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
Does it though?
I assume there was some reasoning behind FINA's coy "approved list" but no "banned list." Surely, FINA anticipated/was informed of/approved this reaction?
I still think the list itself is BS because of the ridiculous, gotcha on a technicality, discrimination against B70. Two other inequities: (1) assuming times don't count, and this is a big assumption, some people will have times in non-approved suits and others will have times in possibly slower "approved" suits for purposes of SCM, and (2) I think it will be difficult to purchase "approved" suits to replace non-approved suits. Some already appear to be unavailable and I would bet Pros are flying off the racks.
I think the lack of a banned list has more to do with not proving a negative, and it strikes me as unreasonable to expect an exhaustive list of every single thing you can't wear. I can just see people yelling about some newly-invented suit: "It wasn't on the banned list so it is not banned!!"
I understand that people think something fishy is going on with the B70, and I am reserving my judgment (I don't particularly find either side in that argument more trustworthy than the other). I understand that the question of older suits / practice suits needs to be clarified. But I do not think this is the right answer.
I wish if USMS were to ignore the ruling for other reasons, such as SCM fairness, they just came out and said so, but as presented it seems like whining and not any more logical than FINA. That said, I also wish people would stop claiming FINA is like OMG THE WORST THING EVA!!!! because they disagree. USMS does plenty I don't love, but hell, they also run an organization that serves me pretty well in lots of other capacities.
Does it though?
I assume there was some reasoning behind FINA's coy "approved list" but no "banned list." Surely, FINA anticipated/was informed of/approved this reaction?
I still think the list itself is BS because of the ridiculous, gotcha on a technicality, discrimination against B70. Two other inequities: (1) assuming times don't count, and this is a big assumption, some people will have times in non-approved suits and others will have times in possibly slower "approved" suits for purposes of SCM, and (2) I think it will be difficult to purchase "approved" suits to replace non-approved suits. Some already appear to be unavailable and I would bet Pros are flying off the racks.
I think the lack of a banned list has more to do with not proving a negative, and it strikes me as unreasonable to expect an exhaustive list of every single thing you can't wear. I can just see people yelling about some newly-invented suit: "It wasn't on the banned list so it is not banned!!"
I understand that people think something fishy is going on with the B70, and I am reserving my judgment (I don't particularly find either side in that argument more trustworthy than the other). I understand that the question of older suits / practice suits needs to be clarified. But I do not think this is the right answer.
I wish if USMS were to ignore the ruling for other reasons, such as SCM fairness, they just came out and said so, but as presented it seems like whining and not any more logical than FINA. That said, I also wish people would stop claiming FINA is like OMG THE WORST THING EVA!!!! because they disagree. USMS does plenty I don't love, but hell, they also run an organization that serves me pretty well in lots of other capacities.
