I was waiting until or if I got close to lifetime bests to get current tech suit. Also, if I am close, would I have the funds available to buy a tech suit. But, I really don't mind this rule. So, you can't wear leggings after 2010 or something. They had this Fina rule in the Middle Atlantic after the first ban list but people still wore leggings at meets.
Rule SW10.7 now reads: No swimmer shall be permitted to use or wear any device or swimsuit that may aid his/her speed, buoyancy or endurance during a competition (such as webbed gloves, flippers, fins, etc.). Goggles may be worn. Any kind of tape on the body is not permitted.
Some purists in Europe are now urging FINA to ban goggles. I must admit, they are an aid to swimming faster. I'd certainly swim slower without goggles.
Lol. That would be terrible for people with contacts/poor vision. I'd probably have to quit swimming if that happened because I can't see worth a damn without my vision correction.
Am I the only one who doesn't really mind this rule? I kind of like it.
I like the idea behind the rule. Whether I like the rule or not depends on how they define "textiles."
I think the impact of the definition on men will be v small (not much material in the suit) but the impact on women may be significant. Plus enforcement could be a real issue.
Ideally I would like a rule that could be enforced at a glance (Not shiny? Permeable? You're good to go.) rather than having lists of approved and non-approved suits. But I don't think that will happen; they'll need to test for buoyance at the least, I would bet.
Am I the only one who doesn't really mind this rule? I kind of like it. Thankfully for me, I won't have to know what I'm missing with the advantage offered by the suits anyway.
I don't know what has been motivating FINA to make so many changes recently--this is the third significant rule change in just a few months. Something doesn't "feel" right about what's going on. Quite a few folks are opposed to the tech suits. I love them. I enjoy looking at them, seeing the different kinds, wondering what their strengths are etc. Some of them are just cool to look at. And not a few Masters swimmers definitely look better in them (than out of them). I like the feel they give in the water. Do they help us swim faster. Yes. Definitely. Is that bad? Not in my opinion.
Should we make pole vaulters give up fiber glass because it improved their vaults over the old metal pole? Tennis go back to wooden rackets? Track and field athletes go back to cinder? Golfers back to steel shafts and wooden woods? I suppose some would prefer that, not me.
I agree with Rowdy Gaines that the tech suits have made swimming more fun to watch and talk about. Was some company NOT making enough money the way things are now? Will some do better without tech suits? You have to wonder. FINA has been all over the place. Is money involved? I am hoping they get over this most recent move and just let it roll with tech suits.
I think FINA did a good thing. Swimming competitions should be the competitions among swimmers, not the swimsuit designers. (The tech-suit makers are probably the unhappiest now, more than the swimmers.)
(However, when Michael Phelps said, “I like it ... I think it’s going to be good", that's probably because it will make it harder for anyone without a tech-suit to break his records set with tech-suit :cool:).
not surprising, swim suits are for decency. FINA finally took the correct stance on their own rule, they aren't allowing suits to have much more fabric beyond what's necessary for decency.
And exactly who and how does one define what is and isn't decent?
Future Is Not Allowed
Once the rule hits, we'll see who can REALLY swim.
Looks like people have been REALLY swimming regardless of tech suits or not....after all the sport is called swimming
