It seems to me like the swimsuit situation has gotten a bit out of hand. Prices are high; LZRs are unavailable; swimskins are legal for USMS pool meets... the list continues.
With the fabrics, I think we can all agree neoprene should remain illegal for pool meets. But beyond that, who's to say what is and what isn't? It will be tough with all the new technology, and as we're seeing today with Speedo and BlueSeventy being FINA sponsors, it will be tough to knock the gift horse in the mouth.
Most of these new suits are body suits. Why not try to limit the effect a suit has on a performance by limiting the amount of suit that can affect performance? It is a stretch to get back to "briefs" and "recordbreakers," as already, women have a fabric advantage. But why not put a limit on the total amount of fabric that can be used, or the total amount of acceptable body coverage?
Small step to take, and in the end, to make the genders fair, we probably wouldn't lose much suit. But I think it is rediculous to see people completely covered at the pool. Their swims should be all about them - not what they and their suit can accomplish.
Parents
Former Member
Would Michael Phelps and all the other elite swimmers of today be able to win Gold in Beijing this summer without a technical suit? Would records set in pre-LZR days be broken without them wearing the LZR? Who knows for sure?
Obviously this thread is gonna have people who feel strongly one way or the other...but now that I am not swimming for someone anymore--aka college scholarship and school titles/ championships etc...I'm more interested in seeing how fast I can swim...without super whole body compression and ultra water repellent suits...
I would love to set a masters world record in a plain old everyday practice suit...when the rest of the field is wearing technical suits...to me...thats the measure of success...plus I'd feel that much better being able to say...and dang I could have gone even faster had I worn the same $300 suit as the rest of them all.
Would Michael Phelps and all the other elite swimmers of today be able to win Gold in Beijing this summer without a technical suit? Would records set in pre-LZR days be broken without them wearing the LZR? Who knows for sure?
Obviously this thread is gonna have people who feel strongly one way or the other...but now that I am not swimming for someone anymore--aka college scholarship and school titles/ championships etc...I'm more interested in seeing how fast I can swim...without super whole body compression and ultra water repellent suits...
I would love to set a masters world record in a plain old everyday practice suit...when the rest of the field is wearing technical suits...to me...thats the measure of success...plus I'd feel that much better being able to say...and dang I could have gone even faster had I worn the same $300 suit as the rest of them all.
