I love the quote from the FINA "press office": "The new rules relating to swimwear do not apply to open water. They apply to swimming."
I think we need to find out if any of the FINA leadership actually know how to swim themselves or even what sport they are overseeing. WTH does a remark like this say of their understanding of the sport?
I'm not sure I buy the rationale for keeping B70 swim skins in the OW, but not the pool. If it's to minimize negative effects from UV rays and coral, wouldn't a Pro bodysuit work as well as a swim skin? Last time I checked, B70s were pretty rippy. If it's for warmth, why can't swimmers wear a wetsuit and compete in the wetsuit division? The statement/announcement justifies the need for the swim skins as: assisting "progress" in a sport already experiencing a massive boom in popularity, providing "vital" commercial involvement, increasing participation and helping ensure confidence. Wouldn't these same rationales apply to the pool?
Right on. FINA's inconsistency is amazing.
On the bright side, maybe this is just the first shoe to drop in the inevitable back slide of full body tech suits back into the pool. Imagine this future FINA press release:
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (21 September 2009) -- After recently attending the FINA 10KM MARATHON SWIMMING WORLD CUP in China, FINA leadership came to the realization that the propulsive activity used by competitors in open water events looks remarkably like the pool swimming stroke commonly referred to as freestyle or, more archaically, the front crawl.
The FINA president commented after the event, "I was amazed by this event. If I put on imaginary blinders to obscure the waves and conjured up some lane lines, I could have swore that both Fran Crippen and Maarten van der Weidjen were swimming freestyle. When we talked with these individuals after the competition, they even explained that they actually considered themselves swimmers! We had no idea this was so!"
After then touring the Beijing Water Cub and learning that swimming pools use an exceptionally strong chemical known as chlorine to keep the water clear, FINA leadership stated, "Much like in open water events where we must protect the competitors from the elements, we must have our pool competitors sheathed in chlorine resistant rubber over as much of their body as possible to provide a similar barrier to chemicals harmful to the health of the competitors."
I love the quote from the FINA "press office": "The new rules relating to swimwear do not apply to open water. They apply to swimming."
I think we need to find out if any of the FINA leadership actually know how to swim themselves or even what sport they are overseeing. WTH does a remark like this say of their understanding of the sport?
I'm not sure I buy the rationale for keeping B70 swim skins in the OW, but not the pool. If it's to minimize negative effects from UV rays and coral, wouldn't a Pro bodysuit work as well as a swim skin? Last time I checked, B70s were pretty rippy. If it's for warmth, why can't swimmers wear a wetsuit and compete in the wetsuit division? The statement/announcement justifies the need for the swim skins as: assisting "progress" in a sport already experiencing a massive boom in popularity, providing "vital" commercial involvement, increasing participation and helping ensure confidence. Wouldn't these same rationales apply to the pool?
Right on. FINA's inconsistency is amazing.
On the bright side, maybe this is just the first shoe to drop in the inevitable back slide of full body tech suits back into the pool. Imagine this future FINA press release:
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (21 September 2009) -- After recently attending the FINA 10KM MARATHON SWIMMING WORLD CUP in China, FINA leadership came to the realization that the propulsive activity used by competitors in open water events looks remarkably like the pool swimming stroke commonly referred to as freestyle or, more archaically, the front crawl.
The FINA president commented after the event, "I was amazed by this event. If I put on imaginary blinders to obscure the waves and conjured up some lane lines, I could have swore that both Fran Crippen and Maarten van der Weidjen were swimming freestyle. When we talked with these individuals after the competition, they even explained that they actually considered themselves swimmers! We had no idea this was so!"
After then touring the Beijing Water Cub and learning that swimming pools use an exceptionally strong chemical known as chlorine to keep the water clear, FINA leadership stated, "Much like in open water events where we must protect the competitors from the elements, we must have our pool competitors sheathed in chlorine resistant rubber over as much of their body as possible to provide a similar barrier to chemicals harmful to the health of the competitors."
