'blueseventy' CEO Steve Nicholls and Rowdy Gaines are upset with FINA and state the obvious!

After reading my post regarding the FINA materials specification for 2010, my friend and attorney, John Quinn, said it best: "Textiles have been around for a 1000-years and FINA can't even come up with a definition of what they are, Pathetic."

Steve Nicholls and Rowdy Gaines are just as mystified!

blueseventy committed to swimming

blueseventy has confirmed it is fully committed to a long term involvement to swimming, following the FINA announcement yesterday, Tuesday 28th July, that swimmers must return to more traditional suits from next year.

However, the date of the change over is yet to be defined, and manufactures remain in the dark about the exact definition of textile suits. Permeability will be a key issue as swimmers return to shorts (above the knee and up to the navel) for men and suits from the knee to the neck for women, with no zips.

Ceo, Steve Nicholls said: “We’ve been amazed at the way in which we've been supported by swimmers and the swimming fraternity, and are committed to returning that support through a long term swimming program. While we accept there is a need for change, we still have major concerns over the nature of the changes, in particular, we don’t understand why there is no parity between male and female swimmers, in terms of coverage, and we’re frustrated that definitive guidelines on fabrics will not be available until the end of September.”

“The commercial implications of this decision should not be overlooked. Our technical direction and design plans hinge on the types of fabrics that will be permitted. We know suits can only be 0.8mm thick, but we'd prefer to have more details in order to design the best possible suit that swimmers will want to wear. However, the limited time period for development will suit a brand like us that is able to move quickly."

Three-time Olympic Champion Rowdy Gaines is concerned that yesterday’s announcement will be detrimental to the sport. “I think the bodysuit is great for the sport. It gets the average person to talk about our sport and it gets people involved who maybe would not have done so. People love to see fast swimming.”

He added: “Many other sports are greatly influenced by technology, everything from motor racing to golf and tennis. I fear that young age group swimmers will be lost to the sport because they can’t achieve the times they have done previously in a bodysuit. I also worry that casual fans will fade away when there’s no longer a frenzy of world records.”

As well as having a loyal following amongst pool swimmers, blueseventy was the first brand to design a suit specifically for open water racing. The Nero 10k suit was worn by Olympic Champion, Maarten vd Weijden in Beijing last year and by medal winners in World Championships events last week. All versions of the blueseventy swimskin were approved even before the Speedo LZR racer and have been in wide circulation ever since.

Steve Nicholls added: “There’s an argument that open water suits should fall under separate guidelines. Open water swimming is the sports newest Olympic discipline and swimmers and coaches need to have a voice in shaping its development, including the type of swimwear that is to be allowed. It is also undertaken in a variety of different conditions, and just from a safety perspective one could argue that different applications of these rules could apply.”

Showdown in Westwood: 'blueseventy' versus the 'Jaked' - Erik Hochstein tests & reviews!

Erik just sent me this, I am posting it without reading it first...

The Suit Showdown a Westwood: Skin vs blueseventy vs Jaked

About the conditions - the Westwood pool is indoors short-course meters without blocks. I did do dives from the pool deck which is about 1 foot above the waterline. The timer did take my time "feet leaving the wall" or a rolling start. I did not want to go from a push because I felt a dive may be a significant part of trying the suits because of the extended underwater. There were 3 other swimmers in the lane - so I did have some waves, but everything fine otherwise.

The Contenders:

Skin has been in the business for 40 years now (at least for me :) ) - skin has been battle tested for decades used to be good enough for all swim meets. Skin can only show it's full potential though once all the hair is removed. Skin HATES all the new contenders for the most part - they represent everything that is wrong with technology and progress.

blueseventy - the new kid on the block is not so new anymore. blueseventy was the new sensation last year. He came out of nowhere and took the country by storm. blueseventy is hip and trendy - he despises anything to do with Speedo and he feels sorry for Skin for being so outdated. My version of the blueseventy is a little older and appears just a little too big right now.

Jaked - the new Italian speedster. Jaked is the Ferrari of swim suits - he fits like an Armani and performs like an Italian sports car. He looks sharp and appears to be the suit of choice for Formula 1 teams (aka top sprinters in the world).

The test:

5x50 Freestyle - 1 Skin, 2 blueseventy and 2 Jaked -- full recovery in between. It took about 5 minutes to get the blueseventy on and about 10 minutes for the Jaked. I did get plenty of rest except for the last 50, since time was running short.

The Showdown:

First swim = Skin = 25.09 -- good start, I have not sprinted all that much, so I would expect a slight improvement on this time for the next few 50s in a regular set.

