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?
At SCY national championships all competitors were given free FS Pro's or greatly reduced LZRs, or so I'm told. They are here to stay and the vast majority wear them as top performing age groupers. Well, they are here to stay until the communists ban them.
The two age groupers who went from Lynchburg were loaned an LZR this year. I know they both wore them and thought they were cool. I don't know whether or not either one will go out and buy one.
I will make this pledge: If I crack the top ten for USMS, I will buy a tech suit. With my 29 high 50 free, I'm still a long way from cracking the top ten though!
At SCY national championships all competitors were given free FS Pro's or greatly reduced LZRs, or so I'm told. They are here to stay and the vast majority wear them as top performing age groupers. Well, they are here to stay until the communists ban them.
I'm pretty sure Tim isn't preaching. He simply said that a tech suit wasn't worth it for him. But that certainly doesn't make him an idiot, just as it didn't make Phelps an idiot. And, Geek, you're wrong about an age grouper NEEDING a tech suit to place in national level meets. There are a couple of recent age groupers from Lynchburg who placed top 3 at Y Nationals and Junior Nationals that did NOT wear tech suits other than a jammer!
Sorry that I don't wholly agree with you and your congregation. Continue your worship of the tech suits.
Tim
No one here worships tech suits. We just get really really tired of all the holier than thou (maybe) swimmers telling us how we are wasting our money, ruining swimming, making the playing field uneven, etc. Do you follow people around in grocery stores commenting on the value of the wine and beer they buy? Leave it be!
Get a congregation, seriously. I've never seen so many people who find it necessary to preach to others about all they know about equipment and gear. You don't like it, don't wear it but leave us alone.
The majority of swimmers at Nationals will be wearing speed suits. That puts the rest as wearers of antiquated gear that is not designed to capitalize on their training. Or, to put it simply, idiots.
I 100% guarantee you that while you don't have to wear one to get Top 10 as USMS (yet), you sure as heck do as an age grouper over about 13/14. You can catch the wave or sit on the beach and continue preaching and snivelling.
Aquageek,
I have been to well attended national/international masters meets (Austin and Worlds in Standford). I admit I don't attend every national meet. I wore a tech suit at Stanford and didn't wear one at Austin. Results were similar (actually better in Austin and my training was largely the same). Tech suits have improved since Stanford, but they are still uncomfortable and from the sounds of it more expensive on a per use basis. Give me a break on the group think. Are you a tech suit lemming? It isn't like 100% of the national meet swimmers wear tech suits. It isn't like you can't make the top ten without a tech suit.
You missed the point on the hassle of the tech equipment. Yes, cycling and golf have lots of equipment and that can be a pain, but when you decide to buy something specific in golf, skiing, or cycling that is a technical improvement to standard equipment that technical equipment usually increases enjoyment of the sport as well as providing you with improvement in your score or times than a tech suit. In many ways tech suits are inferior technology in relation to other sports technology. Do you not agree that something like aero bars in cycling increases comfort as well as providing a performance enhancement? Are the latest drivers in golf any harder to use than a driver 10, 20, 30, 50 years ago? Now, is a tech suit harder to put on than a brief? Yes. Does a tech suit restrict breathing, bind your shoulders and reduce range of motion? Yes. Do you worry about zippers, rear end blow-outs, durability, and other similar issues in a tech suit? Yes. For me those things are a hassle which are not found in golf clubs, skis, and aero bars and most technical advances in other sports and that influences my buying decision and probably many others.
I like competing and training just as much as you. I just don't think people should be called idiots for not wearing tech suits. Do you think Phelps is an idiot because he didn't wear a full tech suit in the 200IM/400 IM/100 fly/200 fly at the Olympics? Why don't you and Ande write into Swimming World magazine to the editor and call out Michael Phelps for not being a serious enough competitor for the USA and general "idiot" and see what that gets you? Maybe Park could have beaten the world record in the 400 Free if he wore a full tech suit. I only wish Park was more serious about competing, like you. Perhaps, Park hadn't been to any national or international meets prior to the Olympics and didn't understand he couldn't compete or be taken seriously without a full tech suit.
Tim
I personally wouldn't buy one either, but I can certainly think of worse ways to spend the sum of money that a B70 costs.
I've had numerous co-workers over the years who went to the bar every single Friday after work ("after" work is open to interpretation, apparently - it started at noon). Most of them also smoked heavily. I'm sure they blew $500 every six weeks just on cigarettes and booze, yet one of them was incredulous that I'd spent $800 on a new road bike. ("You coulda got one at Kmart for just 90 bucks!!!")
You can easily spend $500 on trendy clothing, or eating out in restaurants on a regular basis. Or going to casinos or bingo halls. As indulgences go, tech suits are pretty benign.
I think that's a bit self-centered. Almost as bad as someone else with their diatribe about how evil these suits are.
There's a huge difference. Ande actually swims and competes. The other fellow does neither and isn't a USMS member either.
If you can't afford one, fine. If you don't have that priority, fine. But, folks need to stop insinuating it in any way cheapens the sport, a person's accomplishments, etc. Every single other sport that adults can participate in went through this about two decades ago. Swimmers are just notoriously cheap and apparently also notoriously whiny (but we knew this from the Smiths already).
bottomline is:
If you're trying to swim as fast as you can and you don't wear a tech suit
you're an idiot.
I think that's a bit self-centered. Almost as bad as someone else with their diatribe about how evil these suits are.
I'm not going to object to others wearing whatever they want. But don't call me an idiot because I don't want to spend $100+ on a suit I'll wear a handfull of times.
Some of us may not have the money to spend in the first place. Others may simply have other priorities in life. I don't think anyone is an idiot if they do what they think is right for them.
