZR and the other doesn't - and then the LZR'd swimmer gets the cut and the other doesn't... it is a bit unfair. Has there been any mention as to how a lot of swimmers have already gotten the LZR (national team, made a certain cut or just plain luck) - like many who have been @ Santa Clara, the Swimvitational and other recent meets?

Ok - I admit, I am little over the top about the entire swim suit issue. LZR / Blue Seventy / Rise and what have you not -- but this entire story is getting out of hand. Here are the facts right now: - The LZR (and some of the other suits are catching up) is faster than any other suit out there. I think that is pretty much proven. - The suit is not available to all swimmers -- actually it is only available to very few swimmers (see more on that below) - This is straight from FINA and US swimming "We underline that at FINA competitions, the rule GR 5.6 - 'the manufacturers must ensure that the approved new swimsuit will be available for all competitors' - will apply." Availability I just came back from swimming the JEI - Janet Evans Invite in Los Angeles. This is a FINA Olympic Qualifying Event. - I talked to 2 coaches (and I only knew 3 at the meet) and they both had swimmers very close to Trials cuts and they are not able to get any of the Speedo LZR or TYR Rise suits. - There are about 20 or so swimmers with the LZR, maybe 5 with the TYR suits and the rest is left with what is currently available - There is no TYR or Speedo stand where you can even borrow the suit for a race. For Masters swimming it's not really that important - but a kid training for years to go to Olympic Trials and nothing is being done - I would go ballistic as a coach. Could somebody sue them over this ? There are many screwy aspects of this whole thing...but -- at the risk of sounding heartless -- I don't think missing Trials cuts is one of them. Those time standards were set in the pre-LZR era, after all. If, at Trials (or the Olympics themselves), not all competitors have equal access to the suit, that's a different story.

This really has become a soap opera. We could call it the The Young & The LZRless. Personally, I'd like see most of the flak directed at FINA because in my opinion their chronic complacency and incompetence has led us to this point.