I'm a master swimmer (and as a disclaimer also a swim shop owner), besides swimming pool competition i go to a lot of open water events.
As an open water swimmer and aficionado I vote for swimsuits in OW (possibly the textile only, or maybe more). Water can be cold in some countries, regions and days.
For the average OW swimmer some cold water swims (the longer ones) just can’t' be made without a suit
·Suits are more effective than Vaseline alone (and surely less messy and better for the skin breath)
·surely cold water tolerance can be trained but how many do have time and patience for this, do we want more or less people doing OW?
·Ending and OW race in hypothermia is no fun and it's not safe (I've experienced this and I’ve seen it once to many)
·Suits won't prevent all hypothermia cases but they will do away with most, they make colder water swims more accessible comfortable and safe (not to mention fun)
·Also in some seas there are jelly fish and other things for which suits offer some protection
As a master swimmer i would prefer the suits (possibly the textile only) are maintained. I do see a lot of diference in time betwen being shaved and not and i would prefer not to shave.
·There's a lot of difference in body hair for older swimmers. Some naturally have almost full body hair coverage other almost none
·If they're not both shaved or wearing full suits I would say it's not a level playing field (unlike other physical characteristics i think it's pretty much accepted to change/go around this one)
·There are good and cheap full swimsuits, wearing this will end up being cheaper (and surely easier and less time consuming) than shaving
regards
I'm a master swimmer (and as a disclaimer also a swim shop owner), besides swimming pool competition i go to a lot of open water events.
As an open water swimmer and aficionado I vote for swimsuits in OW (possibly the textile only, or maybe more). Water can be cold in some countries, regions and days.
For the average OW swimmer some cold water swims (the longer ones) just can’t' be made without a suit
·Suits are more effective than Vaseline alone (and surely less messy and better for the skin breath)
·surely cold water tolerance can be trained but how many do have time and patience for this, do we want more or less people doing OW?
·Ending and OW race in hypothermia is no fun and it's not safe (I've experienced this and I’ve seen it once to many)
·Suits won't prevent all hypothermia cases but they will do away with most, they make colder water swims more accessible comfortable and safe (not to mention fun)
·Also in some seas there are jelly fish and other things for which suits offer some protection
As a master swimmer i would prefer the suits (possibly the textile only) are maintained. I do see a lot of diference in time betwen being shaved and not and i would prefer not to shave.
·There's a lot of difference in body hair for older swimmers. Some naturally have almost full body hair coverage other almost none
·If they're not both shaved or wearing full suits I would say it's not a level playing field (unlike other physical characteristics i think it's pretty much accepted to change/go around this one)
·There are good and cheap full swimsuits, wearing this will end up being cheaper (and surely easier and less time consuming) than shaving
regards
