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?
The latest screed from Craig Lord:
The bodysuits debate is raging here in Rijeka, the warning signs dripping like poison. Arena is the sponsor here. Where is professional respect and trust that existed between these makers? Down in the warm-down pool, the man from the Blueseventy factory in Germany (home of adidas), is handing out bag loads of suits for free. Does that company sponsor a single federation? Does that suit maker invest huge amounts in the infrastructure of the sport? Does that suit maker understand that contracts and faith and trust are being shredded in a sport on the verge of saying to the manufacturers of wetsuits and bodyboards: go away, darken our door no more?
The German media sit next to me on the press bench, a stream of German team staff flow by. The talk is all about the difference in performances a week ago at German nationals and now here in Rijeka. The difference stretches to what the swimmers are wearing. Last week, under club control, they wore what they liked. This week, they wear adidas, a company now considering its investment in the pool. Senior German swimmers are now saying to the DSV: I am not wearing your team suit in Rome 2009 if the man or woman in the next lane is sporting an aquatic bullet. So, generations of children who would surely have pestered their parents to go out and buy Britta Steffen's double golden suit this Christmas will be asking for something quite different next year (they probably already are). The damage being done to the image of one of the biggest players in the global sportswear market as a direct consequence of FINA's stand on suits is now leaking into the German media. That process will gather momentum. If I were at the helm in adidas, I would be picking the phone up to FINA and telling them: sort this out, act fast or we are gone.
This morning, I saw several examples of swimmers wearing two suits and there were three swimmers spotted wearing three suits. Ludicrous. The referee is powerless to act. The rule book has been left wanting. And how. The only way out of this mess is to go down the lines proposed by the USA: cut back the fabric and control the fabric in a way that bars access to the sport of a what we will soon legitimately be able to call a doping suit.
The latest screed from Craig Lord:
The bodysuits debate is raging here in Rijeka, the warning signs dripping like poison. Arena is the sponsor here. Where is professional respect and trust that existed between these makers? Down in the warm-down pool, the man from the Blueseventy factory in Germany (home of adidas), is handing out bag loads of suits for free. Does that company sponsor a single federation? Does that suit maker invest huge amounts in the infrastructure of the sport? Does that suit maker understand that contracts and faith and trust are being shredded in a sport on the verge of saying to the manufacturers of wetsuits and bodyboards: go away, darken our door no more?
The German media sit next to me on the press bench, a stream of German team staff flow by. The talk is all about the difference in performances a week ago at German nationals and now here in Rijeka. The difference stretches to what the swimmers are wearing. Last week, under club control, they wore what they liked. This week, they wear adidas, a company now considering its investment in the pool. Senior German swimmers are now saying to the DSV: I am not wearing your team suit in Rome 2009 if the man or woman in the next lane is sporting an aquatic bullet. So, generations of children who would surely have pestered their parents to go out and buy Britta Steffen's double golden suit this Christmas will be asking for something quite different next year (they probably already are). The damage being done to the image of one of the biggest players in the global sportswear market as a direct consequence of FINA's stand on suits is now leaking into the German media. That process will gather momentum. If I were at the helm in adidas, I would be picking the phone up to FINA and telling them: sort this out, act fast or we are gone.
This morning, I saw several examples of swimmers wearing two suits and there were three swimmers spotted wearing three suits. Ludicrous. The referee is powerless to act. The rule book has been left wanting. And how. The only way out of this mess is to go down the lines proposed by the USA: cut back the fabric and control the fabric in a way that bars access to the sport of a what we will soon legitimately be able to call a doping suit.