Second Swim = blueseventy = 24.05 -- "Skin" is in disbelief - how is this possible and how could it be legal.

Third Swim = blueseventy = 23.92 -- "Skin" has left the pool in tears -- Jaked is just waiting for his chance. Jaked is happy to have shown his stuff - he thinks Italians should stick with food rather than speed suits. [LOLz - Tony]

Fourth Swim (after a 10 minute "battle" with the suit) = Jaked = 23.47 -- Jaked wants a check of the timing system. He believes the timer is on the take by the Italian Mafia -- all things Italian must be "connected". The time stands - the swim did not feel all that much different - but 0.45 !!!

5th Swim - not a full recovery = Jaked = 23.80 - felt tired coming home and had to breathe more - even without knowing the time, I would have guessed about 3/10 slower or so.

The Conclusion:

The Jaked has proven to be the winner in the training run -- we will have to wait for race day now....Skin is joining the Craig Lord inquisition movement and Jaked is going back to the drawing board....

Adrian Proszenko of the 'Sydney Morning Herald' and Olympian Craig Stevens review the Arena X-Glide!

[Former Image Deleted]

I blacked out several portions of the article so that I don't violate fair use copyright laws. I could not find the original article online to link to so I am providing a digital copy. If you click on the image, it will enlarge.

When an online version becomes available, I will take the copy down and simply link to it.

Two readers graciously took the time to find the article for me which was very kind.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

He has agreed to be the guinea pig in The Sun-Herald's experiment. The recently retired freestyler slipped into the latest Arena one-piece, which features a titanium alloy insert in the fabric. If they were available in shops they'd retail for about $1000.

Before diving into the pool of the Sans Souci Leisure Centre, where he is now a head coach, Stevens said he would be happy to post a 50-metre time of about 27 seconds. He was stunned to touch the wall in 25.61s. After a short break, to make sure, he repeated the test in the suit, posting a 25.72.

"To go 25s and then back up and go a second one just a 10th of a second slower, very impressed,'' Stevens said.

[...]

Then it was time for step two of the experiment. After recovering from these exertions, Stevens stripped down to his Speedos and repeated the test. The discrepancy was staggering the times without the suit were about 2.6 seconds slower, while the glide result was more than a metre shorter. Superman had become Clark Kent again.

[Link]

What shocked me was the declaration that the Speedo LZR is obsolete and that the Arena X-Glide, Jaked and blueseventy were practically endorsed by the Sydney Morning Herald as being the best out there.

It's all becoming so clear why TYR is pursuing legal action in French court against FINA for the right to match or better these aforementioned suits.

Editorial: More technical suits means a bigger, better, and a richer sport!

Editorial: Swimming is both a sport and a recreational activity. Swimming is not a religion nor a philosophy.

FINA is not the "Vatican" nor are they our "Confucius."

FINA's sole duty is to steward swimming into the future and not to keep it mired in some forgotten tar pit.

The rules of swimming can change, they are not carved-in-stone on some marble-tablet but rather written down with pencil and paper. These rules are "erasable" and "revisable" so that swimming can change and be as flexible as possible so as to adapt to the changing interests of the competitor and spectator.

If suit rules remain inflexible and revert back to the restrictions of 1975, suit manufacturers will have far fewer profit centers since how much can you charge an athlete for a pair of briefs or jammers versus the variations of the technical suit?

Subsequently, fewer profit centers mean less sponsorship money. A CEO recently told me those very words while sitting in a bar in Lusanne, Switzerland after a FINA meeting.

The oversupply of technical suit makers has made this a great year to be a swimmer.

Talented athletes like Chloe Sutton, Mary DeScenza, Peter Marshall, and best of all, Rowdy Gaines, have energized all venues of American swimming from the age groupers at the local level, the collegiate swimmers, and finally, the masters swimmers.

These deals have demonstrably made our sport bigger as well: On the SPMA.net website, our western zone is boasting over 4000 swimmers now. The biggest number it has ever seen I believe and I attribute this to Dara Torres, Technical innovation and the support form suit manufacturers who write inspiring ads and sponsor both open water events and swim meets.

Jaked, and blueseventy have now become the innovators inspiring the likes of TYR to build better suits such as the A7 and the Titan. Opportunity and a free market for ideas will make the sport bigger and better.

There is now have talk of building a pro-league because of suit interests and suit companies will probably help build it.

The photo above is of the La Brea Tar Pits, about 14-miles from my house. I got the photo from PaperMag Word up: [Link]

If only that mammoth had a speedsuit.

