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?
yea...swimmers want fast times...
There it is again. An invalid argument. Swimmers want fast times. Fast times compared to what? I am guessing fast times compared to other swimmers. That's what I shoot for anyway. Going your best time is what it is or being fastest at a meet is what it is. How does winning a race improve beyond winning if everyone's times are shifted down 2% (just an example) ? Shifting the average of everyone's times down because of a swimsuit does not improve upon what it takes to go 2 seconds below that average.
The whole "the sport is advancing because of technology and technology is great" theory is a joke. Swimming is about your body and mind not about being able to float better because of what you where. If the latest generation of suits were affordable ("was he suited up when he did that time, pretty lame for such and such school to suit up in season against a non-suited team, etc..."
I could afford to buy any suit I wanted and spending money on my sports is something I don't feel bad about doing but I won't be buying an LZR or B70. Hopefully the upcoming FINA meeting will be a catlyst for change.
yea...swimmers want fast times...
There it is again. An invalid argument. Swimmers want fast times. Fast times compared to what? I am guessing fast times compared to other swimmers. That's what I shoot for anyway. Going your best time is what it is or being fastest at a meet is what it is. How does winning a race improve beyond winning if everyone's times are shifted down 2% (just an example) ? Shifting the average of everyone's times down because of a swimsuit does not improve upon what it takes to go 2 seconds below that average.
The whole "the sport is advancing because of technology and technology is great" theory is a joke. Swimming is about your body and mind not about being able to float better because of what you where. If the latest generation of suits were affordable ("was he suited up when he did that time, pretty lame for such and such school to suit up in season against a non-suited team, etc..."
I could afford to buy any suit I wanted and spending money on my sports is something I don't feel bad about doing but I won't be buying an LZR or B70. Hopefully the upcoming FINA meeting will be a catlyst for change.
