I think we can all be certain that the suits are here to stay -- love them, hate them, it does not really matter -- Speedo, TYR and the others will not allow the suits to all over sudden disappear.
But, we as Masters swimmers have to make a decision about our own reasoning to compete -- why do we compete in swim meets ?
There are many reasons - social, participating in a sport beats the hell out of watching one on TV and so on --- but for me, 2 of the main reasons are the competition aspects. We obviously compete against other swimmers --- but more than maybe many other sports, we compete against ourselves. I can tell you my best 100 Free from every season over the last 30 years (10 of which I did not compete).
I have used most of the suits and did very well -- I set some personal bests and also achieved some record swims, but I have no idea how my times really compare to other seasons. I can keep telling myself that all that speedwork and lifting paid off - but I just don't know.
I like to give a golf comparison -- let's say you have a home course and you always shoot in the low 90s going from the Blue Tees --- well guess what, if you are going from the white tees you will probably average high 80s and going from the red you may get down to the mid to low 80s. But you are not a better player because of it. The LZR seems to be the "white tees" and the new Jaked suit may be the "red tees".
I think we really have to make a decision now to what matters more -- your personal records and history of swimming or the competition against other swimmers ? For me, this may change from meet to meet - but I must be able to stay honest with myself and be able to compare my times -- I do not want to be cheating myself.
Old generations suits (Fastskin Pro) only for: all major Masters meets (individual swims) except for Worlds. That means, I am ok to lose a few places in a meet, in order to know what my time really means. I could just go really old school -- but I think the older generation suits are pretty equal to shaving -- and they allow you to be "shaved" and swim fast in season, which is a huge plus.
LZR / Blue70 for: relays, Worlds and maybe some USS meets, if I am going for a time standard. I want to give any relay my fastest time possible - I swimming Worlds to win the title, so if others use the suits, I will have to do the same - if I go to USS meets, I may use them to get into the finals or to make a time standard for a big meet.
It may take some adjustments - but I think it will work --
Who is with me ?
Some suit research -- and that does not even take the Jaked suit into account ...
www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm
Everyone who has ever read or written for a scientific journal should look at this article, just to see the little hand-drawn graph originally published in Nature in 1925.
I hear you Ahelee Sue,
I also have been in other multisports (for 25+ years) and I see the cost of swimming as cheap sport compared to other sports and buying the top gear in any sport is a personal decision that one has to make. But I don't agree with FINA that they should have the right to make rulings on items that have been used for 1 1/2 years now for state, national and world records in our country or our organization. They were asleep at the wheel thru this time and we shouldn't agree with them blindly on this subject. Lets face it the people that have bought these suits love them and they should have the right to use them in the future. If FINA wants to rule on future suits down the road I'm all for that, but not after the fact, or after they have been used for this long-that is plain wrong and USMS should stand up against it.
I am curious about that - I heard that some of them had the new Jaked suit - if so, can we assume that Auburn won the NCAA title based on the better suits ???
Also - are we going to have a lot of long faces at meets next year ??
Jaked suits and Spann being ill cost Texas the win.
Fortunately Jason Lezak, not contractually bound to a manufacturer did just that. He unequivocally thinks it's all a joke. He wants the Jaked banned.
The Jaked is an easy target. Don't think he was really going out on a limb there. What about B70 and the LZR?
same with me, 1 year in college and 20 years off...so, i would love to stay with suit and fight my personal times to keep motivated for long road.
I totally agree with Fort.
Fortress - It was supposed to be an example. Sorry if you feel I was picking on you -- I really did not mean anything negative or bad. I got the year wrong in looking up times - and who said anything about lying ?????
You made a big drop - but you still don't how big -it's as simple as that. You are fine with it, so that is good enough for me -- as I said - it's a personal choice.
By the way you broke a Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen record from 2007 - but she already put on a new suit and dropped the record to 27.35 in December -- did she get any faster or did she just put on a new suit ?
I swam a 50.8 in the 100 Free -- my best time ever as a youngster is 50.2. If I break that time in a Jaked suit, do I swim a lifetime best ?
Maybe I should also count that 47.5 that I have done with paddles and zoomers ...
hmmm -- I am just trying to cope with what's been going on --- here are few quotes from Swim News coaches:
"A lot of harm has already been done. We can go back if there is a strong will. But the damage is done. I hope coaches are moved to take a stand. I'm tired, disappointed for my swimmers. I don't recognise some swimmers. One is disillusioned. And what's it all for? A swimmer you coach for 10 years, that gets up at six every day to swim, who swims 10,000km a year, does five hours of weights a week. All that reduced to nothing by a suit? Marvelous." - Denis Auguin, coach to Alan Bernard, the first sub-47 man.