REVIEW: 'The water is open' website

The Water is Open is a new website by blueseventy which they describe as:

The site covers world-wide news, events, results and hall-of-fame members. A new ranking list for open water swimmers is set to also be launched, scoring athletes based on performances around the world.

There’s also an option to track key events, such as the forthcoming World Championships in Rome, live via Twitter. 22,000 people followed the open water events during the Beijing Olympics without the service having been having been heavily promoted.

So I took it for a test drive: The page is compact and will visually work well on a laptop. The two sections that really stood out for me were: Events and Results, but as mentioned above other content includes News, Rankings, and Hall of Fame.

blueseventy openly acknowledges that they own the site so this is not an "astroturf site" but rather a "grassroots" contribution. I have a sneaky suspicion that Steve Munatones is helping out so that in itself is quite an endorsement if I am correct.

I will say this, the first thing I clicked on, I learned something new. It is called The Beaufort Wind Force Scale which measures sea conditions on a scale of 0-12 with zero being glassy and 12 listed as: "Ride of the Valkyries." (Just kidding, number 12 on the Beaufort Wind Force Scale is 14-meter-plus surf with foam and spray permeating the air but more bluntly, your standard issue big hurricane.

The Beaufort Wind Force Scale (also known as the Beaufort Scale) is a widely-used empirical measure for describing wind velocity based mainly on observed sea conditions. For example, it is used in the following context: The referee made reference to the Beaufort Scale when he made the public announcement about the abandonment of the world championship race.

[Link]

Finally, the site is new so some of the content has to be fleshed out like the Rankings page which empty right now but the rest of the site has valuable info and I definitely have it bookmarked.

For promoters of open water races, I think this site will be vital.

Why FINA changed it's mind regarding speedsuits!

Suit makers like Diana, Jaked, blueseventy, TYR and many others were rattled both ethically and financially by FINA's "approved suit list." None of the above manufacturers violated any stated rule within the context of the "FINA Dubai charter" yet each manufacturer was denied access to the market and consequently had their products labeled as "tech-dope" and other nasty names by "respected" journalists which has hurt their brands.

One American coach connected to FINA accused the newer suit makers; and we know which suit makers he meant, of only being in it for the "quick buck." When people in position of authority say these unwarranted comments, it hurts swimming and these sort of comments hurt manufacturers.

blueseventy decided to be the point for the industry and summarily went toe-to-toe with FINA in a nice "friendly meeting."

Here is a snippet from the press release and then I will translate:

This decision means that swimmers are free to wear them at the forthcoming World Championships in Rome, and all other competitions, at all levels around the world.

[blueseventy CEO], Steve Nicholls, commented: “We were confident in the scientific evidence that our suit could not trap air and are grateful for the support of Huub Touissant of the University of Amsterdam in presenting our case to FINA. We felt strongly that we would not need to make any alterations to it and we’re delighted that the right decision has been made without any form of bias.

“The last few weeks have certainly hurt us, with minimal sales in the period of not being on the list. However, we have been continuing with production to ensure availability for when the decision was reversed.

(Translation: We took the time and expense to fly our CEO from New Zealand to Luasanne, Switzerland, to explain our case both ethically and financially as to why it the FINA ban was bad for swimming and the manufacturers at large.

To blueseventy customers: Buy that blueseventy, you have at least a year-and-a-half with it and perhaps longer once FINA sees how good suits are for the sport.)

We now look forward to the World Championships, where we will have suits available for any swimmers wanting to try them out. We have been in continuous communication with swimmers throughout this period and this announcement now confirms their suit choice for Rome. They can now continue their preparation without this distraction.

"Prior to the latest announcement by FINA, blueseventy had consulted Lawyers to get an injunction against the decision. On consultation with FINA they encouraged us to instead go through their own review process which we have done." Nicholls added.

(We came to the meeting with a big stick and written on the stick were the words "class action lawsuit.)

It is being reported that masters swimmers will be allowed to wear speedsuits in competition!

From Steve at the blueseventy blog:

For further information please see the DSV document that confirms the legal use of blueseventy nero swimskins. We would like to say thank you to the Master Swimmers Halle (Germany) for their substantial support. ..."

[Link]

From Craig Lord at SwimNews who surprised me with a condescending view towards the average masters swimmer and a surprising view of the elite masters swimmer who strives to set records:

SwimNews does not cover masters swimming. It is the equivalent of the fun marathon, in which level playing fields are very relative indeed. The purpose is fun, fitness, health and skills for life. Most approach it in that spirit. A minority take it very seriously indeed and vanity, disposable income and time-on-their-hands all play a part. [...]

Meanwhile, FINA has washed its hands of caring about fairness and other factors in masters swimming. That much is clear from the following response to the clarification sought by SwimNews: "The rules do not apply to Masters. ..."

