Ban the tech suits?

Hey Midas- Sorry I missed you at USF. I made it just in time only for the last 3 events. Kids had basketball and the Chinese New Year parade was NOT a help getting to the City that day! I can prove, with my own experience, that the suit does make a difference. I have also been conducting experiments on my own teammates (don't tell them ; ]). I've noticed that some who beat me in meets wearing the B70 (and I don't) can't/don't beat me in practice. Of course this opens up a whole load of possibilities: they didn't have a good workout, they did wts before practice, etc. But I've noticed over a period of time that my research is holding, and the suit does make a difference. Trip trap... over the bridge I go!

Karen, There are some serious flaws in your hypothesis there. Case in point, I am a HORRBILE workout swimmer. Most of the folks who compete on the team can regularly beat me like a drum in practice but I'm consistently faster than them in meets. Forgot the smilies :thhbbb: :afraid: :thhbbb: :afraid: :thhbbb:

I said there were "flaws", but I know myself and my teammates, who I am "secretly" experimenting on, and the suit does make a difference. I can only speak to my experience. I should not make generalizations, I guess, about the suit. But if I had to pick a camp to navigate towards it would be the one that says the suit does make a difference, vs. it doesn't really make a difference. (Please keep in mind I am also in the camp that you need to put in the work to get the results, as the suit can't swim by itself!). Question to ponder: If it didn't make a difference why is every college in the country knocking down B70's door trying to get their team this suit? They are back ordered until March. The ONLY place I've seen to get one on-line is from Australia! And it costs over $500!! And I'll also say that college coaches feel that the playing field becomes level when both teams do have the B70. Just what I've heard... Trip trap...

Dolphin 2- I'm not making any kind of a judgment here, but I am wondering why are you opposed to the companies making money who make the suits? Who should make the money? While our country is obviously heading toward socialism (which I find terrifying) it's not here yet. I don't know what you do for a living, if anything, but I dare say that not too many people go to work every day out of the goodness of their hearts, they do it for a paycheck. Why would companies who make suits be any different?

Question to ponder: If it didn't make a difference why is every college in the country knocking down B70's door trying to get their team this suit? It's like "the Emperor's new clothes"? Or maybe just rumors and innuendos? Overrated in my opinion. Everyone (but me) should not buy them.

Felicity Galvez is poster girl for super suit debacle "Swimming Australia has urged FINA to ban the practice of swimmers wearing multiple suits to gain an advantage, and pushed for zippered suits to be outlawed."

Swimming World Magazine Endorses Swimsuit Restrictions in February Issue -- February 2, 2009 PHOENIX, Arizona, February 2. IN the February A Voice for the Sport column, Swimming World Magazine endorses swimsuit restrictions heading into a speedsuit summit taking place on Feb. 20 in Switzerland. A Voice for the Sport, February 2009 On April 10 last year, Swimming World Magazine first reported that a genie, wearing a black, full-body, custom-fitted swimsuit, had left its bottle and that Pandora's box was found open next to wet footprints. The "genie" represented swimsuit technology, while "Pandora's box" obviously represented all the issues surrounding the approval, regulation and implementation of the genie's technology. Since then, athletes using the new racing suits have broken an unprecedented 108 world records! In addition, countless national, meet and club records have been shattered during the same time period. It is not an overstatement to say that the new swimsuits have singlehandedly accelerated the natural progression of record setting and has created a new class of swimmers whose times cannot be fairly compared to past performances. Equally, it is not an understatement to say that the history of the sport—from a time performance perspective—has been disconnected. It is as monumental as B.C. separates A.D. in world history or the New Testament vs. the Old Testament. 2008 will always be seen as a demarcation point for the sport of swimming. Turning back the clock is impossible. However, we can adjust the clock going forward so that times are relative to an athlete's ability and not to his or her attire. To further this end, Swimming World Magazine endorses USA Swimming's proposal to FINA, the world governing body for international swimming, to regulate swimsuit technology in competition. USA Swimming wants FINA to amend the amount of material that covers an athlete's body. Currently, the coverage rule allows for a swimmer to compete in the element of water while 95 percent of his or her body never gets wet. Swimmers should be one with their element. The proposal asks that swimsuits "not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder nor past the knee." Currently, there is no rule that limits the number of swimsuits that an athlete can wear in competition. Therefore, a growing number of athletes are wearing multiple suits to combine different technologies. One suit is often worn as a first layer to provide compression technology. A second suit is layered to recruit muscle groups and a final layer to provide streamline benefits. Combined, the three suits exploit the current rules to enhance a swimmer's performance in the water even further. The new proposal strictly limits an athlete to one suit in competition. If passed, it will effectively close this loophole. USA Swimming concludes its proposal by requesting that any new technology be available to all competitors 12 months before the start of the Summer Olympic Games. Additional proposals may come forward prior to an important upcoming meeting, Feb. 20, in Lausanne with swimwear manufacturers, coaches and FINA officials—some of which may be separate standards for open water swimsuits and pool competition swimsuits, defining compression and redefining buoyancy. Compression has no definition within current FINA swimsuit rules, and research to verify buoyancy is non-existent. Also, products approved for open water competition have now made their way into the competition pool. Open water competition is a different animal whose outcome is based on placement and not on a final time. The need for different material properties and coverage may have merit. However, to bring all these standards within one rule for both competitions may do a disservice to both. It is our hope and the hope of many in the swimming community that FINA will vote to amend its rules prior to the World Championships in Rome.

Not that I generally disagree with what you are staying (I own a B70 and am not ashamed of it) but you could make the same argument for steroids' impact on baseball. Just because a thing brings excitement, exposure and revenue to a sport doesn't make it "right". I'm frankly not convinced that the suits have that great of an impact on performance (over shaving down). It's almost impossible to prove this, right? A myriad of factors are probably responsible for the huge number of records that fell last year (such as the confluence of recent improvements in training and technique coupled with the fact that everybody was training to peak last year for the Olympics, not to mention the explosion of "professional" swimmers). I don't think the suits deserve all, or even much, of the credit. I don't think you can equate suits with steroids at all. I agree with your second point. Suits have made a difference, but so have all these other factors. Absolutely. Karen, the "edge" these suits give is different for everyone. And Wolfy is right about the meet vs practice thing. An elite swimmer I know swam x race in x fast pool 2x, one with a poly tank and one with a B70. .5 difference. The difference would be less between an FS II or Pro and a B70. Although, again, it might depend on the swimmer. The B70s likely help slower swimmers more. When would the below the knee ban go into effect?

I hope they are eventually gone for good ... Many of us hope certain things are gone for good, most notably your error-ridden, fact-void rants. FYI - Speedo supplies suits to many universities, they don't pay a dime, get a clue about how it works, for the love of chlorine!

Do the new suits help male swimmers more than females? Take a look at this. www.floswimming.org/.../6033-part-iii-predictive-modeling-of-swim-performances-at-the-us-olympic-trials