"These types of materials favour lesser swimmers. The apearance of new suits last year accelerated things. On the other hand the finishing places were the same ... The swimmer who was 18th or 40th before was not 2nd or 3rd," said Auguin, who has obviously forgotten some results: such as an Italian women's 4x200m free team the fastest European quartet, inside 7:50. Never before. Not even close. The examples are legion, and many of them can be found among those who wore the LZR, not just the suits that came to the fore in time for the Rijeka riot.
Today," he adds, "I'm tired, disappointed for my swimmers. I don't recognise some swimmers. One is disillusioned. And what's it all for? A swimmer you coach for 10 years, that gets up at six every day to swim, who swims 10,000km a year, does five hours of weights a week. All that reduced to nothing by a suit? Marvelous."
Meanwhile, make way for our 16-year-old hero of the day. Yannick Agnel, coached by Fabrice Pellerin in Nice and a French junior champion, stands tall not only because he is 2m from the soles of his feet to his crown: in Montpellier he showed up at his blocks in briefs, just missed his 200m free best, with a 1:51.02 effort and said: "I've always swum in briefs and I see no reason to change that. I wanted to show that you can do honorable times without a supersonic suit."
A sign of the times: before he stepped up to his blocks an official asked him if he would be wearing something below his bodysuit. He said he would be wearing nothing under his briefs. After his race, he said that he had no regrets even though he missed his best by about half a second. "I'm staying pure ... a wildcard for the future. There is something important at stake. When I reach a barrier, perhaps it is that that will drive me to find the missing tenths or seconds." In other words, not simply by donning the latest supersuit.
Bravo! Yannick Agnel. A boy who in speaking to L'Equipe proved himself to be more of a man than those coaches who are still happy to seek plaudits for pupils whose performances relied on a prop and more of a man than those who govern the sport of swimming and who have not yet shown that they have truly understood the crisis nor found the courage of the convictions that they ought to have - let alone come anywhere close to expressing them publicly, as they should have done in order to preserve the special nature of the sport that they are supposed to be guardians of.
also from Swimnews:
"I was in Rome 1994 among the doped Chinese and I have the same sinking feeling today ... in just a few hours everything descended into chaos. A fault line has opened under the feet of swimmers. There are no rules anymore," Horter laments.
Reporter Benoit Lallement asks: "The parallels with doping are strong"? "That's the feeling I've had for the past 48 hours, the worst of my career," says Horter with a nod to a French pool floating on Jaked and an assortment of other suits that enhance performance in a truly significant way, as they have been doing elsewhere in the world. "I don't say that those who are using these suits are cheats, they are victims of FINA's lack of direction," says Horter.
I must admit that I am somewhat astounded and disappointed at the vitriol regarding the suits.
Yes, they have made all times before 2007 irrelevant. Is this a bad thing? Only if the current playing field is uneven; i.e. that a LZR or a B70 or a Jaked is measurably "faster" than the other suits. Otherwise, everyone has the same suit, so the difference remains "swimming" and not technology.
I believe FINA is trying to address this with their new guidelines, which will hopefully slow or stop the technology escalation.
A good swimmer is faster in a new suit, as is a crap or average swimmer. Is the crap swimmer in a new suit faster than a good swimmer without? I don't think so, but it depends on your definitions of good and crap. Is that gap between the crap and good swimmer narrower with these suits than without? Who knows, and does it matter? First is still first, and second is still first among the losers...
I am swimming times at age 45 that are close to what I swam at age 22. Do I really think that I am slowing the ageing process with glucosamine, shorter workouts, and a bit of weights? Not me. But personally, swimming for me is as much about the racing - which is relative - as it is about the times, which are personal. I enjoy racing, and want to be equipped as my competitors are. So fine to race in new suits, and fine to race in Arena paper briefs - just keep it "equal".
BTW, I don't hear Gross, Biondi, Mary T or others pissing and moaning about the effect the new suits have had on their legacy. Studs are studs no matter the suit. The rest is just a big circle jerk...:censor:
ehoch - you are not a positive force for Master's swimming. Why not just congratulate someone for a job well done instead of try to bring them down? If you have read Fort's blogs you will see a very determined and focused training routine. That alone is admirable for an adult swimmer, the times are merely the validation of hard work.
Hater.
Word, Dukie.
