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
Using new suits or not using is an individual choice. If you don't like racing in them or competing against others that do use them, simple solution... find something else to do. If you want to compete in masters and don't want to spend the money on a tech suit, then don't spend it. Swim only for your pleasure(and don't compare your times with theirs) but don't gripe because others are using tech suits
It isn't a choice for serious competitors. You either use a fast suit and win or use a slow suit and lose.
Do you really want to lump all of them into this group? I would be willing to bet a good number of them don't get them for free.
I do not know who are paid to use certain suits or who are given suits. I would suspect that the worlds best swimmers are given suits.
Again, what is the problem with wanting the best possible time? If you ask people 5-10-15 or more years from now, most probably won't remember what suit they were wearing. They will remember their fastest times.
Wanting the best possible time isn't a problem. To me using tech suits to achieve an artificially low time is what I do not agree with.
I thing everyone will remember the 2008 olympics for many many years. Too many records were broken. There was too much contoversy regarding the number of suits and types of suits.
Using new suits or not using is an individual choice. If you don't like racing in them or competing against others that do use them, simple solution... find something else to do. If you want to compete in masters and don't want to spend the money on a tech suit, then don't spend it. Swim only for your pleasure(and don't compare your times with theirs) but don't gripe because others are using tech suits
It isn't a choice for serious competitors. You either use a fast suit and win or use a slow suit and lose.
Do you really want to lump all of them into this group? I would be willing to bet a good number of them don't get them for free.
I do not know who are paid to use certain suits or who are given suits. I would suspect that the worlds best swimmers are given suits.
Again, what is the problem with wanting the best possible time? If you ask people 5-10-15 or more years from now, most probably won't remember what suit they were wearing. They will remember their fastest times.
Wanting the best possible time isn't a problem. To me using tech suits to achieve an artificially low time is what I do not agree with.
I thing everyone will remember the 2008 olympics for many many years. Too many records were broken. There was too much contoversy regarding the number of suits and types of suits.