[Link]

As far as I am concerned, Rowdy Gaines seems pretty serious about Masters Swimming and he seems to care about "fairness and other factors" besides vanity.

Why Craig Lord wants to degrade masters swimming and a good portion of his readers who are masters swimmers is beyond me.

FINA is not recognizing that if swim suit manufacturers are forced to sell only jammers and briefs, they will sustain low profits at both the age-group and collegiate levels and high profits at the Masters level or beyond.

I suspect the profit potential for a suit manufacturer who is selling a $25 pair of jammers or briefs is a paltry $6.00 or so. In contrast, I suspect the profit potential for a $450 speedsuit is around $125.00 or 21-times the profit margin on a pair of briefs.

Look at it this way: Selling one speedsuit to a masters swimmer is possibly the economic equivalent of selling 21-jammers or briefs to a small college team.

Hence, why would any suit manufacturer support FINA swim events so as to sell a suit that will only bring in $6.00 to $10.00 a unit when they can support dozens-upon-dozens of masters swimming events for a lower promotional fee and sell suits for a profit potential of $125.00 each?

That is stepping backwards for swimming! FINA is apparently not that good at "looking around corners" so to speak.

The potential for a pro-league and suit manufacturers heavily supporting Masters is not out of the question or simply conjecture. blueseventy supports the USMS and I will stress that high-end suits may generate the capital needed to make a pro-league possible.

Therefore, I wonder if swimsuit manufacturers disenfranchised with swimsuit rulings may build one someday thereby bringing us two governing bodies?

Bousquet gracious in victory speaks about the strategy he used be defeat Michael Phelps in the 100-meter free!

Michael Phelps is quoted as well and not only does Bousquet talk about his admiration for Phelps, he discuses his point of view about the Jaked possibly being banned tomorrow by FINA. From APF:

"...I don't like swimming 100s in season," Bousquet said. "The fact he was in the race and in the lane next to me helped me get my head into it and get motivated.

"I would like to get him down to the 50. I don't want to stay around too long in the 100. With the years coming, I don't think I will beat him too many more times in the 100."

Bousquet cited Phelps's stroke switches as a reason to feel he will not long be able to beat the American.

"To go 49.0 and change strokes a couple of times during the race, that's very impressive," Bousquet said. ..."

[Link]

As for our suits: My prediction for tomorrow is bleak. I suspect the Jaked and the blueseventy will be banned. TYR may be bloodied too.

Possible scenarios: TYR will be extraordinarily upset if the Tracer Rise and/or the Titan are banned. If they are, I am sure TYR will be quite polite and gracious in public; (because they are a classy company), but privately they will escalate the lawsuit against USA Swimming and Speedo and insist upon keeping their trial date with no intention of settling out of court.

The trial date is slated to start in the Spring of 2010 which will be lousy timing for Speedo and USA Swimming since it could bleed into 2012. (the Microsoft anti-trust trial took 2-years.)

I suspect other suit companies if unable to design a winning suit or forced to use a Speedo patent will jump on board that TYR lawsuit making it a class action suit.

Does FINA, USA Swimming, or Australian Swimming want that?

So, does FINA go partisan, "old school suits only" or "split the baby."

Your guess is more educated and better than mine!

Breaking News: Rowdy Gaines settin' records and now sponsored by 'blueseventy'

I just got back from a sprint workout and a bit of great news from Julie in San Francisco was in my inbox. Rowdy Gaines is not only winning in a blueseventy Nero comp swimskin, he is now sponsored by 'blueseventy.'

I am going to shut up here and post what Julie forwarded me:

Seattle, WA, — May 8, 2009 — blueseventy, the world’s leading maker of wetsuits, swimskins, and other swimming accessories, is pleased to announce their sponsorship of swimming legend and triple Olympic Gold Medal winner, Rowdy Gaines.

“blueseventy has truly gone from zero to 60 in the pool swimming market in just a year,“ says Roque Santos, V.P. of swimming at blueseventy. “Today, we are very excited to be signing a man we consider to be swimming royalty. Knowing Rowdy personally and now working with him is a great honor. He truly encompasses all that is great about our sport and embodies the spirit of blueseventy.”

Back in the sport, and swimming competitively again, Gaines has broken three records in the blueseventy nero comp swimskin, including two National Masters records at the YMCA Nationals in the 50 yard freestyle and 100 yard freestyle and most recently at the USMS Masters Nationals in the 200 yard freestyle.

“I have been involved with this great sport for 35 years,” says Gaines. “It is amazing what blueseventy has brought to swimming. I am so proud to be a part of a company that thinks of the athlete first, both young and old."

