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.
Not sure what my new car has to do with this conversation.
You did say that you "sucked it up" and bought the tri gear. I'm just suggesting this might be a slightly easier thing to 'suck up' for someone who can afford a Corvette versus someone driving a 20 year old Nissan Sentra. Cost of equipment is something that could affect whether someone chooses to compete or not, so I think it's germane.
You did say that you "sucked it up" and bought the tri gear. I'm just suggesting this might be a slightly easier thing to 'suck up' for someone who can afford a Corvette versus someone driving a 20 year old Nissan Sentra. Cost of equipment is something that could affect whether someone chooses to compete or not, so I think it's germane.
How someone chooses to spend their money is a matter of their personal priorities and not necessarily a reflection of their income, and certainly no one else's business.
How someone chooses to spend their money is a matter of their personal priorities and not necessarily a reflection of their income, and certainly no one else's business.
I agree. My sole point here is that cost will be a factor in many people's decisions.
You did say that you "sucked it up" and bought the tri gear. I'm just suggesting this might be a slightly easier thing to 'suck up' for someone who can afford a Corvette versus someone driving a 20 year old Nissan Sentra. Cost of equipment is something that could affect whether someone chooses to compete or not, so I think it's germane.
But most masters swimmers are already paying big bucks for team memberships and/or gym memberships. I would wager most could afford some kind of tech suit. (See Ande's article in Swimmer a couple issues ago). Perhaps some, like Tim, would just prefer to spend their money on other things like travel, furniture, etc. Perfectly understandable. But those same folks shouldn't then disparage a different decision/priority to spend money on gear for competing. Or argue our gear should be banned so they don't have to compete at a disadvantage and can continue spending their discretionary income on non-sports items.
I agree. My sole point here is that cost will be a factor in many people's decisions.
Cost is a factor in every decision, not sure why someone's car has any bearing on that. I drive an 8 year old rig that is shedding parts daily. Can I buy a tech suit? What kind of car do I have to drive to buy a suit?
I've read about this line of thinking a lot on this forum - not just from Chris. But as a *newbie* who jumped into biking and running to do triathlons (albeit not well), I sucked it up, bought the gear, completely trained myself (hell, I was in the wrong gears for 15 miles during my first tri competition) and competed. So. . . I just think that riding a bike w/ clips, shoes, aerobars and the like down huge hills at huge speed in bad weather with cars everywhere (heck, and stray animals) is much scarier than putting on a tech suit and heading to a pool. And this is coming from a gal who won't spend one night camping. Just sayin' Perhaps those people are simply not cut out for sport.
I bought all this stuff to do a couple of triathlons (not very well). Swimming is the only sport I had any real background or relative ability in, yet since I started competing in Masters a year ago I have had zero interest in buying a tech suit. Of course I am not at any kind of nationally competitive level.
I was out of swimming so long that I didnt even know there were such things until I went to a meet. I thought the concept was ridiculous (I still do), but I could care less what anyone else is wearing since I am mostly competing against myself. Whether I get beat by 10 seconds or 12 seconds in the 100 free because of a tech suit is no matter.
Well I just broke down and bought a B70 thanks to the now low price. (Thanks for the heads up Ande). But I'm not sure iI can wear it. It is a M32 size:
6'1"+ (me 6'),
w33 (I wear 34 jeans but sometimes my waist looks kinda like a bear gut),
chest 41 (me 42),
weight 215+ (me 175).
Any way I need help to zip it up and all this dough looking stuff spills out where my lats are and my belly looks a snake that just ate a rat. (round bulge).
Me too. I ordered today. I'm 6'1 and about 225 right now and ordered a 32. I wear 36 jeans and a 36 Endurance suit in practice. I'm pretty sure I can fit in it. I even get into a 32 FS Pro Jammer and a 32 LZR Elite is even a little big.
Plus, I plan to drop 15 lbs by Nationals.
Proponents of tech suits have even claimed that they make the sport more attractive to the TV viewing audience because they want to watch people swim faster.
I would think the tv audience would want to see less suit and more skin.
Perhaps this statement is why the prior "pathetic" comment was somewhat confusing. Surely we're not "pathetic" for wearing racing gear to compete?
No, but it is pathetic to quit swimming because you can't wear a banned suit. Or to try and start a new organization outside of Masters to wear them is pathetic.
