I guess I'm glad I didn't drop the $500 for one of those suits, but have a couple of FS Pros that still have some swims in them. We'll see what USMS does, but I'm sure they'll follow on FINA. The whole thing has been has been a mess, and may change yet again from here. FINA let the mfg'ers out run them, and the whole situation got out of control, and when they tried to govern it, they were all over the place, totally inconsistent, and only contributing more confusion and inconsistencies. So now they seem to be taking the easy way out... well, maybe the 2nd easiest way... the easiest being to do nothing.
Personally, I liked the suits for me, but I think other swimmers with different body shapes than me may get more out of them than I do. Or maybe I needed a LZR or B70. However, I don't like the aspect of trying to retard innovation in principle. I would have preferred a more strong governance model, with FINA setting the specs and standards, and the mfg'ers having to pay for the "proof" to submit a suit for approval, subject to audit of course. It's worked with other sports that have gone through similar technical innovation threats, such as golf. Several years ago, the golf clubs and balls were threatening to obsolete many of the classic course since they enabled the player to hit the ball much further, and golf's governing bodies (there are two main ones - USGA and R&A, so they have to come some agreement) were asleep at the wheel. Eventually, the rules were stiffened, but not to the point to stifle technical innovation, but more to control it, and in some cases, dial it back. It was a little messy at first, lawsuits, non-compliant clubs, Arnold Palmer taking Callaway's (think Speedo of golf clubs) side, etc., but eventually everything settled down. For example, club faces (mostly drivers), must not exceed a certain level on the "coefficient of restitution" (a spring effect)... a very technical measurement. Similar restrictions on balls now. But they've recently dialed one standard back, outlawing the use of square grooves, requiring in Jan 1 2010 the use of "v" grooves. Square groves put more spin on the ball and therefore allow for more control on shots from the rough, so the v-grooves should bring an increased penalty for imprecise shots, so we can expect PGA tour scores to go up a bit in 2010.... but the players will likely progress, and get better.
FINA seems to have dialed it too far IMO, like golf's governance orgs going back to wood woods and all steel shafts... or hickory shafts. Now that I think of it, the newer golf technology seemed to help other players more than me, at least on the tee shot... I've always hit the ball well, and long, and I hit about the same distance I have over the years, with a few different (and newer) drivers... but most of my buddies are hitting the ball farther than they used to, much closer to me... and we are all older, but the new clubs allow them to swing harder than they used to. I've spent $450 for a new driver, with mixed results... the one I play with now was an old one of my Dad's he could no longer hit, so it was free... and I hit it long and straight, with much more confidence than I have in years. I still have to swing the clubs to score, and still have to swim the race to win.
Holy cow... watching the world champs on TV as I write this... Ariana Kukors was a 2:07.03, new WR by 1.4 seconds in the 200IM, blew away Stephanie Rice... were can I get a Jaked? I need to see if my folks have one laying around they're not using... :).
I guess I'm glad I didn't drop the $500 for one of those suits, but have a couple of FS Pros that still have some swims in them. We'll see what USMS does, but I'm sure they'll follow on FINA. The whole thing has been has been a mess, and may change yet again from here. FINA let the mfg'ers out run them, and the whole situation got out of control, and when they tried to govern it, they were all over the place, totally inconsistent, and only contributing more confusion and inconsistencies. So now they seem to be taking the easy way out... well, maybe the 2nd easiest way... the easiest being to do nothing.
Personally, I liked the suits for me, but I think other swimmers with different body shapes than me may get more out of them than I do. Or maybe I needed a LZR or B70. However, I don't like the aspect of trying to retard innovation in principle. I would have preferred a more strong governance model, with FINA setting the specs and standards, and the mfg'ers having to pay for the "proof" to submit a suit for approval, subject to audit of course. It's worked with other sports that have gone through similar technical innovation threats, such as golf. Several years ago, the golf clubs and balls were threatening to obsolete many of the classic course since they enabled the player to hit the ball much further, and golf's governing bodies (there are two main ones - USGA and R&A, so they have to come some agreement) were asleep at the wheel. Eventually, the rules were stiffened, but not to the point to stifle technical innovation, but more to control it, and in some cases, dial it back. It was a little messy at first, lawsuits, non-compliant clubs, Arnold Palmer taking Callaway's (think Speedo of golf clubs) side, etc., but eventually everything settled down. For example, club faces (mostly drivers), must not exceed a certain level on the "coefficient of restitution" (a spring effect)... a very technical measurement. Similar restrictions on balls now. But they've recently dialed one standard back, outlawing the use of square grooves, requiring in Jan 1 2010 the use of "v" grooves. Square groves put more spin on the ball and therefore allow for more control on shots from the rough, so the v-grooves should bring an increased penalty for imprecise shots, so we can expect PGA tour scores to go up a bit in 2010.... but the players will likely progress, and get better.
FINA seems to have dialed it too far IMO, like golf's governance orgs going back to wood woods and all steel shafts... or hickory shafts. Now that I think of it, the newer golf technology seemed to help other players more than me, at least on the tee shot... I've always hit the ball well, and long, and I hit about the same distance I have over the years, with a few different (and newer) drivers... but most of my buddies are hitting the ball farther than they used to, much closer to me... and we are all older, but the new clubs allow them to swing harder than they used to. I've spent $450 for a new driver, with mixed results... the one I play with now was an old one of my Dad's he could no longer hit, so it was free... and I hit it long and straight, with much more confidence than I have in years. I still have to swing the clubs to score, and still have to swim the race to win.
Holy cow... watching the world champs on TV as I write this... Ariana Kukors was a 2:07.03, new WR by 1.4 seconds in the 200IM, blew away Stephanie Rice... were can I get a Jaked? I need to see if my folks have one laying around they're not using... :).
