LD16 303.6.3 SWIMWEAR p. 62 OWLDC Modify
303.6.3 Wetsuits may be allowed in all USMS-sanctioned open water events, at the
discretion of the meet event director. Wetsuits generally provide a competitive advantage. If
awards are given to wetsuit competitors they shall be awarded separately from those for nonwetsuit
competitors. Any published results or records must clearly indicate which swimmers
wore wetsuits.
Rationale 1: Because the OWLDC is aware that people wearing wetsuits are no longer allowed to be treated as
non-participants because they represent a major area of growth to our organization. In most cases, these
neoprene-clad souls would trade their eye teeth to go without but for whatever reasons they chose to look like
shark bait, they want/need/can’t live without it so by allowing this new rule, they can now wear their wetsuit in
our USMS races and get a prize from USMS. Also, members of the OWLDC are getting tired of extracting
naked, frozen people from the bathrooms where they are attempting to warm up by splashing themselves with
lukewarm water from the sink and recognize that if these folks had been offered an opportunity to wear a
wetsuit in their race, they would be having a much more fun time at this USMS event than experiencing
hypothermia and swearing on their mother’s grave to never swim in an open water race again.
Rationale2: This rule is leading our organization down the slippery slope to The Sanitization of Open Water
Swimming. We have regulated water temp, hot hats, buoys every so often, swim suits that help us float, and
more devices to take the element of nature out of the events, sort of like rock climbing with an elevator, so are
we “purists” now viewed as the extremists in our sport, the on the fringe element? But on the other hand at
least people are swimming and staying healthy, which is a wonderful thing for our society.
Rationale3: As purists spend time acclimating to less warm water temps and not spending time cycling 140
miles or running 26 at a stretch, do we get a motor on our bike? How about we start a “Buffet Event”, similar to
the 300IM: Pick a few choices you want and we’ll all compete together. This could lead to the “All Gadget
Olympics.”
Former Member
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At least the proposed rule separates wetsuits into a separate division at championships, unlike B70s, LZRs and the like.
So I'm curious how many wetsuit nay-sayers have never worn a tech suit in a meet? Very few of those at the last nationals, from what I remember.
there is a generally accepted rule of thumb that a wetsuit offers a 10% advantage. i wish the same were true for all those tech suits because they would never be permitted in competition.
another observation.... many folks wear wetsuits to increase their comfort level; no one would claim that squeezing into a fastskin or eq. would make them more comfortable.
I should point out that wetsuits are already allowed in USMS sactioned events (as a separate awards category), just not currently in national championship events.
Although some such events (Big Shoulders are Reston are two that I know about) have gotten around this restriction when they were nat'l championships by having separate waves for wetsuits and nonwetsuits.
I think wetsuits are for wimps, but the way the proposed rule is worded I can't see why it shouldn't be enacted. Wetsuit and non-wetsuit swimmers are segregated for the purporse of awards, so what's the big deal? I see no reason to purposely turn away swimmers.
duplicating awards for wetsuits in every division would create an unreasonable burden for the event organizers.
Really?! What a burden ... handing out a few more awards ... might be like a swim meet.
What's the beef if the wetsuit wearers are in a separate division where they can apparently be labeled and ridiculed as wimps by the OW swimming elite?
Why discourage participation?
Again, I don't think the degree of performance enhancement is a very good defense.
its not a defense.
pool racing at every level is now a gear sport. open water is at a crossroad, blue seventy has now gotten fina approval for some of their wetsuits. once the pros start wearing them, its all over.
the olympic 10k was held in a rowing basin (not what i would call open water).
i understand the need to make it friendly for spectators etc, but take away the waves, wind, current, jellies, exposure???? why not just cover it over so we don't get the sun in our eyes and remove any offensive flora and fauna and chlorinate it and put lines on the bottom to follow and..............(see paragraph 1)
another catagory should be listed in the poll.
duplicating awards for wetsuits in every division would create an unreasonable burden for the event organizers.
wetsuits should be treated as something to overcome...like training wheels.
if usms requires all event directors to provide a separate division for wetsuits, i believe that many directors will simply find another insurance provider and forego the usms sanction. i have never been to an open water event (usms or otherwise) where anyone was told they could not swim with a wetsuit. (and i could name at least 150)
hell, i don't care if someone wants to swim with fins and paddles, but i would oppose a separate division. imagine on race day looking over the field and saying hmmm there are some pretty fast folks in the wetsuit division, but the fin and paddle field is a little thin...i guess its zoomer time! podium, here i come.
I think most "OW purists" would disagree with you. If they allowed wetsuits but not in a separate division, then OW champs risk becoming like the Chesapeake Bay swim, where the majority where wetsuits. Even those who dislike them might feel compelled to wear them to be competitive. I bet such a proposal would have a hard time passing. I prefer the Big Shoulders model, myself.
Your prediction about what event directors would do sounds bizarre to me. The only thing the proposal requires is that, IF awards are given to wetsuit-wearers, it shall be in a separate category. Why would this affect insurance or the decision to seek USMS sanction? Directors can still refuse to give awards to wetsuits-clad swimmers...or refuse to allow them to compete. That's what the "at the discretion of the event director" part of the proposal means.
Sorry to repeat myself...all of this is allowed RIGHT NOW at all OW meets except national championships. All the proposal does is erase that distinction. I fail to see how the world will stop rotating on its axis as a result.
One may then argue, of course, that the proposal won't do much because its scope is fairly limited. I agree that, alone, it won't have much effect. It has to be accompanied by an effort to actually invite a broader community to OW races.
For me, ultimately, it depends on what we want USMS to be. I have always viewed us as promoting (competitive) swimming to people of a broad range of abilities and background. I think this proposal furthers that goal and is in line with the Rob Butcher's "Vision and Action Plan."
Dave: Insurance goes up with 2 waves instead of one? If so, then have them all go off at once and score them separately. I was under the impression from prior posts that the wetsuit swimmers outnumbered the purists anyway.
insurance: i'm not sure how it all works, but if you look at the top ten list of open water events, you will find quite a few if not most, are not usms events.
some events have 50 participants; some have 2000; there is no simple format that would work for all.
when wetsuits are permitted/encouraged and no separation exists, (i will use the bay swim as an example) the vast majority of participants wear them, even when the water temp is in the mid 70's and the air temp is in the high 80's.
the result is:
the elimination of a competitive non-wetsuit field.
at some ow "national championship" events, the field can be fewer than 100. to add a wetsuit division would do more to divide the field in half than double the number of entrants
