New rules announced today!
BBC
World swimming governing body Fina has moved to limit the impact of the controversial hi-tech swimsuits.
Last year saw an astonishing 108 world records broken, 79 of them by swimmers wearing one suit, the Speedo LZR Racer.
But following a three-day meeting in Dubai, Fina has stipulated swimsuits should not cover the neck and must not extend past the shoulders and ankles.
... opponents of the hi-tech suits argue the buoyancy they create amounts to "technological doping".
And matters came to a head in December when 17 world records tumbled at the European Short-Course Championships with the sight of swimmers squeezing into more than one suit in an attempt to compress their bodies and trap air for buoyancy dismaying many observers...
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Former Member
Dolphin,
I believe the limitations FINA has put in place generally make sense. There will still be plenty of world records broken in the future because there is a lot more to breaking records than just the suits. Several world records were broken last summer by swimmers not wearing full tech suits (Lochte, Phelps wore just legskins) so they are not a requirement to break a world record.
The world does not stay static in any sport so why such the fuss? "Mechanization", really? Are you secretly Janet Evans and just pissed that you lost your world records and this is your form of therapy? If so, I somewhat understand and I hope you eventually get over it although I think your world records would have been broken by the current group of swimmers with or without the tech suits.
Tim
Hi Tim L
What I mean by "mechanization" is the use of personally applied parts to the human body which compensate for some variable that contributes to the lack of swimming ability.
Humans are land creatures -not aquatic or amphibious animals- and humans are basically not biologically designed to swim. Therefore the lack of the ability of humans to swim is subject to many variables which can easily be mitigated through mechanical augmentation instead of using purely biological adaptive techniques.
So called "tech suits" are the purported solution to the variable of form and surface drag and FINA seems to think that's OK. However the lack of efficient propulsion is probably at the top of the list of problems in enabling humans to swim faster and this can be easily overcome by mechanization such as paddles or flippers.
However, unlike golf, tennis, or baseball, the mechanization of a what is biologically a non-mechanical human athletic endeavor does not constitute an advancement of the sport. In the past, FINA has maintained a policy which is to minimize the effects of mechanization and in particular minimizing the role of suits.
So my question continues to be this: If FINA is becoming lenient in the use of one form of mechanization such as tech suits, why not allow the use of paddles, flippers, and other aquatic adaptive devices as well?
Dolphin 2
Dolphin,
I believe the limitations FINA has put in place generally make sense. There will still be plenty of world records broken in the future because there is a lot more to breaking records than just the suits. Several world records were broken last summer by swimmers not wearing full tech suits (Lochte, Phelps wore just legskins) so they are not a requirement to break a world record.
The world does not stay static in any sport so why such the fuss? "Mechanization", really? Are you secretly Janet Evans and just pissed that you lost your world records and this is your form of therapy? If so, I somewhat understand and I hope you eventually get over it although I think your world records would have been broken by the current group of swimmers with or without the tech suits.
Tim
Hi Tim L
What I mean by "mechanization" is the use of personally applied parts to the human body which compensate for some variable that contributes to the lack of swimming ability.
Humans are land creatures -not aquatic or amphibious animals- and humans are basically not biologically designed to swim. Therefore the lack of the ability of humans to swim is subject to many variables which can easily be mitigated through mechanical augmentation instead of using purely biological adaptive techniques.
So called "tech suits" are the purported solution to the variable of form and surface drag and FINA seems to think that's OK. However the lack of efficient propulsion is probably at the top of the list of problems in enabling humans to swim faster and this can be easily overcome by mechanization such as paddles or flippers.
However, unlike golf, tennis, or baseball, the mechanization of a what is biologically a non-mechanical human athletic endeavor does not constitute an advancement of the sport. In the past, FINA has maintained a policy which is to minimize the effects of mechanization and in particular minimizing the role of suits.
So my question continues to be this: If FINA is becoming lenient in the use of one form of mechanization such as tech suits, why not allow the use of paddles, flippers, and other aquatic adaptive devices as well?
Dolphin 2
