Since there has been observation on this forum that most younger female (not male) swimmers at Nationals wore non-tech suits (the 18-24 and 25-29 groups), I'm curious as to why.
Anyone of that younger group look at this board and care to post reasons? Cost? Controversy over "authenticity" of times when fastest suits are banned? Desire to look hot for guys, as one poster suggests?
I would start out by insinuating that the younger age groups (both male and female) do not take USMS Nationals quite as seriously as some of the older age groups. Not to say that this is true in all instances, but I found that a lot of the younger swimmers tended to be recently returned to swimming (post college) or otherwise new to swimming masters. They might tend to feel that the situation does not warrant purchasing an expensive high tech suit - especially if they are coming from events like college championships, Senior Nationals or US Open.
There is also the fact that the 18-24 age group represents a very small fraction of the diverse age range at Nationals. I would assume that the median age at Nationals was somewhere in the early to mid 40's - with an average age around the same - just off observation in Clovis.
Lefty- I flat out disagree with that statement. There were a few 18-29 yo women that went 23/24s for their 50s free and 27/28s for their 50s back on my team. IMHO, that's pretty quick!
That being said I know I was 22 for my first masters meet and DID NOT take it seriously (it was Pacific Champs, followed 3 weeks later by Nationals). There is no way I would have shelled out money for a suit for "masters".
Were my eyes opened! Perhaps for many who are new to masters they don't know yet that it is still some fast swimming.
I'm 5 years removed, but in my 20s I certainly would not have had budget to cover a high tech suit between grad school and low paying jobs. By the way, also fewer women in the lower age groups because they're busy having babies. (which might actually apply to the new fathers, too). I found very few women competing in 30-34 group. Now that I've aged up, the competition pool has increased significantly.
I would think lefty meant that the truly elite swimmers (especially under 25) tend to still be either competing in college or in USA swimming meets (US Open, etc). I would agree that their are some very fast swimmers (especially in the 25-29 group) that put up very respectable times. When it gets right down to it, nearly all the swimmers competing at an event like USMS Nationals are very good swimmers (for their respective ages, or even stacked against all the different ages).
I am wondering if it is a question of cost and if those girls were all relatively local. It looked like it on the psychs, but I don't know all the abbreviations, so...
In contrast to the hypothesis, my team has a *lot* of girls in 25-29, and we all have tech suits, though mostly Pros, which we break out for New Englands and Nationals only. We also didn't go this year because the travel was expensive (a lot more than a Pro). Which is to say, I am going to guess it is cost and that it a lot less prevalent than people here suggest, and may have looked so at this meet due to outside influences. I can say with certainty there are plenty of younguns in the techs at Harvard.
probably because tech suits are expensive & they are single & broke.
Since there has been observation on this forum that most younger female (not male) swimmers at Nationals wore non-tech suits (the 18-24 and 25-29 groups), I'm curious as to why.
Anyone of that younger group look at this board and care to post reasons? Cost? Controversy over "authenticity" of times when fastest suits are banned? Desire to look hot for guys, as one poster suggests?
I'm no pup but I turned down a loaner of a B70 for my next meet today.
I don't want to put a suit on when someone else's "boys" have been in there first!
The male preoccupation/fear of somehow being contaminated by another guy's "boys" is amusing to me. Especially in a suit that spends all its time in chlorinated water.
What exactly is the nature of "boys"phobia?
Rich, if Natalie Coughlin or Amanda Beard offered you the opportunity, totally in the privacy of your own home, to put on their thoroughly chlorinated bikini brief bottoms--assuming these would fit--would you be tempted to do so, or be disgusted by the prospect? Or Pamela Lee Anderson, assuming she is being treated with penicillin for whatever Tommy Lee gave her? Would you be even remotely tempted to don her hip huggers?
Be honest here.
I personally would love to wear Amanda Beard's suit, though I know I couldn't fit into it. But perhaps "girls"philia is a different form of illness from "boys"phobia.
PS When I interviewed Dara Torres, I begged her to give me one of her old LZRs, but she wouldn't claiming I wouldn't fit. Probably some weird contractual arrangement with Speedo.
Well beauties that they are, a very comely female swimmer tried to get me to put on their FS Pro last year...I had to say no...
Someone told me that they won't watching swimming on tv anymore because of the full bodies suits that the young women wore at NCAAs and the Olympics. When this person watches swimming on tv, this person prefers the regular female suit.
