Ban the tech suits?

guys with aerobars were always forbidden to participate in any pace-line training sessions back when i was racing. don't know about now? Same thing now. They are allowed in time trial races only, and in triathlons. No road races, nor crits. As far as training...it depends. True cyclists don't like it and sometimes they won't allow you to ride with them in training even if you promise not to use them. Groups of triathletes -- at least the ones I know -- don't have that problem, and I have been in pacelines where many of them are on the aeros. That makes me nervous, though: I have them attached to my "regular" (drop) handlebars but in a paceline will always use the drops instead. I'm sure you know the following story, but for the benefit of those who do not: Greg LeMond won the 1989 Tour de France by a mere 8 seconds. He was down 50 seconds to Laurent Fignon before the last day...a time trial in which LeMond used aerobars and Fignon did not. The aerobars are widely credited with being the deciding factor in the win. Did the equipment win the race? Or did LeMond show foresight and dedication in adopting the best legal equipment and learning how to use it?

This past week I was able to attend both our local College Conference meet as well as the HS district meets. At the college meet it was 80%+ tech suits, overwhelmingly LZR's. Seeing the level of performance from these swimmers I felt their use was justified in particular sice the schools tend to pay for them. Also, the swimmers seemed to respect the fact that these suits only last so long and were only wearing them for their races. At the HS meet it was maybe 5%, 2-3 teams and only a couple of swimmers each. But the kids that wore them overwhelmingly came in 1st, 2nd or 3rd and breaking records as well. To drop over 1 second in the 50 free is huge and don't tell me the suit did not help! What bothered me more than anything else thought was the fact that these kids wore their LZR's during warm up, their race and medal ceremonies-so about 4-5 hours. I thought it is not the frequency of use but the extent of the use that deteriorates the suit, so why do that to a $500 suit? Anyhow, I felt really bad for those kids whose mom and dad could "only" cough up enough for a fast skin or the team suit. When a suit is so out of reach for the average HS swimmer then maybe it should not be permitted at a district or even state meet.

An analogy from the cycling world might be aerobars. They improve speed instantly, but learning to ride well with them takes some practice. guys with aerobars were always forbidden to participate in any pace-line training sessions back when i was racing. don't know about now?

1. at what point do the tech suits become unreasonable? a- $500 suit = (-).5 sec pre 100 yds b- $1,000 suit = (-)1 second per 100 yds c- $5,000 suit = (-) 2 seconds per 100 yards I'm wondering if you have ever tried a bodysuit? I wear one for competition and the time advantages you mention here are way out. Up until a few years ago I'd never won a major competition or set records. Since wearing a bodysuit I have won medals at World and European events, and set 9 national and 5 European records. My 'bodysuit' 100 time has reduced by 4 seconds (as compared to swimming in trunks) and my 200 time has dropped by 8 seconds. My 1500 time is a minute faster with a suit. I wouldn't compete without a suit again.

I wore the stars and stripes suit. I could never grow the mustache. For me the problem is this; Because you bought something you are now faster than me. You bought a crutch that gives you a one to two percent drop in time immediately. That drop in time isn't something to sneeze at. Your training didn't give you this. You bought it. It took time for you to learn how to dive with your cheap goggles. It took time to practice in your fancy pool with high rent. It took time and effort for you to be as fast of a swimmer as you are. It took no time to wear the cheatin' suit. (except to put the silly baggies over your feet) (( Isn't that enough right there?)) I think that training, skill, and my bad habits should be the factors in my defeat. Not your bankroll.

Anyhow, I felt really bad for those kids whose mom and dad could "only" cough up enough for a fast skin or the team suit. When a suit is so out of reach for the average HS swimmer then maybe it should not be permitted at a district or even state meet. How do you know this is all they could afford? Where they asking for sympathy? Why do you jump to the conclusion they were unable to afford a LZR? Maybe they chose to spend their money on other things.

It still seems a matter of priorities. One parent may claim they can't afford the LZR for their 16 year old yet have that same 16 year old driving his own brand new SUV. Same parent probably has given a cell phone, Xbox, and wii to his/her nine year old.

So, you guys are saying that these suits should be banned I don't think I ever said the suits should be banned. OK, I did vote "yes" in the poll, but only because there was no choice between "ban them" and "they're the greatest thing ever." :) Really, if they don't violate the rules then, no, they should not be banned.

How do you know this is all they could afford? Where they asking for sympathy? Why do you jump to the conclusion they were unable to afford a LZR? Maybe they chose to spend their money on other things. 1-because I know many of the kids/parents 2-no they were not 3-see 1 4-believe me, I have nothing but respect for the kids that did their PB and qualified for their state meet while wearing something other than the LZR/B70

What it comes down to is this. Speedo(and Blue70) developed suits "just" in time for trials and the Olympics. AT THE TIME the suits seemed to meet the standards,i.e. no buoyancy, and the suits were allowed. In hindsight that decision may have been too hasty, but neither the NCAA nor FINA have done any testing of their own(as far as I know).Until they test and prove or disprove that the suits are adding buoyancy they are legal. Any records set while the suit is/was legal should stand, this was the case when records were set during the doping years.Big money was spent on developing and promoting these suits and that jacked up the price. The huge difference here is that for Olympic and even college swimmers suits were either made available for free or at a reduced cost. Even with that, many college teams have had a hard time financing and finding suits for their swimmers. But HS teams do not have the type of sponsorship or budget, so if you want one you either buy it yourself(how many of you can afford that?) or maybe you are lucky and can get one trough your club. But that leaves the majority of HS swimmers without the suit. And I think that is where the unfairness comes in...... I think your money would be better spent on furthering your education instead of spending it on a tech suit. Just my opinion. When you get out into the work force (permanently) perhaps it'll be a little more discretionary.