Under this agreement, Gaines will serve as an ambassador for blueseventy at Masters Swimming Competitions as well at his clinics. In addition, Gaines will work as a close advisor to the blueseventy product development team on innovations in swimskins, goggles and other swim accessories.

How cool is that? If swimming continues to grow like it has, I am sure more Olympians will follow suit; [bad pun], especially since it is now possible to continue to swim post an Olympic career or NCCA participation with a sponsor.

Now, we have to go dust of Mel Stewart, Michael Gross, Mark Spitz on the men's side. Janet Evans, Shirley Babashoff, Rada Owen on the womens' and I would pay triple to swim in that meet!

Speedsuit company 'blueseventy' sent me a press release regarding the FINA ruling in Dubai

The most important part of the press release is the following:

"... Fina’s rules, issued in a two stage process, will limit suits on thickness, buoyancy and other areas as of March 31st this year. This will be the standard until Jan 1st 2010, when the restrictions of phase two will come into effect.

"... Phase one should not affect the legality of our current suits at all. All our in-house testing has shown that our current suits meet all of the phase one restrictions, including those relating to buoyancy. There has been a lot of incorrect information, and personal viewpoints ushered into the public arena, and we feel that some of these tests will help reduce the confusion that seems to be out there. ..."

Phase two is a permeability rule that is planned for 2010. I believe the crux of that rule is to allow trapped air to escape!

Speedsuits: An informal FINA speedsuit meeting just happened!

I was thrilled to get a call from Lausanne, Switzerland just an hour ago from a individual who just attended the FINA swimsuit manufacturers meeting. This is a pre-meeting the manufacturers decided to have so as to be on the same page before meeting with the FINA officials tomorrow. A final announcement about the fate of speedsuits will be rendered in Dubai next month.

Here is are some snippets from a TVNZ article about the meeting that will take place tomorrow:

The manufacturers have never had it so good and they will not want any bans imposed.

Strong, persuasive argument is expected from all sides and FINA will need to be tough and unrelenting in its pursuit of the right answer. About 20 manufacturers will be present in Lausanne along with a number of coaches, athlete representatives and the FINA technical committee.

FINA will announce its decisions at a meeting in Dubai early next month so that the new laws will be introduced before the world championships in Rome in August. It would be a huge surprise if a ban on multiple suits is not imposed, along with strict guidelines on the area of the body which can be covered, but whether FINA is prepared to go much further than that is the major question.

[Link]

I was told that all the suit manufacturers are on the same page in that they want a de facto buoyancy test, suit thickness guidelines, a rule to ban multiple suits and/or duct tape "mods" and most importantly clear cut rules so that suit innovation can take place without the fear of a nebulous interpretation wiping out bundles of money in R&D expenses at the last minute.

I was surprised to hear that they are all getting along and that each company is going to make it clear that they will support FINA and will promote swim meets and open water events in the future.

Apparently Speedo is being the most vocal of the bunch and Jason Rance, the "mad scientist" who runs Speedo R&D, was interviewed by The Telegraph and made himself heard:

But Jason Rance, who headed the Speedo research and development team that produced the all-conquering suit with the aid of NASA scientists, has denied that it offers any extra buoyancy and is willing to prove it in a laboratory.

"What I can be clear on is that Speedo has always tested for buoyancy because we don't believe it's fair to have a suit that basically allows you to float on the water," he said.

"We would welcome an independent buoyancy test to make sure that our suit is not buoyant because I think that is something that people have jumped on."

[Link]

I asked about the TYR people and the blueseventy people since I really don't care about the Speedo people and they repeated that confidence is very high, each manufacturer wants swimming to do very well and all they just want are clear rules so they can support their swimmers and FINA swim events in the future.

I want to thank the person who called me, it was quite thrilling to get a call from the other side of the Atlantic especially about a subject I am very invested in.

Eamon Sullivan Calls for a ban on all Chloroprene suits - Especially the ones that compete with his 'Speedo LZR'

In my opinion he is calling out the blueseventy Nero in a backhanded way. It's like all these athletes Craig Lord writes about who oppose Chloroprene were seemingly handed a script to recite like an actor in a 30-second commercial. They never mention the name blueseventy but they mention the material it is made of.

Well, since blueseventy is down with the USMS, Sullivan's words are "fightin' words, pardner!"

I think it has become demonstrable by reading Swim News articles that Mr. Lord enthusiastically deplores Chloroprene suits. Especially the ones that are equal or perhaps faster than the Speedo LZR or Arena's offering.

