Fina final decision on tech suits for masters

For those who are interested, below is a bit of background on the technical swimsuit issue in the open water swimming that may put the FINA decision in its proper context. FINA oversees the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit and the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit - a series of races that are always held in the summer in 11 countries in either the Southern or Northern Hemisphere (www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/.../fina-world-cup-and-grand-prix-2010-race.html). These races include Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Portugal, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Serbia, Macedonia and Canada. Races in other years have also been held in France, England, USA, the Netherlands, Australia and Egypt. The swimmers compete in a wide range of venues - oceans, lakes, rivers and bays - ranging from clear tropical warm waters and raging rivers to cold flat water lakes and rough water seas. While over 300 different swimmers compete on these two competitive professional marathon swimming circuits (refer to www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/.../how-many-professional-marathon-swimmers.html), there is a core group of 15 men and women who compete on most of these races. For example, Petar Stoychev swam a total of 303 kilometers over 15 races from January through October - with races ranging from 10K to 57K - on these two circuits, in addition to his races at the FINA World Swimming Championships, pool races (he did a 15:28 in the 1500-meter freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics), non-FINA invitational pro races and just good ol' fashion training in various lakes, rivers, oceans, seas and reservoirs in over 15 countries during 2009. FINA issued a press release that mentioned the use of certain swimsuits was to protect swimmers from sunburn and jellyfish. This reasoning is based on the actual experiences of these core group of swimmers - like Petar - who have faced years of extreme sunburns and innumerable jellyfish stings during their competitions. One of the medical and safety reasons behind FINA's acceptance of the swimsuits is to protect swimmers like Petar. The skin on the backs and arms of these professional swimmers become incredibly sunburned and so painful that they cannot even sit back on their chair or sleep on their backs after their racing - because the swims are held during the summertime around the world. Of course, professional swimmers in the past - from Greta Anderson to Paul Asmuth - have also faced these very same obstacles, but part of FINA's reasoning is to protect the swimmers - many of whom themselves were in favor of technical swimsuits. There were other reasons considered by FINA prior to the acceptance of technical swimsuits in the open water swimming world, but its focus on the safety of the current group of professional marathon swimmers cannot be discounted. Whether or not you agree with FINA's reasoning or rationale, I am hopeful this background information can provide information for the readers of this thread because misinformation or lack of information can sometimes lead to improper conclusions or assumptions. Note 1: the voices of American open water swimmers and coaches largely did not play into this discussion. Perhaps this is because the number of American swimmers who participate in the FINA World Cup and Grand Prix circuits is quite small relative to athletes from other countries. The two circuits are largely a European dominated series which is a historical change from the 1970's and 1980's when athletes like John Kinsella, Bill Heiss, James Kegly, Paul Asmuth, Doug Northway, Penny Dean and other Americans dominated the international professional marathon swimming circuit that were organized and sanctioned by the precursors of FINA (i.e., International Marathon Swimming Federation and the World Professional Marathon Swimming Association). Note 2: Recommendations to the FINA Bureau regarding the use of technical swimsuits were based on discussions by a 14-member committee that included an extraordinarily experienced group of open water swimming individuals (swimmers, race directors, coaches and aquatic administrators) who represent 14 different countries and whose mission was to make fair and reasonable recommendations on what they thought was best for the open water swimmers who participate in FINA competitions (i.e., FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup, FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix, World Swimming Championships and World Open Water Swimming Championships).

For those who are interested, below is a bit of background on the technical swimsuit issue in the open water swimming that may put the FINA decision in its proper context. FINA oversees the FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit and the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix circuit - a series of races that are always held in the summer in 11 countries in either the Southern or Northern Hemisphere (www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/.../fina-world-cup-and-grand-prix-2010-race.html). These races include Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Portugal, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Serbia, Macedonia and Canada. Races in other years have also been held in France, England, USA, the Netherlands, Australia and Egypt. The swimmers compete in a wide range of venues - oceans, lakes, rivers and bays - ranging from clear tropical warm waters and raging rivers to cold flat water lakes and rough water seas. While over 300 different swimmers compete on these two competitive professional marathon swimming circuits (refer to www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/.../how-many-professional-marathon-swimmers.html), there is a core group of 15 men and women who compete on most of these races. For example, Petar Stoychev swam a total of 303 kilometers over 15 races from January through October - with races ranging from 10K to 57K - on these two circuits, in addition to his races at the FINA World Swimming Championships, pool races (he did a 15:28 in the 1500-meter freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics), non-FINA invitational pro races and just good ol' fashion training in various lakes, rivers, oceans, seas and reservoirs in over 15 countries during 2009. FINA issued a press release that mentioned the use of certain swimsuits was to protect swimmers from sunburn and jellyfish. This reasoning is based on the actual experiences of these core group of swimmers - like Petar - who have faced years of extreme sunburns and innumerable jellyfish stings during their competitions. One of the medical and safety reasons behind FINA's acceptance of the swimsuits is to protect swimmers like Petar. The skin on the backs and arms of these professional swimmers become incredibly sunburned and so painful that they cannot even sit back on their chair or sleep on their backs after their racing - because the swims are held during the summertime around the world. Of course, professional swimmers in the past - from Greta Anderson to Paul Asmuth - have also faced these very same obstacles, but part of FINA's reasoning is to protect the swimmers - many of whom themselves were in favor of technical swimsuits. There were other reasons considered by FINA prior to the acceptance of technical swimsuits in the open water swimming world, but its focus on the safety of the current group of professional marathon swimmers cannot be discounted. Whether or not you agree with FINA's reasoning or rationale, I am hopeful this background information can provide information for the readers of this thread because misinformation or lack of information can sometimes lead to improper conclusions or assumptions. Note 1: the voices of American open water swimmers and coaches largely did not play into this discussion. Perhaps this is because the number of American swimmers who participate in the FINA World Cup and Grand Prix circuits is quite small relative to athletes from other countries. The two circuits are largely a European dominated series which is a historical change from the 1970's and 1980's when athletes like John Kinsella, Bill Heiss, James Kegly, Paul Asmuth, Doug Northway, Penny Dean and other Americans dominated the international professional marathon swimming circuit that were organized and sanctioned by the precursors of FINA (i.e., International Marathon Swimming Federation and the World Professional Marathon Swimming Association). Note 2: Recommendations to the FINA Bureau regarding the use of technical swimsuits were based on discussions by a 14-member committee that included an extraordinarily experienced group of open water swimming individuals (swimmers, race directors, coaches and aquatic administrators) who represent 14 different countries and whose mission was to make fair and reasonable recommendations on what they thought was best for the open water swimmers who participate in FINA competitions (i.e., FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup, FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix, World Swimming Championships and World Open Water Swimming Championships).