The Washington Post - Saturday, July 25, 2009 Wrote:FINA, swimming's world governing body, finally figured out the way to determine which of the controversial long-length, high-tech swimsuits to restrict.

On Friday, it banned every last one.

With a nearly unanimous vote, FINA's member nations accepted a proposal initiated by the United States to allow only waist-to-knee suits, known as "jammers," for men, and shoulder-to-knee suits for women, beginning in competition next year.

The move was far more dramatic than expected and allowed the sport's leaders largely to circumvent vexing questions of fabrics, impermeability and buoyancy by focusing on the length of the suits. Though FINA also noted that the suits must be "textile," it did not immediately define the term, leaving that issue to be hashed out.

Read More - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...03568.html

What do you guys think of this? Basically, leg skins are no longer allowed. Belief is that there won't be new swimming records for a while, with slower suits.

I honestly don't mind on my own swimming level. I'm not THAT big of a swimmer yet to start wearing all of this super-high tech stuff, so this doesn't really effect me, except it makes it easier for me to do better (compared to other people).

On an Olympic level though, there won't be as much excitement with world record breaks, unless we get really really fast swimmers.

Who knows, maybe leg waxing sales for swimmers will skyrocket. This is quite unfortunate though, because many records were made with gear that had no length limits.

(Sep 10, 2009 11:18am)SwimmingMonkey Wrote:  Who knows, maybe leg waxing sales for swimmers will skyrocket. This is quite unfortunate though, because many records were made with gear that had no length limits.

But then again, don't you think this will make it more fair? It will now be "Who's faster at swimming" rather than "Who can afford the better suit".

frankly, i think it's a bull.
How do you want high performances if you don't let the swimmer to come at his best? After all, he is the one that does all the work, not the suit.

I do not know what is the role of swimming suit in improving your performance?
It can cause problems for sure but I don't think they can improve your swimming skill.

(Oct 4, 2009 4:20am)vandy Wrote:  I do not know what is the role of swimming suit in improving your performance?
It can cause problems for sure but I don't think they can improve your swimming skill.

High tech swimsuits are made out of special material (some out of rubber even), that reduce and sometimes even eliminate friction between you and the water, so you are basically flying through the water. It makes a difference.

Update: The rule has been passed. In addition, swimsuits must be made out of the plain textile material, so not even some jammers are allowed.

Thank you for providing me proper info on the high tech swimsuits.

(Oct 4, 2009 8:23pm)Zash Wrote:  

(Oct 4, 2009 4:20am)vandy Wrote:  I do not know what is the role of swimming suit in improving your performance?
It can cause problems for sure but I don't think they can improve your swimming skill.

High tech swimsuits are made out of special material (some out of rubber even), that reduce and sometimes even eliminate friction between you and the water, so you are basically flying through the water. It makes a difference.

Update: The rule has been passed. In addition, swimsuits must be made out of the plain textile material, so not even some jammers are allowed.

how do they want extreme performance if they don't let the athlets to use every single modality of improving their records?
This is why i won't ever agree with this stupid laws,because all they do is to make smaller the chances of breaking new records. and that is what winning is about:pushing the limits.

I believe that the High-Tech swimsuits should be used by Olympians/Pros. However, in an amateur meet they should be banned because not everyone can afford one...

I agree. No longer in swimming competitions.I think the swimsuit technology should be continued to be tested in the name of science. It would be great if they could come up with material that could simulate the skin of a dolphin, or mechanical propulsion through water. Then maybe separate classes of competitions could be evolved, such as we have already with 'fin swimming' !