"... Sullivan said that suits and suit practices that had unfolded over the course of 2008 had "to be stopped". He added: “I’m happy with what I’ve done. The suit (Speedo’s LZR Racer) was ratified by FINA and I wasn’t wearing two or three suits, just the one. What I wore was allowed at the time I broke those records. There obviously is some advantage and there obviously is more advantage if you wear two or three suits, which a lot of people have been doing lately, and I think it’s pretty ridiculous. ..."

[Link]

I think they have a saying for that called, "throwing the baby out with the bath water!" Calling for a suit ban on a suit that underwent the same FINA approval process that his Speedo LZR did is both unfair and absurd.

For Sullivan to speak negatively about Speedo's rival is suspicious to me. I find his take summarily prejudiced and I suspect that his prejudice is due to lots of Speedo money given to him so he will wear their suit.

How about mandating individuals simply wear one suit only when competing?

If quoted correctly FINA has "showed their cards" in advance of the FINA Seedsuit meeting in February!

On December 11th Craig Lord of Swim News wrote an article for the Times Online entitled: Is Time Running Out For Supersuits!

I highlight a quote in bold by an unnamed FINA official regarding his take on speedsuits. Apparently FINA may have decided the fate of a particular brand of speedsuit if this quote is for real:

"... A leaked letter sent to Fina by Marcin Sochacki, the Rocket Science Sports chief executive, has angered many in the sport. He wrote: “If the purists of this sport really want this to be man to man, then everyone should be on the exact same sleep schedule, nutrition plan/products and be set up to compete against others with the exact same hand size, lung capacity, arm and leg length including height, etc.”

A FINA source countered, saying: “How can you call a lung, an arm, a leg, [or] sleep the same thing as a suit that is clearly an artificial aid to performance.”..."

[Link]

Note how this unnamed source didn't add a question mark after his rhetorical question. I don't think it takes a genius to deconstruct their meaning or intent.

I am seeing nothing but biased media towards speedsuits and most notably the blueseventy and Chloroprene suits as a whole. It's as if consent is being manufactured against speedsuits by proxy.

Craig Lord writes at Swim News:

"... Complaints against the [blueseventy], a suit born in the triathlon pool, are also being voiced by rival suit makers. One source told SwimNews: "This is scary, dangerous stuff. The likes of Speedo, adidas, Arena and others have been working on products that support the body’s core strength, that support the athlete. The Blueseventy works in another way. It’s a flotation aid, in our opinion.” ..."

Later in the article Craig Lord prints out a letter sent to FINA by the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN - a conglomo governing body for European swimming) which clearly attacks blueseventy:

"...During the World Swimming Cups 2008 series a few World, European and many dozens of national records were broken by athletes who used the NERO COMP “Blueseventy” swimsuit. Our personal experience showed that the personal lifetime best performances in 50m breaststroke can be easily improved by 0,6-1.0 second with the NERO COMP Blueseventy swimsuit. ..."

"... The facts mentioned above as well as opinion on recent situation with swimming suits expressed by many other swimming coaches and swimmers, lead us to the questioning of the legitimacy of the usage of NERO COMP “Blueseventy” swimsuit at official swimming (pool) competitions.

[Link]

The past eight years have made me quite cynical regarding whatever statements come out of a politican's mouth or any political body for that mater and that includes USA Swimming, FINA, LEN and all the others.

I think what LEN is really saying is that suits from Australia, California and Europe who happen to invest and/or sponsor European national teams are fair but suits from Washington State which do not sponsor any European national teams are not fair.

My inference may sound outrageous but I base it upon this observation: There is a European suit company called, Jaked Swimwear, that has created a rubberized suit made out of a polyurethane analog which is patent pending. The suit has no seams whatsoever and one Italian swimmer I spoke with told me the suit is faster than a notable European suit which I won't mention. Also note, Jaked Swimwear, is the "sponsor tecnico Federazione Italiana Nuoto" (Sponsor of the Italian Swimming Federation.)

In the letter LEN spends time attacking the technicalities of the blueseventy Nero approval. I feel they chose to debate a technicality because that is all they can attack. All suits submitted to FINA were approved by FINA.

Ultimately will masters swimmers be denied their suit of choice post February?

The fish above: Won Park of Hawaii, moneyfolding magician extraordinaire, folds the fins to his origami dollar koi.

[Link]

Masters Swimming: '2008 SPMA Short Course Meters Championships' are being held this weekend!

I can barely write and I can barely think right now for I swam at the 2008 SPMA Short Course Meters Championships and my brain is as tired as my arms.

