Wendy sent me a Speedo Lzr article that has something interesting to say about FINA compromising with rival suit maker Arena in regards to the Speedo Lzr. Here is a snippet from the Australian: "...Yesterday, FINA asked rival suitmakers to form a committee to draw up rules and quantitative measures as well as proposals for improving the process by which suits are approved. "FINA apologised because the rules were not very well-worded. The rules were written in a wishy-washy way," Portas said. Shrugging, he [Christiano Portas, the head of Arena] added: "A new era in the sport kicks off today. We can fight for ethics but we stood alone when it came to everyone saying that the word 'fabric' in the rules was just a generic term. Now we explore many other things. ..."
FINA is compromising greatly for Arena is an aquatics sponsor who has invested a lot of time and money into FINA related events. Also, in my opinion, FINA knows that several suit companies could be destroyed over this NASA/Speedo innovation for no rival suit company has the time, money or engineers to match it.
Ironically enough, I got a phone call from a friend of mine who got to swim and talk about the new Speedo Lazr with an accomplised Olympic sprinter who wears one. My friend was told that the suit is truly amazing and it is not hype. The quote was something like, "when you are in the water you are going much faster." However, this Olympian emphasized that it is a high performance suit. You have to take your time putting it on especially if you are wet. It is very uncomfortable getting it on but when it is on it feels like skin.
I take these words to mean that one can drive a Lamborghini Reventón to work even though the car sits about 4.7 inches off the ground but it would be easier to drive to Infiniti G37 with a ground clearance of 6.3 inches, better gas mileage and a back seat and still enjoy the experience. However, if you are on the Autobahn, you want the Reventón for an experience you will never forget.
With a short shelf-life, one really has to evaluate how much they want to pay to go fast.
Thank you Wendy for sending the article. [Link]
2 comments:
WHAT!! From reading a delightful piece about a resort which reclaims an environmental eyesore to the stunningly depressing statement our sport now has the suit manufacturers determining what will be a legal suit. Just what is FINA's job then? I'd prefer to fire the present FINA leadership for their gross incompetence and start over, but now they compound the problem by throwing swimming to the wolves. When ground effects became too much Formula One introduced rules to reduce them; when America's Cup saw the introduction of catamarans through a loophole the Cup Committee subsequently banned them. We don't allow fins or hand paddles for good reason. The question now for swimming is,"how far do we go with our suits?" There are many who feel these new suits have crossed the line. It's a question for us, the swimmers and the coaches - not the suit manufacturers.
You're most welcome Tony!
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