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
Of course, Paul, if you're game, I think we need to get you to join me, Utsch and Dickson to take on any team (of 40-somethings) in a 4 x 800 relay! There's a 3K-ish race I could get into.
Do you really think anyone wants to hang around and watch a bunch of old geezers take up the pool for 30 minutes?
;)
Or an hour in my case!
would those who support a complete separate division for wetsuit wearers in open water also support a complete separate division for old school speedo wearers in pool competition?
Yes!
would those who support a complete separate division for wetsuit wearers in open water also support a complete separate division for old school speedo wearers in pool competition?
thats the question i would like to know the answer to.
(guess how i voted)
I would rather have part of a new titanium hard-tail mountain bike than a tech suit, so I'll continue to go slow in my brief. Especially in gridges with le Stud!
Jokes aside though TJ how would you feel if our narrow, narrow, 200 BR had been decided with me in a FS1...it wouldn't be the same.
I find it a little difficult to justify this kind of expense even though I hope to be competitive at the higher levels. My greater concern is the effect it is undoubtedly having on the sport. In my hometown, the local college has no men's program. The largest local age group team is about 90% female. This hasn't seemed to change much even since Phelps-mania. There are so many other options for boys that I have to believe that this added expense will make swimming a less attractive option for parents and their athletes.
Paul I see your point but for me, bikes and skis have always been a mesh of man and machine, if you will grant me the skis as being a machine.
As I said before I only really care if it's going to come down to you and me head to head and being basically equal. Outside of that, it is another world to me.
It's still (wo)man going through the water. Suits don't swim your race for you. And they don't do the training that goes into the racing.
Hey The Fortress
You're missing my point. Fastest will still be the fastest. So ceteris paribus it is just a waste of $ and efort to delude people into thinking they are faster than they are sans suits.
Now wearing one to hide your hairy back, spare tyre or embarrassing tattoo that's another matter. I know why I wore mine last weekend...b/c I was tired and need every bit of help...it was a crutch.
It's man and technology...not man. Sorry I didn't get the PC lecture at school so for me "Man" includes both sexes when used to refer to the human race. This is what PC does, it infers negative connotations into everyday words that are not really there.
I's totally irrelevant to someone at eh foot of the masters food chain like me anyhow. If I'm racing a gridge though, I expect the other guy to be wearing the same level of tech as me. If that means they leave the body balloon in the bag then so be it.
I think you are wrong.
I don't truly care, provided people don't say it's "man" vs the water or "how fast the "human body" can go" because it's really not. It is "man and quasi-buoyancy aid" or "human body encased in repellent suit."
Just like the ludicrous cycling and speedskating helmets.
Ditto for me.
I just think they are a needless complication and serve no real purpose, possibly other than to convince ourselves we are faster than were really are.
But I'm too much of a competitor to potentially put myself at a disadvantage and I suspect this is a common feeling.
I think you are right.
