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?
A good and very obvious start is to limit swimmers to one suit by specifying in the rule that "swimsuit" -- duh -- means one suit.
What about the people that wear a 2nd drag suit for rinky-dink meets?
What about folks who wear a suit under their jammers/legs/kneeskins/full body suits not only for extra support (both genders have body parts that tend to flop around :bouncing:), but also for ease of change and for lack of scaring locker room friends with "the porn areas?" Not everyone is comfortable sitting in a crowded locker room buck nekked trying to get a suit on with the goods hanging out for all to see - or walking into said situation.
A good and very obvious start is to limit swimmers to one suit by specifying in the rule that "swimsuit" -- duh -- means one suit.
What about the people that wear a 2nd drag suit for rinky-dink meets?
What about folks who wear a suit under their jammers/legs/kneeskins/full body suits not only for extra support (both genders have body parts that tend to flop around :bouncing:), but also for ease of change and for lack of scaring locker room friends with "the porn areas?" Not everyone is comfortable sitting in a crowded locker room buck nekked trying to get a suit on with the goods hanging out for all to see - or walking into said situation.
