Swimming Clouded in Contovesy

To begin i would like to tell you about what FINA have put into action. FINA have put forward rules that will ban all bodyskins for males (swimwear above the waist and below the knee) and legsuits for female (body with leg coverage) they have also banned the use of textiles (silicone, polyurethane etc etc) these rules will affect in 2010

So lets start at the beginning, Bejing 2008, where the release of the new Speedo LZR started the evolution. Swimwear manufacturers that haven’t been able to keep up started to complain about the suit giving unfair advantages (with silicone panels and a corset built in) But due to massive pressure mainly due to Micheal Phelps’s success, FINA passed the LZR and brought in some new rules. 6 months later and Jaked, a new company brought out a suit that was coated completely in polyurethane. FINA originally didn’t pass it, but after threatened legal action backed down. This opened the door to 2 more companies, Arena and Diana. Diana brought out the Cyclone which passed under the radar mainly due to (and I can speak from experience) the fact it wasn’t radical or fast enough. Arena then brought out 2 new suits, the R-evolution+ which is almost exactly like the LZR, and the X-glide, a suit similar to the Jaked but only available to the Arena team. Using this suit Alain Bernard was the first man to break 47 seconds for 100m freestyle, FINA later withdrew the record as the suit hadn’t been passed.

That then brings us to the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome. Where two high profile swimmers, Rebbecca Adlington and Micheal Phelps, spoke out against the new suits saying they gave an unfair advantage, and they both would be wearing the “old” LZR. During the Championships several records were broken, including Ian Thorpe’s 400m freestyle. Noticeably, Phelps won the 100m butterfly wearing the LZR, beating Milorad Cavic who was wearing an all polyurethane suit. (and may I point out that said swimmers were not complaining when they had access to the LZR, due to being sponsored by speedo)

Now on the face of it, it’s a great idea “lets go back to basics” right? wrong, all the world records that were set with the suits will still stand, and, if they are as great as everyone says, they will never be broken. Also the revenue that swimming has gained due to new technology being available and sponsorship is massive and should have pointed to a brighter future for the sport. Sponsorship being particularly important in a sport where  career options are limited due to there being no money in the sport. Instead, we are going back to the dark ages where swimmers are told they are only allowed to wear one type of suit and not something they feel comfortable in. The implications for new companies entering swimming are dire, the new FINA rules limit any research into swimwear technology with several regulations to comply to and several rounds of checks. Also FINA have basically shut down Jaked and blueseventy, two companies that brought innovation to the world of swimming and have been punished for it.

May i also point out that evolution is a part of every sport and everyday life. No one complained when pole vaulters switched to fiberglass poles, and no one complained when tennis players switched to carbon rackets. Every single swimmer and coach that i have spoken to opposes such radical changes to FINA regulations Ex-swimmers and people that have nothing to lose think that these rules are a good thing.

They are wrong