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
Precisely. Welcome to the world of racing. Faster is not a dirty word.
Training + hard work + excellent technique + coaching + natural talent + mental fortitude + speed suit = fast racing.
Speed suit = only one part of the equation. You don't see folks b*tching constantly about inequities in the other parts of the equation. Why is this one factor singled out so much? It's not the cost, it's the puritanical old fashioned bias at work. Some purist folks prefer "feel" and simplicity so they don't want others to gain an edge from an anti-feel cool tech suit and prefer to force us all to be "feelers." No thanks, I don't need water on my legs.
i don't think this is the only part of the equation that is singled out for debate (remember the dara torres threads)
like it or not swimming competition is a highly regulated sport. the pools are measured to the fraction on an inch, movement and motion is restricted (ever read the pages of regs about breaststroke), etc.
high tech fabric suits are the latest equipment available to competitive swimmers, but it had to go through quite a process to meet with fina and other governing bodies' approval. i question the process (not the cost of the suits). it appears to me that the manufacturers (sponsors) are influencing policy that fina should have thought out first.
to meet approval, the first generation of tech suits had to prove that they were not much of an advantage over "skin". they would never have been approved otherwise. with each new generation a small improvement over the last, we are now at a place where no one even dares to use the "skin" as a standard for comparison. i don't know how this thread devolved into the geek-dolphin debate over the cost of these suits... i consider the cost irrelevant. were i shooting for a national record, the cost would be of no consequence.
Precisely. Welcome to the world of racing. Faster is not a dirty word.
Training + hard work + excellent technique + coaching + natural talent + mental fortitude + speed suit = fast racing.
Speed suit = only one part of the equation. You don't see folks b*tching constantly about inequities in the other parts of the equation. Why is this one factor singled out so much? It's not the cost, it's the puritanical old fashioned bias at work. Some purist folks prefer "feel" and simplicity so they don't want others to gain an edge from an anti-feel cool tech suit and prefer to force us all to be "feelers." No thanks, I don't need water on my legs.
i don't think this is the only part of the equation that is singled out for debate (remember the dara torres threads)
like it or not swimming competition is a highly regulated sport. the pools are measured to the fraction on an inch, movement and motion is restricted (ever read the pages of regs about breaststroke), etc.
high tech fabric suits are the latest equipment available to competitive swimmers, but it had to go through quite a process to meet with fina and other governing bodies' approval. i question the process (not the cost of the suits). it appears to me that the manufacturers (sponsors) are influencing policy that fina should have thought out first.
to meet approval, the first generation of tech suits had to prove that they were not much of an advantage over "skin". they would never have been approved otherwise. with each new generation a small improvement over the last, we are now at a place where no one even dares to use the "skin" as a standard for comparison. i don't know how this thread devolved into the geek-dolphin debate over the cost of these suits... i consider the cost irrelevant. were i shooting for a national record, the cost would be of no consequence.
