All the announcements that are flying around about this, that or the other thing, being legal, maybe allowed and not legal, have not helped clarify anything to me. I read the latest USMS release as:
a) we'll follow whatever FINA says, but
b) later says that we can wear whatever we want despite FINA's ruling.
Very confusing- are we following FINA or not?
As a Meet Director, I find this to be a huge problem, especially as it relates to blueSeventy suits. I am sure that there will be plenty of people wearing/wanting to wear b70s while swimming in the meet I am hosting on June 21, just after the next FINA deadline and I would like to know what I should be telling our participants to wear (or not wear), and what our officials should be allowing or disallowing.
Considering b70's level of sponsorship and the prevalence of their suits at USMS meets over the last year, I think it would be prudent for the Rules Committee to release a statement citing this particular company's suits in their examples. It would greatly help me out.
If I were meet director my message about suits for your USMS meet would be:
Blue Seventy Nero Comp Suits and other suits that aren't on FINA 2009 List of Approved Swimsuits may or may not be legal in our meet starting on Friday June 19th.
We are waiting for FINA to issue their ruling on the 136 suits which are being retested. FINA's last press release said it would be announced by Friday June 19th, 2009.
USMS is likely to issue a ruling shortly after FINA does.
If USMS does not issue their determination during the meet, then USMS's current position applies. Also realize FINA's position is different from USMS, if you feel you could break a world record or swim a time that could be in FINAs top 10 in the world list, to be safe, you might want to wear a suit that is on FINA 2009 List of Approved Swimsuits .
Swimmers, if you have a Blue Seventy Nero Comp suit, I suggest you bring it to our meet, but also bring back up suits incase B70's are banned.
Links to all the announcements on Suit Legality
USMS's most recent comment on which suits are legal.
NOTICE TO ALL U. S. MASTERS SWIMMING MEMBERS
The following U.S. Masters Swimming’s official interpretation of Swimwear rule 102.14 was published March 26, 2009. These USMS interpretations have not changed and will remain in place until further notice. While USA Swimming chose to modify their rules, U.S. Masters Swimming has chosen to maintain its rules and interpretation until FINA has completed its processes and informed us of its interpretation as it applies to Masters Swimming. While our policy remains unchanged during this interim period, there is new information in the questions and answers following the interpretations.
#1. USMS SWIMWEAR INTERPRETATION
FINA approval or rejection of new swimsuits introduced after September 30, 2007, will be accepted by U.S. Masters Swimming for USMS sanctioned and recognized competition.
The following interpretation regarding the use of two suits during competition was also published March 26, 2009.
#2. USMS SWIMWEAR INTERPRETATION
For purposes of Article 102.14 of U.S. Masters Swimming Rules of Competition, Swimwear, the use of more than one swimsuit at a time during any USMS sanctioned or recognized competition is prohibited.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:
1. Question: Can I wear a regular racing suit that is not a body suit?
Answer: Yes, suits introduced prior to September 30, 2007, are legal for U.S.M.S. competition.
2. Question: Can I still wear my LZR or TYR Tracer at meets including long course meters meets?
Answer: Yes, because at least some of the LZR and the TYR Tracer models are on the new list of FINA-approved suits that was published May 19, 2009, and none of these suits are on the not-approved list. All LZR and TYR suits are legal at least until the retesting is completed. (We have not seen the official list of suits being retested, so we don’t know if there are models of these suits included.)
3. Question: Why don’t I see the new suit I bought on the new list of FINA-approved suits?
Answer: There are 136 suits that are currently being retested by FINA. The target date for those results is June 19, 2009. The suits are being retested under the new system for buoyancy (no more than 1 Newton), material (no thicker than 1 mm), and construction (no trapping of air), just to mention a few criteria. At the point of publication of those results, the USMS Rules Committee will consider those test results.
4. Question: How will this impact Masters competitors?
Answer: That suit you bought after September 30, 2007, is legal at this moment, but it could be reconsidered by the USMS Rules Committee after the next FINA-approved swimsuit list is published. Regardless of the upcoming new list, that old Fastskin or similar suit that you have will be legal since it was introduced prior to September 30, 2007.
5. Question: My coach is forcing me to swim the 1650 Free as a training swim. Can I wear a drag suit over my jammers?
Answer: No. Although wearing an extra drag suit may not be perceived as having an advantage, the interpretation is that only one swimsuit is permitted.
