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!
I don't mind the un-PC. He's calling it like he sees it. But when you aren't in your 20s, one doesn't always look like Barbie & Ken no matter how healthy you are and how much you train. Stuff starts to, blech, sag. If someone isn't training and shoving a huge fat belly into a tech suit to compensate, I can see Muppet's point. But are most competitive masters swimmer really like that?
i don't think he was talking about stuff sagging (he knows gravity is a sad fact of life for us all). he was talking about the people who have had little to no incentive to lose that last bit of weight, because it was easier to stuff it into a suit, rather than change their lifestyles to lose the weight. i can think of a rather high-profile USMS member who has admitted as much, more than once... and if i've read correctly, said swimmer has already started to make changes, knowing the suits are gone.
i don't think he was talking about stuff sagging (he knows gravity is a sad fact of life for us all). he was talking about the people who have had little to no incentive to lose that last bit of weight, because it was easier to stuff it into a suit, rather than change their lifestyles to lose the weight. i can think of a rather high-profile USMS member who has admitted as much, more than once... and if i've read correctly, said swimmer has already started to make changes, knowing the suits are gone.
If people are really using the existence of tech suits as an excuse to avoid losing weight, that's odd. Obviously, they're not in tech suits for the vast majority of their waking moments, and thus stuck with the extra lard. They must not mind it at some level. I rather doubt whether those people will, in fact, succeed in losing the weight once the suits are gone ... Perhaps ... When said high profile swimmer, loses those 15-20 pounds I might be a believer. Otherwise, I think people have largely come to terms with their "cushion." If they weren't, they'd try to lose weight regardless of suits.
e Wear tech suits if it makes sense to you and they are definitely not for everyone for a variety of reasons that you pointed out. However, it is best to keep your decisions and reasoning to yourself though because the pro-techies feel like it is their duty to convert you. You can still enjoy swimming and even excel in masters swimming competitions without the suits (as Chris evidently did at Nationals in the 50 back).
Point well taken. As a newbie on these forums, I'm still learning... :blush:
Interesting.
Why should a dues paying member of USMS who doesn't compete often,(standards to evaluated later) be denied having a voice on competition issues?
Every member, whether they compete or not, should have a voice. Isn't that what USMS is all about?! Or is it about the few who come on here and talk the most?:bolt:
Every member, whether they compete or not, should have a voice. Isn't that what USMS is all about?! Or is it about the few who come on here and talk the most?:bolt:
No one is saying a non-competitor shouldn't have a voice. Or at least I'm not. What I'm wondering, specifically, is why a devoted non-competitor cares what actual competitors wear at meets which they will never attend?
Are we back to the purity of the sport argument?
Nah. I had several friends at Nats who chose not to wear tech suits -- Chris, Speedo, SwimStud, SwimmieAvsFan. I've never tried to "convert" them. I think techies are more frequently in a defensive posture (even when the suits were perfectly legal) than a conversion posture.
I wonder who said things recently like "They're for all", "Purist drivel". Maybe you don't knock on your friends doors to get them to convert because you know better, but you clearly evangelicalize about them and ridicule any reason someone has for not wearing them (at least on these boards). Elaine is new to masters swimming and has little to gain by wearing a suit that is good enough reason for me, yet you had no troubles bashing her like she was an extremist like Dolphin. Elaine wasn't trying to take your suits away and has no power to do so, so why are you being so hostile to her? Maybe the pro-techies have a false sense of moral superiority as well. Why would a pro-techie be in a defensive posture? The rules allow them at least for one more weekend.
Have a great weekend,
Tim
Should those that compete often and those that don't compete have the same weight in their opinions in issues about competition?
I think they should have the same weight as for the rules of USMS. If that includes how we follow FINA rules, then yes.
I concur, in fact, the people I know who have the suits are probably the hardest training swimmers I know, even those damn sprinters.
I have seen this in the flesh. But, they could be racing on "instinct" or "racing off of college training reserves". Maybe it is just a Northeast thing or something.
Ok, I am bitter because I want to swim fast without training. :bitching: But, then again, there is nothing like a good 5K to 6K workout to make you feel better about yourself.
