If the full body rubber suits do end up getting banned, why should USMS follow their lead on this issue? (i.e. assuming the suits would continue to be manufactured).
Isn't Masters mostly for each individual to pursue what they want and the level they want out of the sport?
If the full body suit is preferred by many USMS participants, why not satisfy the base by keeping it available?
What's really the point of forcing old USMS swimmers out of their girdles if FINA bans them?
John Smith
Parents
Former Member
In my first Masters meet I didn't use goggles to race; I never had before and didn't know how to dive in without losing them. We all wear googles now when racing and "back in the day" we never used them. Is it an advantage? Yes, especially on turns; and it is generally better for the eyes. But it is definitely an advantage and I suspect we are faster because of them. Let's keep them. And if FINA banned them I would still want to keep them.
The tech suit issue got exaggerated in Rome because Phelps got beat by Biedermann and Bowman seemed to suggest that it was because of Biedermann's suit as compared to Phelps' "inferior" LZR. FINA seemed unsure of when to move on the ban until Bowman threatened to hold out his star swimmer until they ban the suit that caused Phelps to lose. I thought it was bs. I think Biedermann is a great swimmer and likely would have beat Phelps if they swam naked and without goggles.
Now, Jeff says that tech suits give lazy Masters swimmers an excuse not to train as hard. News to me. I had injuries last year and a half so I couldn't train hard enough to do 200's in competition but hoped I could still compete in the 100's. I got a Blue Seventy and loved the way it felt but even with that great suit I wasn't able to get my best times because I simply hadn't trained hard enough. The suit won't swim it for us. And I think they have the opposite effect that Jeff suggests. The notion that I could go even faster in this suit makes me want to train harder so I can get my best times. It's what a lot of us swim for--to get our best ever times. If other things cause us to train less: injuries, family, job, we may jokingly say the "tech" suit will pull us through, but no one who really trains and races seriously thinks that is true, because it isn't. Suits don't swim. We do.
And personally, I'd like to swim like Mike Ross although I am happy to watch Phelps on TV.
In my first Masters meet I didn't use goggles to race; I never had before and didn't know how to dive in without losing them. We all wear googles now when racing and "back in the day" we never used them. Is it an advantage? Yes, especially on turns; and it is generally better for the eyes. But it is definitely an advantage and I suspect we are faster because of them. Let's keep them. And if FINA banned them I would still want to keep them.
The tech suit issue got exaggerated in Rome because Phelps got beat by Biedermann and Bowman seemed to suggest that it was because of Biedermann's suit as compared to Phelps' "inferior" LZR. FINA seemed unsure of when to move on the ban until Bowman threatened to hold out his star swimmer until they ban the suit that caused Phelps to lose. I thought it was bs. I think Biedermann is a great swimmer and likely would have beat Phelps if they swam naked and without goggles.
Now, Jeff says that tech suits give lazy Masters swimmers an excuse not to train as hard. News to me. I had injuries last year and a half so I couldn't train hard enough to do 200's in competition but hoped I could still compete in the 100's. I got a Blue Seventy and loved the way it felt but even with that great suit I wasn't able to get my best times because I simply hadn't trained hard enough. The suit won't swim it for us. And I think they have the opposite effect that Jeff suggests. The notion that I could go even faster in this suit makes me want to train harder so I can get my best times. It's what a lot of us swim for--to get our best ever times. If other things cause us to train less: injuries, family, job, we may jokingly say the "tech" suit will pull us through, but no one who really trains and races seriously thinks that is true, because it isn't. Suits don't swim. We do.
And personally, I'd like to swim like Mike Ross although I am happy to watch Phelps on TV.
