With all due respect to Ande, who tried to get me to buy a tech suit at Nationals (Ande, thanks for the compliment when you guessed my size, but I would wear a 36 in a tech suit, not a 26.), I respectfully submit my top ten reasons for hating tech suits:
1. $$$ Too expensive. I feel my money was better spent at The Athlete Village, having a video analysis done of my breaststroke. Implementing the tips I picked up from the online coach will help me to swim faster faster than a tech suit.
2. Struggle to put on. In the time it took a couple of gals in the locker room at Nationals to get their suit half-way on, I was out of my street clothes, into my Speedo Endurance suit, and had my bag unpacked and into the locker. And, I had expended a lot less energy than they did. I would rather spend my energy in the pool… :D
3. Too fragile. See Allen Stark’s post about his tech suit blowout- right before his event. I would be steaming big time if I had spent a heap of $ on a tech suit, then have it rip on me. :bitching:
Speaking of steaming…
4. The heat factor. I have heat intolerance medical issues (I love the heat mentally; my body hates it in a serious way), so being encased in a tech suit would exasperate the situation and possibly negate any gain I had made wearing the suit anyway. I was in Sunday’s last event (200 breaststroke) and was wasted by that point, after spending three days in the heat and humidity. :badday:
5. I want an apples-to-apples comparison of my times. I (barely) beat my seed times in two of my events and dropped my time about 2 seconds in another. If I had worn a tech suit and improved my times even more, would that have been a fair comparison- or would it have been the suit? I think a tech suit would have provided a false sense of success and an inaccurate indication as to my level of improvement since my previous meet. Then, post-tech suit, if my times got worse how would I feel then? I wonder how many of the swimmers will feel when they see (possibly) seconds being added back on to their times, post-tech suit? A false sense of success followed by huge disappointment is going to play on many minds, I’m sure. :confused:
6. Wearing a tech suit only exposes the arms and feet. I like to FEEL of the water with more than that. :agree:
7. Claustrophobic; too confining. I love summer, because I get to live in shorts and t-shirts. The less on me the better; it's more comfortable. :)
8. My current ranking #130 of 266 in the 50 breaststroke doesn’t put me in a position to be winning any medals or awards. Where would a tech suit put me in the rankings? #125? #120?? Even #100? Big deal! :rolleyes:
9. Personally, modesty isn’t an issue. At 48, I’m comfortable in my 5’71/2, 123lb. frame. And, I was comfortable in my not-as-fit 150lb pound frame, when I spent six months in Australia, back in 1984, where I spent some of the time relaxing on their nude beaches. Why? Because Aussies are comfortable in their skin and not hung up on their bodies like Americans are. Nude and topless beaches are common in Australia and you will see bodies of all shapes and sizes there. And, nobody cares. :)
Speaking of bodies…
10. Visualize Mark Spitz…1972 Olympics… in a Speedo… :D I was only 10 years old, but, believe me, my eyes were GLUED to the TV- and not necessarily only while he was swimming. Need I say more? Not all Masters swimmers look as good as Mark Spitz in a Speedo, but I saw PLENTY of AARP eligible swimmers out of their tech suits at Nationals that had absolutely stunning bodies- male and female! And, for those who weren’t? So what???
That concludes my :2cents: on the subject!
10. Visualize Mark Spitz…1972 Olympics… in a Speedo… :D I was only 10 years old, but, believe me, my eyes were GLUED to the TV- and not necessarily only while he was swimming. Need I say more?
He also swam without goggles and with facial hair. I don't know how that point goes for or against tech suits, I just want to throw that out there, becasue it amazes me and makes my eyes burn each time I think about it.
I've always said that I would buy a tech suit as a reward if I got my 100 free under 1:00. Eleven seconds to go! Maybe by that time they'll make them legal again...
It's nice to have a choice.
This basically argues that allowing the tech suits makes everyone happy, since those who don't like them can choose to compete without them.
