Rowdy Gaines interviewed - Not one media outlet asked him about Phelps!

Rowdy Gaines spoke with the Today Show three times, USA Today and they were not interested in hearing about Michael Phelps. They wanted to now about these really cool suits were wear.

Also, before I get any more anonymous comments calling me: "WITCH, WITCH, WITCH, Burn him!" These 2009 Fina World Championships have been all about the suit because both the athletes and FINA have made it about the suit.

Here is a direct link to the video for a higher resolution version: [Link]

Welcome to 2009 - Technology in sports versus technology in swimming!

[UPDATED] Per Ted's suggestion regarding my choice of bicycles

Pictured above: Introducing the Nike LunarGlide+ :

LunarLite Foam
Nike first introduced LunarLite foam in the summer of 2008 in Beijing as the mid-sole cushioning system of the Nike LunaRacer and Nike Lunar Trainer running shoes and in the Nike Hyperdunk basketball shoe. Traditional cushioning systems only absorb energy upon impact while LunarLite foam has proven to provide superior cushioning and significant energy return.

When compared to swimming, that last sentence is the moral equal of alleged buoyancy in swimming. Energy return from a shoe makes your run easier plain and simple.

A "purist" from two centuries ago could argue that running barefoot is better for track & field since high-tech shoes make it easier for the "lesser athletes" to win.

Track & Field still adopted technology from rubber shoes to rubber tracks to draw interest to the sport and look how it grew.

Why should swimming be any different?

Here are some examples of other individual sports. Below are two bicycles, one competed in the tour de France in 1939, the other is a prototype:



Above and to the left is a bicycle ridden in the 1939 Tour de France called the Super Champion, a technological achievement due to the fact it had a derailleur so as to allow the rider to ride through the hills more effectively by choosing his gearing.

The 2009 NUIIA, designed by Bradford Wangh, is all about efficiency and reduced weight. The Super Champion on the left probably weighed as much as 35-pounds versus the potential 9-pound NUIIA on the right.

This efficiency again makes the NUIIA The bicycle to the right is Lance Armstrong's time trial bike. It is made of composite materials, aerodynamic angles and "down-bars" for better body position. It is my belief that Lance's bike is the moral equal to alleged buoyancy in swimming due to it's reduced weight and more efficient drive train.The art of peddling becomes easier.

Cycling moved into the future and the Tour de France is an epic battle between men and not machines. Yes, there are discussions regarding equipment but it is Eddy Merckx, Lance Armstrong, and Miguel Indurain who are discussed not their equipment.

The FS range of rackets uses 7000 series aluminium, a graphite reinforced throat. They are 'honker' big when compared to the vintage model.

Can you say Serena Williams? Do you know what equipment she uses? I don't and I am not asking what racket she uses when she plays, are you?

With her strength, coordination and a racket in her hand like that, she is both beauty and the beast and her games rock!

The lighter frame and enlarged area allows Serena to drill that ball with all her strength, Hence, a player of today is not a stylist but rather an athlete.

The weight reduction and larger contact area is once again the moral equal to alleged buoyancy in swimming.


Above is the TYR Titan made with the same style of fabric that the blueseventy and RocketScience suits are made from. It was banned under very mysterious circumstances. I have to leave it at that.

So unlike running, cycling, and swimming. Swimming under FINA is destined to embrace an "Amish existence" in regards to growth, technology and fun!

That must change!

FINA will take as long as two months to define what the definition of a textile is for suit manufacturers!

FINA posted these suit guidelines some time ago and I am only getting to it now:

MATERIAL – The material of the swimsuits will definitively be constituted only by textile fabric(s). The definition of “textile” will be made by a group of scientific experts chosen by FINA and led by Prof. Jan-Anders Manson, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne (SUI). This definition will be available to manufacturers by no later than September 30, 2009. The first definition of “textile” to be further confirmed by this group is: “Material consisting of, natural and/or synthetic, individual and non consolidated yarns used to constitute a fabric by weaving, knitting, and/or braiding.”

SHAPE – For men, the swimsuit shall not extend above the navel nor below the knee, and for women, shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor extend below knee. Furthermore, no zippers or other fastening system is allowed.

