Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

Redbird Alum — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 12:12:24 GMT

... now, there have been a few meets...they are NOT sanctioned...where for fun you could wear your full body wrist to ankle suit to enjoy. The fact they are not sanctioned means no one will record any of the times officially. So, then it's really "just for fun". May as well swim with a noodle!

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

sunruh — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 09:49:54 GMT

Concur that the USMS rule matches FINAâ€™s rule. But WRT changing it...doesnâ€™t USMS sorta set some of their own rules that arenâ€™t always FINA/USAS rules? I.e. USMS rule 101.3.3 which allows breaststroke kick to be used in the butterfly. My point is...canâ€™t USMS change the swimsuit rule if they want to...without FINA/USAS authority? Dan absolutely NOT when it comes to meters. period. and in some cases usms rules are actually more strict than fina. now for yards...which is basically usa only...in 2010 the full body for men was allowed for SCY only and then banned as well. now, there have been a few meets...they are NOT sanctioned...where for fun you could wear your full body wrist to ankle suit to enjoy.

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

Chris Stevenson — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 10:46:39 GMT

Yeah, this is what I was sort of thinking... I have a member of the USMS board on my team actually and I know she's looking into things. From what I understand, Masters meets aren't SUPER competitive like other swimming organizations. Sure, you have those that are there to compete amongst each other, but the majority are probably there to compete for their personal records. I would think that that fact alone would warrant some consideration for possible changes to the rules. If that were true then our pool measurement rules -- which are more strict in most respects than USA-S or FINA -- would be relaxed. When relaxed measurement rules were last suggested at Convention, it was as if we were suggesting that cannibalism was no big deal. The attitude of the people who actually make or approve rules is far more competition-focused and Javert-inspired than the attitude of the hoi polloi.

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

Former Member — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 09:08:10 GMT

Couple of thoughts: 1. If strictly comfort, have you tried different styles/brands of suits? Speedo changed the material in my favorite jammer, so I ended up shifting to Adidas briefs. Still have a jammer for any competition though. Of course, I'm old enough to be your father so I couldn't care less about designs. 2. Friend of mine wears a short wetsuit in open water competitions. USMS has given him a medical waiver (Chron's). If there is some compelling reason other than comfort, you might try that. Yeah, I have tried different designs/brands/styles of men's suits too. Nothing quite seems to float my goat. Not to say that I won't wear them anymore, but I definitely just prefer a one piece. Not really another reason... But, again I suppose a reason for the rule change might be that it could perhaps avoid a hiccup with those who might have a more compelling reason themselves such as a medical issue/gender identity issues, etc.

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

Former Member — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 07:36:57 GMT

canâ€™t USMS change the swimsuit rule if they want to...without FINA/USAS authority? Yeah, this is what I was sort of thinking... I have a member of the USMS board on my team actually and I know she's looking into things. From what I understand, Masters meets aren't SUPER competitive like other swimming organizations. Sure, you have those that are there to compete amongst each other, but the majority are probably there to compete for their personal records. I would think that that fact alone would warrant some consideration for possible changes to the rules.

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

Former Member — Sat, 27 Feb 2021 17:39:55 GMT

Ahh okay... What did the rules look like back then?

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

Jeff Enge — Sat, 27 Feb 2021 06:16:04 GMT

Back before 2010, it was pretty lassiez-faire. Ian Thorpe famously wore a suit that covered everything from his ankles to his wrists in the early 2000s as one of the best middle distance freestylers of all time. It really came to a head when Speedo came out with a suit with polyurethane panels, and then other companies followed up with completely polyurethane suits - basically advanced floatation devices. Pretty much every world record was broken at the 2009 long course World Championships and shortly after that FINA finally put their foot down.

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

orca1946 — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 12:05:03 GMT

I still have my full body suit! I doubt that I could fit into it now!

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

Jeff Enge — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 09:41:16 GMT

they're more streamlined for swimming This is one of the reasons the rules are the way they are after the free-for-all in suit technology of '08-'09 - more tech suit coverage is more surface area for drag reduction and compression. It is a competitive advantage, whether the stated reason is performance or in your case comfort. The USMS rule, as far as I know, is that competition suits have to be FINA approved. If you had a medical reason, you might have a reasonable case for a waiver especially since technically women's suits are FINA-approved for material/construction if not for gender-specific fit, but I think legislative/rules bodies would see it as opening a can of worms if just for comfort. I mean, I'd be more comfortable racing in a legsuit than a jammer because most racing jammers that fit my waist are too tight in the gasket on my thighs, but again, that defeats the purpose of the regulations. If the rules were changed it would almost be how it was 11 years ago. Oh my God that was 11 years ago... I still think of it as the recent past.

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

Allen Stark — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 09:09:58 GMT

As a reaction to the full body suits, in 2009 FINA mandated that menâ€™s suits could only cover from the navel to the knees. If this were going to be changed it would need to be at the FINA level.

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

67King — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 06:12:44 GMT

Couple of thoughts: 1. If strictly comfort, have you tried different styles/brands of suits? Speedo changed tha material in my favorite jammer, so I ended up shifting to Adidas briefs. Still have a jammer for any competition though. Of course, I'm old enough to be your father so I couldn't care less about designs. 2. Friend of mine wears a short wetsuit in open water competitions. USMS has given him a medical waiver (Chron's). If there is some compelling reason other than comfort, you might try that.

RE: Swimsuit Rules - Male wearing a one piece

__steve__ — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 04:03:18 GMT

If the rules were changed it would almost be how it was 11 years ago.