OK - the "Suits" started the whole thing, so you can say that FINA and the manufacturers are responsible for the entire mess. But, there are ways to handle a situation without creating this silly mess. If you ever read Swimnews, the author Craig Lord, basically makes the suits out to be the devil and he is the Spanish inquisition. Why can't they just voice their opinion and then move on for the good of the sport.
Most main stream journallists have no idea about suits, records and all of that - they take their stories from the coaches and swimmers. The more the coaches and swimmers complain the worse the public, non-swimming perception will be - it's that simple. How about just saying - "I would prefer for the suits to changed - but Worlds are swimmer against swimmer - everybody can wear whatever suit they want and they are all available. In the end it comes down to the swimmer not the suit."
Michael Phelps was not world athlete of the year in 2008, not just because of the suits, but because of all the talk about them !
L'Equipe is now banning any record note in their newspaper and I am sure the coverage of Worlds will be terrible. Well - they are French, but it's still a big blow to the sport.
I don't read speed skaters complaining about a new track being the fastest in the world - they can only set records in certain places. I don't see the track cyclists making a huge affair out of a new faster cycling track that allows athletes to blow away all the records. I did not see the outrage when they changed the backstroke turn rule - how much is that in a 200 back ? About a second ? How much faster is allowing a dolphin kick off the wall in *** ? How much faster is allowing in regular Breaststroke to put your head underwater ??
I think there has to be a way to discuss it and not make it take over the sport -- by the way, I am actually against the suits, I would love for them to go back to regular suits. But at the same time, I also embrace new technology, I have a Blue 70 and a LZR.
Not necessarily. Check out this excellent and eye opening interview with Brett Hawke.
It's a good point -- but how is this really different from many other sports out there ? Take cycling or triathlons -- are the suits are a bigger difference than the bikes, wheels, helmets, and what have you not ? It's a change - probably not a good change, but nothing that should take away from the athletes. I know they don't have world records in cross country skiing or alpine skiing, but I would say the material is a lot more important there than in swimming - I don't hear them crying. You deal with it and compete with what is available and what you feel good about.
I am guessing 100s of medals have been won and lost because of better equipment. The medal winners should wear and use the latest and greatest allowed in the sport --- FINA is wrong for allowing the stuff.
I want to see Freddy Bousquet, Michael Phelps, Leveuax, Bernard, and Sullivan duke it out in the 100 Free at Worlds -- could not care less what suit they wear.
I want to see Peirsol, Phelps, Lochte and the Japanese kid do battle in the 100 Back - I don't care if they wear leg skins, full bodies or what (By the way - anybody still wearing legskins only should watch Phelps in his last 100 Fly and the interview).
Who wants to see the rematch in the 100 Fly ?
The more I think about it,the more not only is the current situation lousy but the 1/1/10 situation looks lousy too.FINA has hinted what they will allow,but not really said and manufacturers are going by that,which means they will pressure FINA to allow these suits.I'm sure FINA doesn't care about what I think,but I think they should allow all currently legal suits until 1/1/11.On 1/1/10 or before they should announce the rules for 1/1/11 so the manufacturers have plenty of time to comply and make the suits available to all.
I've got the solution. FINA should throw out the "permeability" and "no air trapping" requirements. Everyone seems to agree that air trapping occurs in most suits and the permeability requirement is already subsumed by the "buoyancy" and "thickness" standards. Instead, FINA should mandate a "durability" requirement for tech suits. Yes, it's a bit amorphous, but I'm sure all the creative thinkers out there could come up with some standards and enforcement procedures (e.g., suits cannot have notoriously faulty zippers and must last more than 5 swims before stretching or ripping). Then, the escalating cost issues would be mitigated somewhat, the suit manufacturers wouldn't benefit from planned obsolescence, suits would be usable instead of disposable, and the sport could advance technologically without sending us back a century to tanks and briefs. I'd much rather see FINA wring its hands over enforcing durability than regress, give up entirely on suit regulation, or continue to dwell on permeability.
I have a strong intuition that material permeability is only very weakly related to the ability of a suit to trap air. Much more important is the cut of the suit. The reason: I believe that air diffusion through the suit itself is pretty slow even for "permeable" materials like lycra, compared to egress by other means. (Verify for yourself if you like...a crude experiment involves a volunteer and a bowl of beans...)
Generally, I believe trapped air will be displaced by water if it has an easy way to leave the suit...generally not through the material itself, however. Jammers (of any material) will trap the least air, followed by leggings, followed by body suits.
The long, probably expensive "pseudo-scientific" screening method has been farcical. What they need are a small number of simple tests following well-established and public guidelines. (Personally I like the idea of testing thickness & buoyancy.) Then limit the suit coverage (knees to navel for men, pelvis-neck for women works for me) and step back. Suit makers would have simple and predictable guidelines to follow.
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my 2 year old square leg endurance will hold "air" that is injected into it quite well, only to be released by a flipturn... i believe kimchi (with its anti viral properties) might be a better source of experimental "air" than beans.... but to each his own.
I don't think this is necessarily true at all. FINA has given every indication that they would like to impose much more strict regulations on suit design. It isn't a forgone conclusion that they are here to stay. About all we know now is that they will be around till the end of this year.
I just can't imagine that they will completely ban the suits. I think they are just trying to put limits on them only. If they banned them, there might not be a world record set in swimming for several (many) years afterward and that probably wouldn't play too well at the 2012/2016 Olympics and wouldn't do much for the popularity of swimming.
I am all for a complete ban, but they probably should have done that in 2000. After almost a decade of tech suits, I think a complete ban is out of the question unless FINA is out of their minds. On second thought, FINA pretty much is out of their minds so it could be a possibility.
Tim
The more I think about it,the more not only is the current situation lousy but the 1/1/10 situation looks lousy too.FINA has hinted what they will allow,but not really said and manufacturers are going by that,which means they will pressure FINA to allow these suits.I'm sure FINA doesn't care about what I think,but I think they should allow all currently legal suits until 1/1/11.On 1/1/10 or before they should announce the rules for 1/1/11 so the manufacturers have plenty of time to comply and make the suits available to all.
I like these dates as they allow me to "wear out" my inventory.
I likewise see no reason why we as consumers should have to wear tech suits that rip easily and blow apart.
No one is forcing you to wear the suits.
Backstrokers should stay on their backs.
Anything to speed up that horrible breaststroke is fine by me. Even tech suits.
I would love to go back to a more level playing field, but let's face the fact that the suits are here to stay
I don't think this is necessarily true at all. FINA has given every indication that they would like to impose much more strict regulations on suit design. It isn't a forgone conclusion that they are here to stay. About all we know now is that they will be around till the end of this year.
How about only NON world meets & record breakers get to wear them
What are they going to do, make you sign a waiver before your swims where you must promise not to break any records? :)
I am all for a complete ban, but they probably should have done that in 2000. After almost a decade of tech suits, I think a complete ban is out of the question unless FINA is out of their minds. On second thought, FINA pretty much is out of their minds so it could be a possibility.
Tim
I don't think the suits between 2000-2007 are really that "tech" of a suit. Yes, they do provide more coverage,which I am a fan of, but they don't have the polyuerthane, rubber coating that the tech suits from 2008-present do.
Most of the 2000-2007 suits remind of me of the paper suits, just more material.
If the suits from 2008-present are banned, fine, just don't go back to pre-2000 standards. Some of us do like suits that provide more coverage, esp.those of that don't to have to shave down anymore.
