Tech Suit Compromise

I agree, Tom. No reason to leave the door half open. Let FINA make their decision and then USMS should follow it immediately. The idea of having different suits allowed for different courses is, frankly, bizarre. As much as I hate to agree with people that want us to go back to briefs and jammers, I think we should have the same suit rules for all three courses.

Oh Wook - You know we probably will... But sure is good to have another opportunity to address the fact that NO ONE in the world cares or recognizes the American created short course yards meets & times! HAHAHAHA....how do ya really feel Ahelee? lol

The fact that the majority of the elite world wants to swim here in college nullifies your argument completely. Word. Go back over the years and look at meet results from NCAAs, US Nationals, US Open, etc etc. Look at the number of fur'ners who swam at these meets. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a foreign swimmer with an above-average IQ over the age of 18 who doesn't understand SCY times.

Sure, I don't say its completely fair, although I don't think too many people -- maybe none at all -- have rested/tapered for a SCY meet yet. And if we KEPT the suits for SCY that would also favor some regions over others. I know some LMSCs who hardly have any meets, and some of those swimmers swim in USA-S meets instead. They won't be able to wear the suits in those meets. So in fairness -- and to be consistent with USA-S -- maybe we should ban them as soon as FINA decides (if they do). I think there is logic in being consistent with USA-S when possible, but all LMSCs are not created equal. If we went down that road, we'd tell SoCal to stop having so many meets, and to stop using all those LCM pools...I think every resident must have one in their backyard or something... The NOVA age-groupers just swam in a big meet last weekend. Amazingly, there were plenty of PBs and great swims, even in the post-suit era. Imagine that, life goes on. (I'm not trying to pick on you Beth, even though the sting from the 'Bama comments have yet to fade. :)) Chris - You are too nice to pick on anybody! Can't argue against the points you make. I do, however, find it hard to believe that any LMSC has less SCY meets than the Southeastern LMSC. For the 2009 to 2010 season, we will have two. Saw the results from the state high school meet and a number of top swimmers were just tenths off the record they set last year. I know this must have been quite frustrating for them. On the bright side of things, kids fast enough to be setting records will be able to swim in college and with specific training, can expect to get faster than the times they swam BSB. Good chance I won't get to do any meets in a B-70 or LZR. I'm trying to look at this as a positive thing somehow. I suppose I can take solace in the fact that my masters best times were done 6 years ago in a aquablade.

I do, however, find it hard to believe that any LMSC has less SCY meets than the Southeastern LMSC. For the 2009 to 2010 season, we will have two. From what I've heard, there are some LMSCs that don't have any USMS meets within their borders.

We should embrace our quirky American love of a measurement system that has relatively little apparent logic to it What do you mean? 12 inches to a foot, 3 feet to a yard, 5280 feet or 1760 yards to a mile. One horsepower is 550 ft-lbs/sec. What could be more logical than that? :)

Couldn't it be argued that the mid-season change favors certain regions over others? For example, between June 1 and the present date, I'm not aware of any USMS SCY meets in Tennessee or Georgia where times could have counted for top ten. I imagine there may be other states/regions where this is also the case. The time when the ban goes into effect will be very important. Many will have BSB (before suit ban) times and ASB (after suit ban) times. Sure, I don't say its completely fair, although I don't think too many people -- maybe none at all -- have rested/tapered for a SCY meet yet. And if we KEPT the suits for SCY that would also favor some regions over others. I know some LMSCs who hardly have any meets, and some of those swimmers swim in USA-S meets instead. They won't be able to wear the suits in those meets. So in fairness -- and to be consistent with USA-S -- maybe we should ban them as soon as FINA decides (if they do). I think there is logic in being consistent with USA-S when possible, but all LMSCs are not created equal. If we went down that road, we'd tell SoCal to stop having so many meets, and to stop using all those LCM pools...I think every resident must have one in their backyard or something... The NOVA age-groupers just swam in a big meet last weekend. Amazingly, there were plenty of PBs and great swims, even in the post-suit era. Imagine that, life goes on. (I'm not trying to pick on you Beth, even though the sting from the 'Bama comments have yet to fade. :))

I still say short course yards is a joke. Come on, folks, the difference between SCY racing and SCM racing is minimal. We race a lot in SCY because a lot of / most of our pools are in SCY. People around the world race a lot in SCM because many of their pools are in SCM. If you voted for Jimmy Carter (didn't he make a big 'go metric' push), then you can continue to protest our penchant for SCY. If you're not out lobbying your politicians and school boards and municipalities and so on to bring this country onto the metric system, then all your whining about SCM vs. SCY is wasted because this is a big cultural and economic issue that ain't likely to change anytime soon. On the positive side, though, this is one of those vibrant cultural differences that makes us somewhat unique -- are you all saying you want a world of bland, homogenized countries with no differences from one place to the next? We should embrace our quirky American love of a measurement system that has relatively little apparent logic to it and that was a gift, I believe, from the very nation we rebelled against! You don't have to have a valid passport and visa to care about what the rest of the world does...Just because I have a passport doesn't mean I think we should do everything the rest of the world does. WORD!

What do you mean? 12 inches to a foot, 3 feet to a yard, 5280 feet or 1760 yards to a mile. One horsepower is 550 ft-lbs/sec. What could be more logical than that? :) Didn't an inch originate from the width of the kings thumb??? I like SCY's because i am a turner not a swimmer...

Although I am generally anti-tech suit I don't see a problem with letting you all wear them through this SCY season.