Let me get this out of the way first: I did something really 'stoooopid' today that consequently had a official berate me over the PA system at the Belmont Plaza and it certainly wasn't fun.

I took a photo today of a friend on the blocks before a race and my flash went off as I took the the photo. I have been swimming for five years and I didn't know that swim start systems use a flash device for hearing impaired swimmers as a visual que to signal the start of the race.

What's ironic is that I am officially hearing impaired; (I can't hear out of my left ear), and so when the race official said no flash photography before the race start, I didn't hear him because I am HEARING IMPAIRED. So, if you were there, I was the guy that got screamed at during the womens 200 free! Also, if you are like me and didn't know about this rule or start technology for the hearing impaired - learn from my mistake.

You all are going to be seeing a lot of world record postings at Lane 9 News in the next couple of days for as many as 15 world records were set so far during this three day meet. The usual suspects too, Jenny Cook, Erik Hochstein, Jeff Cummings et al. Best part is that Jenny Cook and Erik Hochstein swim with SCAQ. I can't tell you how lucky I m to be able to swim and learn from them.

I am back tomorrow for two more events, the 100 free and and the 400 free relay. Today I swam the 200 free, the 50 free, a 200 free relay, and finally an 800 free relay.

Looking around the most preferred speedsuits were mostly older suits but for those wearing the most up to date technology, blueseventy was by far the most worn suit by masters swimmers. In one race I saw seven people on the blocks wearing the suit.

The least worn suit I saw today was the Speedo LZR: I saw only two swimmers wearing it. The buzz around the building regarding the lack of visibility was LZR longevity issues.

The Speedo Fastskin Pro II apparently is appreciated a heck of a lot more than the LZR at the masters level. People who could afford the LZR passed on it for the Fastskin Pro II. Apparently, for masters swimmers, masters swimmers want hydrophobic material and durability.

I saw three or four people wearing a TYR Tracer Light and I was one of them, a girl from San Diego set a world record in one; extraordinary swimmer too. I set a personal best in the 50-free with a time of 28.54. Then, completely exhausted I swam a 200-free in the evening in a time of 2:29.00 which was roughly the same time I swam in the morning when I was fresh.

I am wearing the Tracer again tomorrow in both the 100-free and the 400-free relay. and then I will write a review. So far I feel very positive about my $344.00 purchase but I wan to see if my personal best and swimming near my personal best in the 200 was a fluke.

'USA Swimming' to 12-year-olds: "You're too young to wear a speedsuit!"

Amy Shipley in The Washington Post writes: "...USA Swimming's Club Development Director Pat Hogan said delegates were concerned that the pricey suits, which can cost as much as $500, would drive promising youngsters who couldn't afford them out of the sport and possibly deter proper stroke development. ..."

"We're in a position where we want to grow participation in our sport," Hogan said. "We don't need to have false barriers to participation. The cost of those high-tech swim suits, for a young swimmer, doesn't really make sense."

Added Hogan: "We've helped protect and create a level playing field in 12-and-under competition where truly the type of suit you wear doesn't make a difference. ..." [Link]

In my opinion the first paragraph doesn't wash; the one where he says, "...deter proper stroke development." You wear a speedsuit at a race not in practice because they are fragile. By then you should have a proper technique and know what how to swim.

The next paragraph translates to me as speedsuits don't make sense due to the high cost and negligible result. (Did I read that wrong?) However a sudden reversal takes place in the next paragraph whereas "tech-doping" becomes a very real concern and they have to level the playing field!

TYR, blueseventy, Arena, and I wish I could say Nike but they just threw up their hands and said, "we're so outta here!," are going to suffer as a result of this ban. USA Swimming wanted to ban speedsuits up to age of 18 but realized US Swimmers could lose in international events if not allowed to wear one! Well, is that an endorsement that suits are "tech-dope" or what?!

Consequently the aforementioned manufacturers just got their speedsuit incomes drastically cut; probably by more than 50%. The only manufacturer that can absorb that loss is Speedo, the one company that has exclusive deals; (PLURAL) with USAS! I so can't wait for that TYR lawsuit to go to trial!

Here is a statistic from: The SportsOneSource Group: "... Said Nike was a distant third in the $US200 million ($240.3m) performance swimwear marketplace - which encompasses consumer swim goods for exercise rather than leisure. Speedo holds roughly 60 per cent of the market share, TYR comes in second at 20 per cent and Nike is third at 13 per cent. ..." [Sydney Morning Herald Link]

Where is blueseventy or Arena on this food-chain? Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, once said of Netscape: "We're going to cut off their air supply." I see that happening here.

