I'll be interested to see if this sports new bodysuits generates any controversy.
"These suits, which are the culmination of four years of research and testing, are more aerodynamic than human skin. They are made of a mix of drag-reducing fabrics, including Thinfit, which was developed for Descente by a Japanese fiber house and is 0.3 of a millimeter thick.
Five other fabrics are used in various sections of the suit: a dimpled knit fabric in the arms; a laminated version of the dimpled fabric in the hips and thighs; a rubberized knit fabric over the hood; a fabric for friction reduction under the arms; and a silver fabric to cover the hands. "
Money Quote: There has been no such outcry over the Descente suits. But unlike in 2008, when swimmers like the American Michael Phelps wore the LZR Racer in competitions leading up to the Olympics, the Canadian skaters have yet to race in their new suits.
Article:
www.nytimes.com/.../12speedsuits.html
You can always tell when someone hasn't got a leg to stand on-- they summon up hoary old beasts like "tradition" or "integrity."
(They said the same thing when I married a girl. "What you're doing is against traditional marriage! It will destroy the integrity of the family!" It's hilarious in a sick and sad way to see the same arguments being used to fight advances in sport as well as social policy.)
Ok, ok, I give in, I'll support wearing fins in competition!
Seriously, I would think that it is clear by now that different people have different ideas on what constitutes "advancing" the sport.
I also think it a little odd that FINA takes all the heat on this, while they undoubtedly handled the whole issue poorly it was USA-S that led the anti-tech-suit charge and got them banned against the wishes of the FINA big-wigs.
Ok, ok, I give in, I'll support wearing fins in competition!
Seriously . . .
I was prepared to mock you until I saw that the second paragraph began with "Seriously," so I can see you don't think the first paragraph was serious at all. Awesome. =)
The skater suits must help by assisting body movement and decreasing fatigue. Not much of a drag reduction benefit achieved when compared to swimming.
Water is more viscous than air after all, so there is that. However, aerodynamic drag increases with the square of velocity, and speed skaters get going really fast, so I'll bet the drag reduction is non-trivial.
I really think it's a stretch to compare the two. For one, the phrase "advances the sport" is sort of loaded. Just because you think it advances the sport doesn't mean everyone does. Your rights as a human being are a whole lot different than your rights as an athlete in a sport with codified rules.
Fair play. I look for patterns in things, but sometimes it's just coincidence I suppose.
So I missed this part earlier, but it gives me a chance to draw my own completely objective (and, in my view, self-evident) parallels. Strictly in fun, of course.
Pro-techsuit swimmer: Pro-business, "anything goes in the free market" mentality. Against regulation--interference!--of any kind. A "screw them, I got mine" mentality.
Anti-techsuit swimmer: Favors gov't regulation to correct perceived free-market "failures," protective of the rights of the minority and the poor. Generally compassionate, they are more likely to buy flowers for their loved ones on Valentine's day.
This is pretty good. Have you considered a career as a forum troll? No, seriously, I mean this as a compliment-- you've got the knack for reducing things to absurdity in such a way that it'll have forum warriors hammering their keyboards in reply. They'll miss the part where you write things like "strictly in fun," mistake it for earnestness, and just go crazy.
Good times. :)
