I am just back from the SPMA meet where all the top finisher were wearing the latest generation tech suits,mostly B-70s(or were named Jeff Commings.)I have here to for been in favor of the suits,but now I am not so sure.First,they eliminate the old bench marks.I went my fastest 100m BR in 5 yr in my LZR,but it was only .3 sec faster than I did untapered 5 wk earlier in my first swim in the LZR.So was my swim good or not,I'm not sure.Also,instead of focusing on technique or pace I found myself ruminating over aspects of the suits,how many more swims did the suit have,is it the right size,was the reason I didn't get better results from my B-70 because it was too big?etc.The B-70 has somewhat mitigated the "too expensive,not durable" problem,but for how long.
Lets say a company comes up with a suit that is much faster,say 4 sec/100.Further that it is very expensive(say $1000) lasts 4 swims and is very hard to make so that quantities are always limited and the fastest way to get one is to bid up to $3000 on ebay. Now lets say your nemesis has one,or that getting one is your best chance to get TT or AA or a ZR or WR,or that your child is close to making JO cuts,or finally beating his/her nemesis etc. Is it worth it and where does it stop?
Parents
Former Member
So the net result is the sport has gotten more expensive for everyone.
One other thing I've noticed. I know people have been wearing tech suits for quite a while now. One thing that has become much more common, I think, is people wearing them for every competition. It used to be you'd go to a smallish local meet and only see a couple people wearing body suits. Now they are commonplace at any meet you go to.
This is interesting because I found a few years ago that, with the body suits, I had a good chance of making a Top Ten time in events that I swam in but without I was out of the running. So, as a result, I wear them for all competitions no matter the venue since the TT is my main motivation at the moment. When the suits first became accessible to me, I would only wear them for the biggest meets.
BTW, I edited a couple of typos in your post, quoted above...
So the net result is the sport has gotten more expensive for everyone.
One other thing I've noticed. I know people have been wearing tech suits for quite a while now. One thing that has become much more common, I think, is people wearing them for every competition. It used to be you'd go to a smallish local meet and only see a couple people wearing body suits. Now they are commonplace at any meet you go to.
This is interesting because I found a few years ago that, with the body suits, I had a good chance of making a Top Ten time in events that I swam in but without I was out of the running. So, as a result, I wear them for all competitions no matter the venue since the TT is my main motivation at the moment. When the suits first became accessible to me, I would only wear them for the biggest meets.
BTW, I edited a couple of typos in your post, quoted above...
