The following has appeared on a swim forum in the UK
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I’ve been looking at recent masters results. It’s clear that swimmers are producing much slower times without bodysuits. Furthermore, many swimmers are disillusioned and are on the verge of giving up completely. It would be a travesty if these swimmers (they are mostly the over 45s) were lost to the sport altogether.
The majority of masters swimmers prefer to compete in bodysuits. Of that there is no doubt, as witnessed at masters meets up and down the country. It is a disgrace that masters swimmers have been included in the ‘new rules’ concerning elite swimming. I find it quite sad that many swimmers are talking about cutting up their suits, taking out zips and even asking whether they are allowed ‘modesty panels’ in their suits any more.
As always, we are getting no advice, guidance or even leadership from the toothless Masters Committee, whose gingivitic and malocclusive tendencies are attracting Big Nev’s interest, but that’s to be expected.
But it doesn’t have to be like this. Masters swimmers in Italy are not accepting this farce. They are still holding meets where swimmers can choose to wear bodysuits.
There was a recent questionnaire sent out to 4,000 masters swimmers in France. 2,700 swimmers replied, stating they wished to keep their bodysuits for competition.
Masters swimmers in Germany are on the verge of revolution! They accept that masters swimmers are not going to be a threat to any Olympian’s records. Many have now entered masters meets in Italy where they can wear their suits if they want. Also, some meet organisers in Germany are holding similar meets.
Instead of following any directive from our anaemic and tedious Masters Committee, I’d like to see masters swimmers in the UK make a stand against the stupidity surrounding the banning of bodysuits. It will cost me time and money but I’m prepared to organise this.
We need meet organisers in the UK to hold ‘optional suit’ masters meets. Swimmers can choose whether to wear a suit or not. If they are going for a record then the suitless option is a must - but only for a while. I believe that if we boycott masters meets where suits are now allowed, meet organisers, the Masters Committee and the ASA would have to take notice. At the moment they don’t give a toss. At the forefront of the ASA’s mind would be the loss of revenue. Believe me, they see masters swimming as a joke anyway, they would happily let masters swim in bodysuits if it meant they could keep the revenue pouring in.
Getting meet organisers to run ‘bodysuit’ meets would be easy. They would be oversubscribed, every time. Not only from our swimmers but from overseas entries too. I can see one-day meets turning into weekend ones. The organisers could make a lot of money from these well-attended meets. Pulling the plug on masters meets because of low entries would be a thing of the past.
These meets would be the thin end of the wedge in bringing about a change of rules. It‘s the boycotting of ‘non-suit’ meets that would bring a change of rule overnight.
The decathlon would be meaningless because ‘suited’ swims wouldn’t count towards it - but in reality, it is a meaningless competition anyway for all but ten swimmers in the UK who have a chance of winning it.
Don’t underestimate what can be done. Masters swimmers are a powerful group in swimming. The Government is putting very large amounts of money into the greasy hand of the ASA to promote health and fitness for adults. The ASA wouldn’t like the kind of publicity we can give them.
If you feel you can support this initiative I’ll make a start. Masters swimmers in Italy, France and Germany are ready to come on board. Many masters swimmers in America are also willing to make a stand against their governing body. Naturally, support from suit manufacturers is there already. I’ve spoken to four of the biggest.
Former Member
Keep it real and work hard!
I assure you that every tech suit is made of 100% genuine matter. Accept no substitute!
The B70's and Jaked will be back, I think, in the nearer rather than farther future. FINA will just regulate better from now on.
They'll be back.
:chug:
I think this is a valid concern. In one ear I hear USMS leadership discussing ways of growing the membership and generating greater swim meet participation. However the tech suit ban may have the opposite effect especially with the prime demographic.
There are a minority (I think 30-40% range, and I seem to recall it is closer to the lower end of that) of masters swimmers who compete, and obviously this issue only concerns that group.
Of that group, there are certainly a fraction who prefer the tech suits, roughly 50% from what I can tell.
But of that group (at most 20% of the USMS membership, so up to 10,000 swimmers), what fraction are actually going to quit USMS over the tech suit issue? I don't know the answer; I would suspect that, while there will be a lot of grumbling, the fraction of people who feel that strongly about the suits are also the ones most committed to competition, and I predict that they would continue to participate in USMS meets. Perhaps if there is some large national rival league that DOES allow tech suits, it might siphon those people away.
