Is Alan Thompson pro Speedo? These quotes in the The Sydney Morning Herald seemingly declare his allegiance to the suit manufacturer:
"... AUSTRALIAN swimming coach Alan Thompson says there may be swimsuits on the market that will not pass the new guidelines put in place at the weekend by the sport's governing body, but the Speedo LZR Racer won't be among them and his team will be able to wear them at the Rome world championships in July. ..."
"...Asked if he was concerned about his team's suit supplier, Speedo, and the availability of its LZR Racer suit for Rome, Thompson said Speedo had assured him of compliance...."
Regarding Speedo competitors or rival suit manufacturers:
"...I think there is a possibility that some of them won't make the thickness and the buoyancy requirements," he said. "I think that's what we have been wanting, a framework around it just to measure that. People say they are buoyant and all sorts of things. Now you can measure it and there is this framework there so you will know for certain, and if they don't pass the testing, they are out." ..."
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It is my opinion that the average mouth speaks faster than the average brain's ability to measure the words coming out of it. (I for one am certainly the template for that theory.) Hence, when Coach Alan Thompson quasi-guarantees that the Speedo LZR will be available for Rome but seemingly declares in gleeful tones that some of his competitors won't, not only is that a red flag that the LZR is not as fast as the competitors, but a possible statement of his allegiance to Speedo if I am reading this right? It also has shades of Coach Mark Schubert who is being sued for this sort of stuff by TYR
Now this FOX SPORTS:
He [Coach Alan Thompson] said next week's meeting would focus on the legality of suit designs for the world championships and welcomed the move by FINA to conduct an open forum with national coaches to explain the process around the testing and approval of the suits.
"It is a proactive move and it will clearly spell out what the rules are and what suits athletes can wear, so there is no confusion," Thompson said.
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Is FINA actually having a Coach who apparently is looking forward to his swimmers wearing the Speedo LZR in Rome... discussing the approval process to rival suit makers? FINA will explain it, not the FINA Coaches Commission!
My gosh, Could Speedo be driving this secondary approval process in the first place?
13 comments:
Hey Tony:
This sounds just like what happened a number of years ago to the TYR Aquashift. As soon as a suit appears to challenge Speedo, suddenly that suit doesn’t conform to the rules anymore.
Do you know how the TYR lawsuit against Speedo turned out?
There doesn't seem to be anything interesting in either of those articles. Just a simple statement that some suits may be judged to not meet FINAs guidelines on buoyancy/thickness, and that Speedo have assured him that the LZR does. Also doesn't seem too surprising that he would be invited to a meeting of national coaches where FINA will explain the new approval process, since he's, you know, a national coach.
But Thompson, according to the article, will be one of the fellows, and thy are all men, explaining the approval process. I am sorry, it just looks like "the fix is in!"
The lawsuit: IT is moving forward and apparently the preliminary pre-trial ruling will most likely be the final ruling. The trial is scheduled for March 2010.
Both sides are in the discovery phase asking each for evidence.
I will be writing more about it soon.
Alan Thompson is going as the representative from the FINA Coaches Commission where he is, i believe, either VP or Secretary of that commission,,, yes he is the National Coach but also holds a position within FINA
You've clearly misinterpreted the article. FINA will be holding a meeting to explain the approval process to the national coaches.
But he is biased towards Speedo, I say that because of the comments he made regarding how he is sure his team will be able to wear the LZR in Rome. how can you accept a roll within FINA when that conflict of interest exists?
Steve: Alan Thompson is the National Team Director for Australia and FINA Coaches Commission Secretary.
Correct, I think I may have misinterpreted who is explaining what, but the fact remains that Thompson apparently has a dog in this fight and that dog is Speedo. He has been critical of Speedo competitors yet seemingly excited about the prospect of the LZR being the "last suit standing." The fact that he is connected to FINA in the way that he is concerns me too.
I edited the article
Tony,
The first article says this: "Asked if he was concerned about his team's suit supplier, Speedo, and the availability of its LZR Racer suit for Rome, Thompson said Speedo had assured him of compliance."
Thompson is not "quasi-guaranteeing" that the LZR will be approved, he is simply saying that Speedo has assured him that it meets the new FINA requirements.
The new swimsuit specifications were decided by the FINA bureau. The Coaches Commission has no role whatsoever in determining which suits do and don't meet the new specs. As for the supposed conflict of interest, the vice-president of the Coaches Commission is swedish coach Leiff Carlsson. The Swedish swimteam is sponsored by Arena, which makes the unapproved X-Glide suit that Bernard wore at the French Nationals..
This is what was said: "... AUSTRALIAN swimming coach Alan Thompson says there may be swimsuits on the market that will not pass the new guidelines put in place at the weekend by the sport's governing body, but the Speedo LZR Racer won't be among them and his team will be able to wear them at the Rome world championships in July. ..."
If I post info regarding Coach Thompson's ties to Speedo much like Mark Schubert's, would you then agree to my point?
That's not a direct quote, that's just the summary of the article written by the author. That bit in the summary about the LZR is based on what I quoted you before. I understand Australia is sponsored by Speedo, but you are really overstating Thompson's influence at FINA. The new specifications were decided on by the FINA bureau. The Coaches Commission did not have a vote. The Coaches Commission will not have any involvement in performing the tests to determine which suits will and won't meet the new specs.
You have made a strong case. In fact I edited based upon your criticisms.
I acknowledge that Thompson and crew will not be determining which suits get selected or how the process goes.
But I can't pull back on my opinion of a Speedo bias if the articles quoted him correctly.
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