Dear USMS Membership,
The Executive Committee met this week and discussed the recent FINA news release. USMS does abide by FINA policies however we recognize that there is much confusion with interpreting and applying the FINA release. In response and until further suit policy clarification is provided by FINA, USMS Board President Rob Copeland issued the following statement. Additionally, the USMS Rules Committee will be meeting on May 31st as they monitor the situation, any new information made available, and the implications it could have on USMS sanctioned events.
Rob Butcher
Executive Director
To: Kathy Kasey, Rules Committee Chair
Marcia Cleveland, Long Distance Committee Chair
Date: May 20, 2009
At this point in time no suits should be listed as banned by U.S. Masters Swimming for pool or open water swimming.
While FINA has listed the 202 approved swimsuits, FINA has NOT listed the 10 suits that have been “rejected for not passing the tests of buoyancy and/or thickness” or made a ruling on the “136 swimsuits to be modified in accordance with “Dubai Charter”." Until FINA provides the definitive list of banned swimsuits and specific actions on the 136, we should not report any suit as banned in a USMS sanctioned event.
If you hear anything from FINA in contradiction to this statement, please inform me as soon as possible. The list of FINA approved suits can be found at: www.fina.org/.../index.php. The FINA press release can be found at: www.fina.org/.../index.php
Rob Copeland
President - United States Masters Swimming
This is the right call, in my view. The FINA decision, based as it is on non-objective, unmeasurable criteria, seems on its face to be arbitrary and capricious (B70 submitted tights and jammers. How on earth can a jammer capture enough air to be significantly more buoyant than any full suit?).
My hope is that enough local sanctioning bodies will go the way of Japan, USMS, and apparently Italy (essentially telling FINA to piss off until it clarifies what the hell is going on) that the FINA decision ultimately falls of its own weight.
From what I've seen of FINA, if it happened to take FINA down in the process, it would be no great loss to the swimming world.
This is the right call, in my view. The FINA decision, based as it is on non-objective, unmeasurable criteria, seems on its face to be arbitrary and capricious (B70 submitted tights and jammers. How on earth can a jammer capture enough air to be significantly more buoyant than any full suit?).
My hope is that enough local sanctioning bodies will go the way of Japan, USMS, and apparently Italy (essentially telling FINA to piss off until it clarifies what the hell is going on) that the FINA decision ultimately falls of its own weight.
From what I've seen of FINA, if it happened to take FINA down in the process, it would be no great loss to the swimming world.
