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
Why is the skin comparison so important? I thought the whole point of suit technology was to improve on skin and go faster?
that is exactly the issue i was trying to illuminate.
tech suits of the first generation had to claim that they were not such a big improvement over the nekked body.... lest they be disapproved by the governing bodies as artificial aid. the latest generation doesn't try to make that claim at all as research and results would easily dispute any such claims.
my questions are:
have we now come to the point of "anything goes" as far as racing attire is concerned?
if yes, do you think this is a good thing?
if no, do you think we should?
my opinion is this; i think there is a lot of potential for suit manufacturers to influence fina and others about which fabrics are approved and which are not through sponsorships, fees etc. it just seems a little ass-backwards to me that instead of fina setting guidelines for attire and manufacturers developing suits that fall within those guidelines, it is the other way around.
i don't think these questions have been discussed much in this thread though i do admit i haven't read the whole thing (being equally distracted and entertained by the geek/dolphin "discussion")
Why is the skin comparison so important? I thought the whole point of suit technology was to improve on skin and go faster?
that is exactly the issue i was trying to illuminate.
tech suits of the first generation had to claim that they were not such a big improvement over the nekked body.... lest they be disapproved by the governing bodies as artificial aid. the latest generation doesn't try to make that claim at all as research and results would easily dispute any such claims.
my questions are:
have we now come to the point of "anything goes" as far as racing attire is concerned?
if yes, do you think this is a good thing?
if no, do you think we should?
my opinion is this; i think there is a lot of potential for suit manufacturers to influence fina and others about which fabrics are approved and which are not through sponsorships, fees etc. it just seems a little ass-backwards to me that instead of fina setting guidelines for attire and manufacturers developing suits that fall within those guidelines, it is the other way around.
i don't think these questions have been discussed much in this thread though i do admit i haven't read the whole thing (being equally distracted and entertained by the geek/dolphin "discussion")