I saw two 'Nero blueseventy' suit failures today and now what I believe to be the fastest suit in the world, the 'Speedo LZR'

Bob Strand set a world record for his age group in a Nero blueseventy at the SPMA Regional Long Course Championships hosted by Conejo Simi Aquatics at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. I don't remember his time for I was more interested in what he thought of the suit. Of course he was stoked. Results will be posted soon.

However, I saw two Nero blueseventy suits rip today in the exact same spot, a two inch tear along the seams in the upper thigh area by the gluteus maximus region

By the way, Bob Strand's suit did not fail. I learned today that if you are going to race in a Nero, be sure it is wet; less chance of tearing.

Now, as for the fastest suit in the world: I saw Erik Hockstein set a world record today in the 4x100 LCM free while wearing a Speedo LZR. It was during the opening swim of a relay in a time of 52.20. (Yes, that is blazing fast and it was fun to see.) He later swam in a Nero in the 100 free in a time 52.86.

Now I have to be fair. I did not see a TYR Tracer Light today. I was going to purchase one and wear it but scheduling factors did not permit me to make the 50 mile drive to go buy one. Also, I can't find one online yet. So I am qualifying my experience with speedsuits here. The fastest suit I have ever seen in person is the Speedo LZR. It's faster than Nike Hydra, the Nero blueseventy, former Speedo suits, former TYR speedsuits, Former Arena suits and Diana.

It is a remarkable suit but watching someone put it one on is actually stressful. Especially the zipping up part. It's like setting a mousetrap; you are afraid it will go very wrong and nail your fingers when you go to place it down on the floor.

I am seriously still looking at a TYR Tracer Light or Rise though due to the fact that the LZR has a short shelf life and the Tracer may be the only game in town in terms of quality. Now when I buy a TYR Tracer Light and if it by chance rips or tears, you will hear about it and then we all will be back to square one as to which "dope" is best.

Regarding the rumor that 'Nike' is interested in 'blueseventy.'

There is this rumor floating around at Olympic trials that Nike is interested in blueseventy - it centers around the fact that a friendly dinner took place between executives from both companies and that a Nike athlete or athletes[?] have worn their suit[s]. This friendly dinner has seemingly been construed as a deal. There is no more evidence than that.

Glenn Mills not only endorses the 'blueseventy,' he sets a masters world record in one and feels guilty about it.

Erik Hochstein sent me this as a supplement to the Gary Hall jr. endorsement below. Glenn Mills storms a 200LCM breaststroke ion one and feels . Here is a snippet:

"...When I touched the wall on the finish, and glanced up to the clock, I was hoping I would be within a respectable measure of David Guthrie's World Record of 2:26.1, and the time I saw surprised me for the first time since I was 15 in a swim race: 2:22.6. I waited for the clock to reset, or change. I figured there was a missing light because I knew UMD had just ordered a beautiful new scoreboard. The more I looked, the more confused I got. Did I really just go 2:22? No way. I couldn't have gone that fast. The last time I swam this race meters, I went 2:30 in December, and it HURT! The 2:10 yards in Austin was a good race, and I was READY for that one. I didn't do anything for this... except, change my stroke a bit, and put on a Blueseventy suit. ..." [Link]

Gary Hall Jr. tacitly endorses the 'blueseventy' speedsuit!

Here is a quote /snippet from Gary that he posted on his Race Club message board:

"... We also need to give credit where credit is due. The suit. I know, I know. I hate to admit it. There is something to the suit. I was training with Mark right before I left for Omaha and he had the new Blue Seventy suits. He was talking about leaving Speedo who he has been with for decades(!) to sign with Blue Seventy. We were testing the suit and there is something there. No question. Could it account for a .16 drop? I think so. ..." ['YouTube' Link to the reaction]

I actually think Gary Hall is a contender this weekend, albeit a dark horse.

Here is a link to thread: [Link]

New Japanese fabric to challenge Speedo: Biorubber Swim-SCS Fabric

The Japanese have a strict swimsuit rule for their athletes: You can wear any suit you want as long as it is made in Japan. So, not to be outdone by the Speedo LZR, AFP reports:

"... Now Japan's Yamamoto Corp., which has supplied a super-fast synthetic rubber fabric to wetsuit makers around the world, has come to the rescue with the Olympic Games just three months away.

The company has offered material, called the Biorubber Swim-SCS Fabric, to challenge Britain's Speedo, saying it is the "the world's fastest swimwear material."

"The decision is not aimed at all at business. It's aimed at helping Japanese swimmers fight to their heart's content in fair conditions at the Beijing Olympics," said the company's president, Tomizo Yamamoto. ..."

Note that the gentleman is holding up a blueseventy: [Link]