USMS final decision on tech suits for masters

As a flip side argument, maybe your goal next year is to match or beat your tech suit times, motivation and training goal. That's exactly the motivation I have right now, and I'm moderately confident I can do it. I swam in a LZR at Clovis and had a blast- It was so much fun to swim so quickly and effortlessly. I feel those times are probably the best goal to have because they are not some time cut based on other swimmers, or even my college times. They are my times, done recently, with a nice suit. I think I would smash those times this year if I wore the LZR again, but setting a time goal would be arbitrary. Bettering the times without a LZR is a stretch, but it would be more satisfying (for me) to do. I'd rather no wait until next year to attempt it. That's my reasoning, YMMV.

I definitely would not agree with that and would hope you'd be asked to leave the heat before it began. That would be disrespectful to all swimmers in your heat. Hey now that I have your attention, did you ever find out why none of the swims from the 2009 NC State Games held June 26 and 27 that we both attended never showed up for Top 10? I have no doubt that if I showed up to another NC masters meet I would not be allowed to swim with that suit post 6/1. If I remember correctly, I was the fastest seed out of both men and women for the 200 fly and the referee initially put me in lane 1 when the heats were combined - with lanes 2 and 3 empty to boot. I feel fortunate when I'm not given blatant disadvantages so I certainly don't expect special treatment. :)

Hey now that I have your attention, did you ever find out why none of the swims from the 2009 NC State Games held June 26 and 27 that we both attended never showed up for Top 10? I have no doubt that if I showed up to another NC masters meet I would not be allowed to swim with that suit post 6/1. If I remember correctly, I was the fastest seed out of both men and women for the 200 fly and the referee initially put me in lane 1 when the heats were combined. State Games? Was it USMS sanctioned?

State Games? Was it USMS sanctioned? Yep. Dual USMS and USA-S Sanctioned. www.ncsports.org/.../SWIMMING_-_Youth__and_Adultreg.pdf

I plan to wear my barely used B-70 for every meet between now and June 1st. What's more frustrating is I have a perfectly good FSII kneeskin (only 3 meets in it) that's legal except for the dasterdly zipper. I had a zipper on an S-2000 in 1992. So turn that clock back eighteen years!

That's my reasoning, YMMV. Actually, that's good reasoning. I'm just deferring my non tech quest until post June 1. I actually had assumed we would be done with the fun suits now so this is a welcome reprieve.

Now this kind of thinking just ticks me off. Some purists assume we despicable techies use our cheating suits because we are too lazy to train and seek instant gratification. Ha! Most people I know, including myself, train their asses off. Not sure what more I could do at this point to "man up." Evidently we need to eat less. I'm holding my breath for SDK improvement with the hopes that an extra appendage will pop out and make me more manly. My husband will freak out but oh well.

What disappoints me most about masters swimming is that my choice has been taken away I suppose you can choose to only touch with one hand in butterfly or breaststroke, too, but you'll be DQed for it. How is a suit rule different than any other rule?

What disappoints me most about masters swimming is that my choice has been taken away with the banning of the suits effective 6/1. I thought masters was all about fun and choice. Frankly, swimming a meet line up of 10 events over the course of two days including sprint to distance events was so fun in my tech suit which helped me to recover during and after each swim. Soon I will no longer have that option. I've done those line ups in practice suits, and it's hard as he##. That's a shame. As someone who has top 10 Fina rankings that distinction comes in last compared to having choice, fun, and options at meets. If I want the Nazi patrol, I can swim USS . . . or just log onto this message board. :) Worst case I guess that on occasion I can still wear an illegal tech suit and simply be DQ'd. Will meet directors allow me to even swim or what? You always have the choice of not swimming in a meet at all. I haven't swum in a meet for nearly 6 years, and the sky has not fallen. This is just a sport...for fun. I really don't get what all the fuss is about. I ran a marathon last year, there were professionals who broke records, wearing fancy running gear...most were many just thankful to finish (I was in this category) wearing whatever struck our fancy (heck there were a few people dressed like Elvis). I miss the days of masters swim meets just being fun, people thankful to finish a 1650, without everyone worrying about the best gear and records.

I'm thinking, in Pacific anyway, that they will not even let you swim in an illegal suit after June 1st. I could see them calling people down off of the blocks. The difference between wearing an illegal suit and an "in-race violation" is clear. I don't know too many people who swim a race and set out to get DQd (well I know of one), but if you intentionally put on the suit, you are challenging the rule and you should not be allowed to race. Do you think people will wear the suits to meets after June 1st? I don't know why you would.