USMS could of course go pretty far in satisfying the tech suit people by allowing the suits in SCY competition, as others have suggested. I would recommend that people who feel very strongly about this talk to their LMSC delegates and get them to bring it up at the national convention in the fall. My recollection is, if such a change is endorsed by the Rules Committee, a simple majority vote would pass it. If it is NOT endorsed, then the bar is a little higher (I think two-thirds).
Maybe the tech suit issue will increase OW participation. After all, they are still allowed in OW competitions, including national championships.
This is a fact that I find particularly ironic, given the furor of OW purists ("we swim naked!") over the idea that there be a separate category for wetsuit wearers at national championships.
The B70's and Jaked will be back, I think, in the nearer rather than farther future. FINA will just regulate better from now on.
They'll be back.
:chug:
Karen, they are already "back," in FINA-approved versions.
I'm just giving Fort hell for her well known dislike of most 100's and above distances.
Hey now, hairball, I've done zillions of 100s. And I'm swimming, gasp, a 200 this weekend. No doubt, it will horrifically paced.
I'm not sure Ande is a sprint specialist ... He's a specialist at layering endurance with sprint training and focusing on "soft" events. :D
...while there will be a lot of grumbling, the fraction of people who feel that strongly about the suits are also the ones most committed to competition, and I predict that they would continue to participate in USMS meets...Yup. I think there's more bluster about the tech suit ban diminishing numbers than reality. Count me in as one who loved the tech suits, one who doesn't like the ban and who will wear his till the bitter end, but I'll be at USAS LCM competition the weekend after Atlanta Nationals in my jammers ready to race.
Of course, 200s hurt more than 50s, and sprinters are well-known to be complete babies about pain.200s might hurt the body more, but 50s hurt my ego more. I'm happy for the sprinters to NOT learn how to swim mid-distance to distance events and to leave us slow twitch folks alone to enjoy our sublime events.
I meant the ones we currently have, until June 1st.
I disagree, after all this hullabaloo, I don't think impermeable suits will ever be back in FINA-sanctioned pool swimming. But if they do change some rules, IMO the most likely change would be to allow equal coverage for men and women (in textile fabrics). Actually I don't even think that will happen anytime soon.
I've also heard rumblings that even jammers are enough of an aid to run afoul of the new FINA rule prohibiting swimsuits from doing just that. In which case there may be a movement back to briefs for men. I don't see that happening either.
Or maybe FINA just doesn't care much about masters swimming and will capitulate and allow them in those competitions. (To be honest, I was surprised when they included masters in the ban.)
But, by all means, people who think those thin little wetsuits will be legal again should hang onto them. Linus had his blanket too...
I'm just one guy here, but you can count me as +1 for USMS membership due to the recent tech suit changes.
Interesting to hear. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are more people like you than there are people who will quit because they can no longer wear the suits. I certainly don't see how tech suits would get lots of new people into the sport or get people competing who otherwise wouldn't. Think about it. Someone who has never done a meet before is unlikely to show up to their first meet with a $500 Speedo LZR. They will show up in briefs or a jammer, or the equivalent for women, and likely be psyched out by all the people dressed up as seals and never swim another meet again. :bolt:
The following has appeared on a swim forum in the UK
_______________________________________________
I’ve been looking at recent masters results. It’s clear that swimmers are producing much slower times without bodysuits. Furthermore, many swimmers are disillusioned and are on the verge of giving up completely. It would be a travesty if these swimmers (they are mostly the over 45s) were lost to the sport altogether.
The majority of masters swimmers prefer to compete in bodysuits. Of that there is no doubt, as witnessed at masters meets up and down the country. It is a disgrace that masters swimmers have been included in the ‘new rules’ concerning elite swimming. I find it quite sad that many swimmers are talking about cutting up their suits, taking out zips and even asking whether they are allowed ‘modesty panels’ in their suits any more.
If you feel you can support this initiative I’ll make a start. Masters swimmers in Italy, France and Germany are ready to come on board. Many masters swimmers in America are also willing to make a stand against their governing body. Naturally, support from suit manufacturers is there already. I’ve spoken to four of the biggest.
I think this is a valid concern. In one ear I hear USMS leadership discussing ways of growing the membership and generating greater swim meet participation. However the tech suit ban may have the opposite effect especially with the prime demographic.
I believe the future may bring more of the Republic of Texas Swim Championship type events in which all suits are legal. Masters certainly don’t need to bow to the FINA monopoly. Someone out there is probably cooking up the World Swimming Federation (WSF) right now; it will be the tech suit legal league or maybe it will be called the Tea Party Swim Union……:rolleyes:
