From Swimnews

I skimmed through the article, and my first thought was this: if masters allows suits that FINA does not, it will marginalize masters. Rightly or wrongly, it will make any times seem suspect. It will be the equivalent of allowing the Sr. Golf Tour players use clubs that aren't legal for the regular tour. To me, one of the best aspects of competing in masters swimming is that there is a seemless shift from 6 and unders to 80 and overs--a sense that in the bell shaped curve of life time performance, we may peak at a certain age, but the sport itself is a constant. I don't know. I guess I'd rather we abide by FINA standards even if it means surrendering some of the easy speed that the best technological suits can offer. I'd rather swimming stay one sport and not bifurcate into a normal and "handicapped" division. When Rich Abrams can break 50 in the 100 freestyle at age 65, that means something to every swimmer, regardless of age. But if younger swimmers are thinking he's done it via rules that don't apply to them, it cheapens his considerable glory. I say: keep it one sport.

I skimmed through the article, and my first thought was this: if masters allows suits that FINA does not, it will marginalize masters. Rightly or wrongly, it will make any times seem suspect. It will be the equivalent of allowing the Sr. Golf Tour players use clubs that aren't legal for the regular tour. To me, one of the best aspects of competing in masters swimming is that there is a seemless shift from 6 and unders to 80 and overs--a sense that in the bell shaped curve of life time performance, we may peak at a certain age, but the sport itself is a constant. I don't know. I guess I'd rather we abide by FINA standards even if it means surrendering some of the easy speed that the best technological suits can offer. I'd rather swimming stay one sport and not bifurcate into a normal and "handicapped" division. When Rich Abrams can break 50 in the 100 freestyle at age 65, that means something to every swimmer, regardless of age. But if younger swimmers are thinking he's done it via rules that don't apply to them, it cheapens his considerable glory. I say: keep it one sport.