Should USMS follow "suit" ?

I'm joining this conversation late, but I've noticed an omission in the postings that I thought I might raise: Our current USMS administration has tried very hard to bridge the gap between USAS and USMS. The dual sanction concept is the biggest way they are doing that. If USMS says "anything goes" regarding the swimsuits, no Masters swimmer will want to attend a dual sanction meet because they cannot wear the rubber suits (USA Swimming rules prevail in dual sanction meets). Thus, the dual sanction concept becomes meaningless because Masters swimmers will be afraid to race in jammers, or know that they can swim a Masters-only meet and go faster and get a higher top 10 placing or even contend for records. And all the work Rob and others have done so far will go out the window. I have loved the chance to compete in a USA Swimming meet for the racing opportunities they continue to offer, and have my times count for Masters records, both world and national. I've taken advantage of that for the past three years and love it every time. I have my own thoughts about the high-tech suits and I won't elaborate fully on them here, but rules are rules. I will wear my high-tech suit once more in December, to see if I can swim faster high-tech suit times this year than I did last year in the same suit (apples to apples). Then, I'll put that suit away in storage. At my first competition in 2010, I'll make sure the pair of jammers I got in 2006 are not frayed or loose-fitting, then train just as hard or harder in the pool with the time I have available so I can attempt in 2010 to swim faster than I did in 2009. Whether or not it's possible is irrelevant. It'll be fun to try. Tangent: In between the release of the first list of approved suits and the release of the final list, I shaved and tapered for a meet and didn't swim well. I blamed it on the way I had been training, not the fact that I couldn't wear by B70 and was "relegated" to my TYR jammers. Next summer, I look forward to swimming much faster because I'll be smarter about my training and not thinking about what could have been if I had been able to "suit up." If FINA and USMS say that high-tech suits will be allowed in 2010, I'm not sure what my response will be. Yes, "it's just Masters," but if you're a competitive swimmer, you do not choose to do so thinking laziness will get you to the goals you wanted to achieve. Should we be allowed to wear what we want because some people are too lazy to train like they know they should or are embarrassed by their beer guts? I teach swim lessons to adults who want to swim like the best swimmers in the world. And they mean Rebecca Soni, Michael Phelps and Ous Mellouli, not David Guthrie, Mike Ross or Jeff Erwin (no offense at all meant to these great Masters gods). If you want to swim like Michael Phelps, a suit is not going to help you. Getting yourself in the pool regularly will do that. If you're embarrassed by your beer gut or love handles and think wearing a rubber suit will hide them ... think again. The suit just makes them more noticeable. If "it's just Masters," then what's the point of having records? What's the point of even starting a watch or having times displayed on a scoreboard if it doesn't really matter? Why do you need the high-tech suit, if "it's just Masters"? Most people here say it doesn't really matter, but it really does when they step up on the block, regardless if you're in the slowest heat or the fastest heat. If the best swimmers in the world finally get to go back to stepping up and depending on their training to finish a race and stop the clock first (not just touch the pad first) then why can't Masters be held in the same regard? Because we're older and whine about soreness and pain more? Someone posted this: "One sport=one rule." I heartily agree. We're all swimmers, regardless of age or ability.

I'm joining this conversation late, but I've noticed an omission in the postings that I thought I might raise: Our current USMS administration has tried very hard to bridge the gap between USAS and USMS. The dual sanction concept is the biggest way they are doing that. If USMS says "anything goes" regarding the swimsuits, no Masters swimmer will want to attend a dual sanction meet because they cannot wear the rubber suits (USA Swimming rules prevail in dual sanction meets). Thus, the dual sanction concept becomes meaningless because Masters swimmers will be afraid to race in jammers, or know that they can swim a Masters-only meet and go faster and get a higher top 10 placing or even contend for records. And all the work Rob and others have done so far will go out the window. I have loved the chance to compete in a USA Swimming meet for the racing opportunities they continue to offer, and have my times count for Masters records, both world and national. I've taken advantage of that for the past three years and love it every time. I have my own thoughts about the high-tech suits and I won't elaborate fully on them here, but rules are rules. I will wear my high-tech suit once more in December, to see if I can swim faster high-tech suit times this year than I did last year in the same suit (apples to apples). Then, I'll put that suit away in storage. At my first competition in 2010, I'll make sure the pair of jammers I got in 2006 are not frayed or loose-fitting, then train just as hard or harder in the pool with the time I have available so I can attempt in 2010 to swim faster than I did in 2009. Whether or not it's possible is irrelevant. It'll be fun to try. Tangent: In between the release of the first list of approved suits and the release of the final list, I shaved and tapered for a meet and didn't swim well. I blamed it on the way I had been training, not the fact that I couldn't wear by B70 and was "relegated" to my TYR jammers. Next summer, I look forward to swimming much faster because I'll be smarter about my training and not thinking about what could have been if I had been able to "suit up." If FINA and USMS say that high-tech suits will be allowed in 2010, I'm not sure what my response will be. Yes, "it's just Masters," but if you're a competitive swimmer, you do not choose to do so thinking laziness will get you to the goals you wanted to achieve. Should we be allowed to wear what we want because some people are too lazy to train like they know they should or are embarrassed by their beer guts? I teach swim lessons to adults who want to swim like the best swimmers in the world. And they mean Rebecca Soni, Michael Phelps and Ous Mellouli, not David Guthrie, Mike Ross or Jeff Erwin (no offense at all meant to these great Masters gods). If you want to swim like Michael Phelps, a suit is not going to help you. Getting yourself in the pool regularly will do that. If you're embarrassed by your beer gut or love handles and think wearing a rubber suit will hide them ... think again. The suit just makes them more noticeable. If "it's just Masters," then what's the point of having records? What's the point of even starting a watch or having times displayed on a scoreboard if it doesn't really matter? Why do you need the high-tech suit, if "it's just Masters"? Most people here say it doesn't really matter, but it really does when they step up on the block, regardless if you're in the slowest heat or the fastest heat. If the best swimmers in the world finally get to go back to stepping up and depending on their training to finish a race and stop the clock first (not just touch the pad first) then why can't Masters be held in the same regard? Because we're older and whine about soreness and pain more? Someone posted this: "One sport=one rule." I heartily agree. We're all swimmers, regardless of age or ability.