6. Question: Does “one suit for competition” mean I can only wear one suit for the whole meet?
Answer: No. You can change suits during the meet, but you can only wear one suit at a time. This restriction applies only to the actual races (competition). You can wear more than one suit during warm-up and warm-down. This restriction applies to all types, makes, and models of swim suits, but it is not intended to apply to athletic supporters or modesty type wear (a single pair of “briefs” or “bikini bottoms or top” or a sports bra worn to ensure modesty and privacy).
Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Kathy Casey, Chair
U.S. Masters Swimming Rules Committee
rules@usms.org
Ande
If I were meet director my message about suits for your USMS meet would be:
Blue Seventy Nero Comp Suits and other suits that aren't on FINA 2009 List of Approved Swimsuits may or may not be legal in our meet starting on Friday June 19th.
We are waiting for FINA to issue their ruling on the 136 suits which are being retested. FINA's last press release said it would be announced by Friday June 19th, 2009.
USMS is likely to issue a ruling shortly after FINA does.
If USMS does not issue their determination during the meet, then USMS's current position applies. Also realize FINA's position is different from USMS, if you feel you could break a world record or swim a time that could be in FINAs top 10 in the world list, to be safe, you might want to wear a suit that is on FINA 2009 List of Approved Swimsuits .
Swimmers, if you have a Blue Seventy Nero Comp suit, I suggest you bring it to our meet, but also bring back up suits incase B70's are banned.
Links to all the announcements on Suit Legality
USMS's most recent comment on which suits are legal.
NOTICE TO ALL U. S. MASTERS SWIMMING MEMBERS
The following U.S. Masters Swimming’s official interpretation of Swimwear rule 102.14 was published March 26, 2009. These USMS interpretations have not changed and will remain in place until further notice. While USA Swimming chose to modify their rules, U.S. Masters Swimming has chosen to maintain its rules and interpretation until FINA has completed its processes and informed us of its interpretation as it applies to Masters Swimming. While our policy remains unchanged during this interim period, there is new information in the questions and answers following the interpretations.
#1. USMS SWIMWEAR INTERPRETATION
FINA approval or rejection of new swimsuits introduced after September 30, 2007, will be accepted by U.S. Masters Swimming for USMS sanctioned and recognized competition.
The following interpretation regarding the use of two suits during competition was also published March 26, 2009.
#2. USMS SWIMWEAR INTERPRETATION
For purposes of Article 102.14 of U.S. Masters Swimming Rules of Competition, Swimwear, the use of more than one swimsuit at a time during any USMS sanctioned or recognized competition is prohibited.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:
1. Question: Can I wear a regular racing suit that is not a body suit?
Answer: Yes, suits introduced prior to September 30, 2007, are legal for U.S.M.S. competition.
2. Question: Can I still wear my LZR or TYR Tracer at meets including long course meters meets?
Answer: Yes, because at least some of the LZR and the TYR Tracer models are on the new list of FINA-approved suits that was published May 19, 2009, and none of these suits are on the not-approved list. All LZR and TYR suits are legal at least until the retesting is completed. (We have not seen the official list of suits being retested, so we don’t know if there are models of these suits included.)
3. Question: Why don’t I see the new suit I bought on the new list of FINA-approved suits?
Answer: There are 136 suits that are currently being retested by FINA. The target date for those results is June 19, 2009. The suits are being retested under the new system for buoyancy (no more than 1 Newton), material (no thicker than 1 mm), and construction (no trapping of air), just to mention a few criteria. At the point of publication of those results, the USMS Rules Committee will consider those test results.
4. Question: How will this impact Masters competitors?
Answer: That suit you bought after September 30, 2007, is legal at this moment, but it could be reconsidered by the USMS Rules Committee after the next FINA-approved swimsuit list is published. Regardless of the upcoming new list, that old Fastskin or similar suit that you have will be legal since it was introduced prior to September 30, 2007.
5. Question: My coach is forcing me to swim the 1650 Free as a training swim. Can I wear a drag suit over my jammers?
Answer: No. Although wearing an extra drag suit may not be perceived as having an advantage, the interpretation is that only one swimsuit is permitted.
6. Question: Does “one suit for competition” mean I can only wear one suit for the whole meet?
Answer: No. You can change suits during the meet, but you can only wear one suit at a time. This restriction applies only to the actual races (competition). You can wear more than one suit during warm-up and warm-down. This restriction applies to all types, makes, and models of swim suits, but it is not intended to apply to athletic supporters or modesty type wear (a single pair of “briefs” or “bikini bottoms or top” or a sports bra worn to ensure modesty and privacy).
Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Kathy Casey, Chair
U.S. Masters Swimming Rules Committee
rules@usms.org
Ande