It is false, because then those of us who don't like them have two choices: wear them and be somewhat unhappy about it, or don't wear them and be at a competitive disadvantage.
Like them or not, there are going to be people who are unhappy with whatever policy is adopted. That's pretty obvious from the oodles of posts devoted to the topic.
It is my fault for not expressing my point clearly.
I am not a purist about anything. I don't give a hoot about what you wear when you swim. Just don't compare times that are done with a tech suit.
An asterisk is a simple and elegant solution.
Then, following your logic (such as it is) every change in personal equipment (goggles, lycra, swim caps), every change in technique (head down breaststroke, rollover backstroke turns, dolphin kick during pullouts, etc), every change in pool design (lane lines, deeper pools, wave reduction gutters, etc) that contributes to lower times should have an asterisk (or maybe we need to break out the Cyrillic overlay?).
Now, let's be clear here. I'm a huge fan of the full body suits and have used them while they were considered legal swimwear but my opinion is that anything introduced after 2007 should have never been allowed to be used in sanctioned competition.
Would I like kneeskins to come back for men? Heck yeah. Do I want to see an arms race like we saw in 2008/2009? Heck no. 2007 and earlier tech is fine with me.
Elaine - You make some great points. Nothing gets people more fired up than discussions about tech suits, Title IX, Amanda Beard, and Dara Torres. You entered the fire zone.
I both love and hate the tech suits. I love the way they feel and I like the fact they cover some things up. On the other hand, I deplore many technological advances -sophisticated cell phones, video games, etc. because they have destroyed the simplicity of life.
I hate having to worry about being hit while running by some 18 year who is texting his/her buddy about the next coolest thing he/she can do on a wii.
How about we all agree to stop talking about it AGAIN, until we even hear if USMS will change the policy?
That's in September I believe. :D
I like that very much. :applaud::applaud::applaud::applaud:
You did not appear to be at a competitive disadvantage wearing a Speedo brief in the 50 back (I did not see your other races), beating Ande (in a tech suit) and setting a National record in the process. Well done, by the way.
Well that's just dirty pool, defusing an argument by being nice. (And thanks.)
So, now exclamation marks mean I am offended huh? Interesting...
You do know that psychologically the ones that start bashing and name calling and making fun of people first...are usually the ones who realize they are losing a point or getting offended themselves...just like a little kid on the kindergarten playground...
Did the mean wittle teacher not let you have recess today?
Don't know where I am losing a point or where I was offended. I thought imititaion was the best form of flattery.
Elaine--I agree with all of your points above. If I had $500 burning a hole in my pocket, I think a better use--for someone closer to the bottom than top of the rankings like me--would be private lessons, video, or a mix of many other things out there.
For me and many people I know, this is a dealbreaker. Next year's SCY nationals are local. Most of us never travel for a swim meet, other than occasionally to Tucson or flagstaff. The thought of a $75 entry fee is daunting enough, but then paying hundreds of dollars on top of that for something to be used once simply puts this out of reach. If USMS wants to eliminate the slower local swimmers who would only swim a nationals every 7-10 years, letting tech suits in is the way to go. While it isn't mandatory, none of us wants to be the 2% who stick out.
Leslie--how much did your husband spend on his running gear for his Boston-qualifying marathon? If you want to talk low-tech and low cost, running is one sport where nearly everyone can get by on very little. Even pricey running shoes may be $150-200, but they'll last 3-4 months, and most people pay far less.
Elaine- what typically happens with these 'hot' topics in the forums is that people often react to a post without reading carefully and fire a salvo without rereading their own post. I've done it. There is a lot of history between many posters resulting in pointed remarks that could seem hurtful but are part of an evolved dialogue between the posters.
99% of the posters are actually lovely people who would give fellow swimmers the shirt off their back if you needed it (well, actually Geek would rent it to you).
Keep up your posting and realize that breastrokers are the royalty of these forums and that entails a certain noblesse oblige towards ignoring the jealous nattering of the practitioners of the lesser strokes.
