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?
Former Member
Wookie - the reason is because the anti folks don't really understand that hard work produces results, not a suit.
If tech suits do not produce results why do people wear them?
Why is it the "anti-tech suit" people think that putting one of these suits on will automatically lower your times? If that is the case, how come people don't set personal bests and records every single time they were a tech suit? Tech suits don't automatically get you a faster time. That is a load of crap that the anti-people get sticking too. These people seem to want to forget about everything that goes into swimming before every going to a meet and wearing a suit of any style.
So, are you saying he would have been slower in a tech suit? Because my point is tech suits lower times.
Pau is saying your previous comment about "serious competitors and tech suits" is null and void.
There are as many variables in basketball, football, name the sport as there are in swimming. I realize this is a swimming forum but swimming isn't some stand alone sport in regards to gear, training, game day issues, etc. And, the obsession with the suits is weird, just get on with life and swim for heaven's sake.
You don't think the shoes matter, try having your equipment guy pack the wrong cleats for a football field condition.
These are good points, but I still think there are fundamental differences. I've certainly never heard an argument that one team beat another in basketball because they were wearing better shoes.
In swimming I like to continue to improve my times. With the evolution of the suits its hard to know year-to-year how much of the improvement was due to me and my training and how much was due to the suit.
I'm a mediocre masters swimmer who has only done a few meets over the past couple of years. I'm hoping to do more, though. If the technology is available, heck, use it! I don't see anything wrong with that. However, my only gripe is that it does make it tougher to get national qualifying times. Let's face it; the people wearing the very high-tech suits are not my competition. However, the top 10 will be wearing the suits, and thus the qualifying times will drop significantly; there will obviously more of a drop from year to year than before. I just swam my first national qualifying time in the 1650 (yes, I know it's the easiest event to qualify for), but I doubt my time will hold up for 2010 Nationals in Atlanta. It's unfortunate for people like me, but hey, only because I'm unwilling to shell out the bucks for a suit and/or look silly wearing one because of my lack of speed.
No, but my assumption is that the reason they are fun is because they make you swim faster, right? I think this is more or less artificial, just as wearing paddles or fins is. The fact that I can beat another swimmer when I'm wearing paddles, but he's not, doesn't make me a faster swimmer.
Anyway, here's a slightly new slant on this. One of the things that bugs me about swimming is how many qualifiers there are on performances. College dual meets are almost a joke because no matter who wins someone says "yeah, but team A rested and team B didn't." You never hear that kind of talk in the popular spectator sports like football or basketball and to me that's why no one give a rip about college swimming dual meets. With the tech suits we've added yet another qualifier. Now if one team is suited up, but the other team is not that's just one more excuse for why the playing field wasn't level.
In football, you hear it all of the time. Team A has so many starters injured and they're playing backups, otherwise they'd be a lot more competitive with Team B. Often, whole seasons can go in the tank for a team because of injuries to key players. There's also a qualifier on East Coast-West Coast games... the traveling team, especially when coming from the West Coast and playing a 1 pm game (10 in the wc) generally performs pretty crappy.
Basketball, where teams play multiple games in a row, you will often hear about which team is on a brutal road streak, etc.
Football and basketball are marketed much better and have a lot more participation in general than swimming. It has nothing to do with excuses for why one team performed better than another.
Kirk - swimming is zero percent different from all other sports in regards to game day resting, conditions, gear, coaching, facilities, etc. Do any of you watch or participate in any other sports?
Do you think that fun is always bad?
No, but my assumption is that the reason they are fun is because they make you swim faster, right? I think this is more or less artificial, just as wearing paddles or fins is. The fact that I can beat another swimmer when I'm wearing paddles, but he's not, doesn't make me a faster swimmer.
Anyway, here's a slightly new slant on this. One of the things that bugs me about swimming is how many qualifiers there are on performances. College dual meets are almost a joke because no matter who wins someone says "yeah, but team A rested and team B didn't." You never hear that kind of talk in the popular spectator sports like football or basketball and to me that's why no one give a rip about college swimming dual meets. With the tech suits we've added yet another qualifier. Now if one team is suited up, but the other team is not that's just one more excuse for why the playing field wasn't level.
I'll claim that. If a slow guy let's say swimming a 50.00 100 yd free wears a suit that drops his times 2% races a fast guy wearing a brief who swims a 49.99 100 yd free then to me the slow guy bought the win.
Nah. No suit will make 50.00 faster than 49.99. :D:D:D
