www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../19679.asp
The most substantial change, of course, is that suits would no longer be allowed to extend past the knee.
My personal opinion is this is sort of an arbitrary change. What really should be changed--if anything--is what types of materials are allowed and maybe testing protocol to approve a suit. I don't really think requiring suits to end at the knees would affect much.
North Texas 14 & Under Swimsuit Standards Effective 2009
Tue, 2 Dec 2008 12:15:00 CST
Effective January 1, 2009 at all North Texas Swimming, age-group defined, sanctioned meets:
Swimsuits worn by females for all 14 & Under defined competitions shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor past the hip.
Swimsuits worn by males for all 14 & Under defined competitions shall not extend above the hips nor below the knees.
Interesting - the LSC is imposing a higher age limit with an earlier effective date (assuming PK's date above is accurate). And the girls can't wear the short leg suits either!
chowmi,
Unless the legislation specifies otherwise, new USA Swimming rules go into effect on May 15 of the appropriate year (as opposed to USMS rules, which go into effect on January 1). In this case, the legislation specifically indicated an effective date of May 15.
I suppose an LSC could, through its authority to sanction meets, impose this kind of additional and expanded restriction. In September 2007, the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations Committee interpreted an LSC's sanctioning authority to allow it impose restrictions beyond those required in the rulebook (e.g., to require more officials at a meet than required in the rulebook). How far this authority extends is anyone's guess, but there is probably a common sense limit (such as, don't mess with any of the stuff in Article 101!).
It would appear that North Texas is going beyond what is required by the new 102.19.1A. That being said, a lot of this will come down to how the actual referees interpret the rule along with the guidance handed down from their LSC's.
Patrick King
North Texas 14 & Under Swimsuit Standards Effective 2009
Tue, 2 Dec 2008 12:15:00 CST
Effective January 1, 2009 at all North Texas Swimming, age-group defined, sanctioned meets:
Swimsuits worn by females for all 14 & Under defined competitions shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor past the hip.
Swimsuits worn by males for all 14 & Under defined competitions shall not extend above the hips nor below the knees.
Interesting - the LSC is imposing a higher age limit with an earlier effective date (assuming PK's date above is accurate). And the girls can't wear the short leg suits either!
chowmi,
Unless the legislation specifies otherwise, new USA Swimming rules go into effect on May 15 of the appropriate year (as opposed to USMS rules, which go into effect on January 1). In this case, the legislation specifically indicated an effective date of May 15.
I suppose an LSC could, through its authority to sanction meets, impose this kind of additional and expanded restriction. In September 2007, the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations Committee interpreted an LSC's sanctioning authority to allow it impose restrictions beyond those required in the rulebook (e.g., to require more officials at a meet than required in the rulebook). How far this authority extends is anyone's guess, but there is probably a common sense limit (such as, don't mess with any of the stuff in Article 101!).
It would appear that North Texas is going beyond what is required by the new 102.19.1A. That being said, a lot of this will come down to how the actual referees interpret the rule along with the guidance handed down from their LSC's.
Patrick King