TESTS – Only measurable scientific tests will be performed within the frame of the swimwear approval procedure. For thickness, the 1mm limit will be adjusted to 0.8mm, for buoyancy the present value of 1 Newton will be reduced to 0.5 (FINA will even consider the limit of 0 Newton), and for permeability the material(s) used must have at any point a value of more than 80l/m2/second. Permeability values are measured on material with a standard multi directional stretch of 25%. These parameters will be further considered by the above mentioned scientific group.

The above test is conducted by blowing air through the speedsuit material that is stretched; Lycra allows 100s of liters of air to pass through; I am uncertain about other materials.

The suit shape favors the women more than the men. Any mens world records set today will last for at least a generation or more. Janet Evans WR in the 400 stood for 19 years. Laure Manaudou took it out wearing a speedsuit. It would have lasted another 10-years at least if Manaudou had to wear the same garment Evans wore.

I suspect FINA will simply throw out the current world records and pretend they never happened once interest in swimming degrades. I do suspect it will.

I don't mean to be cynical but here is how I arrived at my opinion: Do we really believe that more than 2 or 3 players will survive these change of events?

With fewer suit players selling $30 swimsuits with a profit margin of say $10, will any of these players have the money to pay 7-figure incomes to athletes?

Solutions: I am liking this talk of a pro-league. For instance: Who does the US Olympic Committee go to when they want to select a basketball team? They go to the NBA! I don't think USA Swimming would like that very much and I don't think FINA would like it when the IOC came to an international pro-league and asked them for new and innovative ways to conduct a race.

The suit manufacturers should consider putting up $200,000 each and run a pro event the same day FINA SCM Championships are going off.

Is FINA Sexist? - What if FINA said female swimmers have to wear bikinis and male swimmers can wear short-johns or briefs!

Why do women get the advantage of modesty and compression?

To be honest, I am dropping the "sexist bomb" just to be persnickety and illustrative on how poorly FINA thinks their decisions through.

From Voice of America:

Executive director Cornel Marculescu said Tuesday the FINA Bureau upheld last week's decision by the general congress to put new regulations in place by May of 2010. Male swimmers will be restricted to suits that go from the waist to the top of the knees, while women's suits cannot go past the shoulders or beyond the knees.

[Link]

FINA is the moral equivalent of the Red Queen in the Lewis Carrol book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. From Wikipedia:

Despite the frequency of death sentences, it would appear few people are actually beheaded. The King of Hearts quietly pardons many of his subjects when the Queen is not looking. ... and her soldiers humor her but do not carry out her orders. The Gryphon tells Alice that "It's all her fancy: they never executes nobody, you know." Nevertheless, all creatures in Wonderland fear the Queen. ..."

[Link]

In the illustration above, Alice represents the swimmers who truly run the show and both the Red and White Queen who are asleep and unaware of what is going on.

Ironically, speedsuits won't be abolished till Speedo starts winning in them. Trust me!

Bill Lee, the North American manager for Speedo : "...These suits are gross...!"

More hot rhetoric about speedsuits but this time from Sports Illustrated rather than the Commonwealth press:

"These suits are gross!"... His outrage is now academic. Gross or not, the skinsuit is available through Mrs. Rothhammer, and competing firms have moved fast to copy it

[One Olympian] "... clipped more than five seconds off the American record in the 500-yard freestyle. "I feel the suits are not indecent as long as everybody wears them,"

[Still more rhetoric] "...The suit sticks to me, and there's a lot less drag because water doesn't get down the front." Later she conceded, "This may be more psychological than physical; I always think I'm going to win when I wear it."

In both cases the skinsuits incorporated the first major changes in competitive swim-wear design in 13 years, and swimmers wearing them are setting records with regularity.

Arena has now comes up with a new fabric that is practically see-through:

"... Arena feared that a solid color might unsettle women wearers. Indeed, the tricolor pattern makes the suit seem opaque. Arena calls its mystery fabric Elastomere and claims it is different from the other stretchy materials. Elastomere feels like silky tissue paper because it is woven with a fine elastic thread rather than knitted as the other skinsuit fabrics are. Putting on the Arena suit has been likened to "slipping into a sheer silk stocking. ..."

There there is this classic comment:

"...The U.S. girls who have worn the skinsuits are enthusiastic about them. Their comments range from "All I could feel was my kick," to "When I took my first flip-turn, I wanted to reach down and see if I still had my suit on." "It's like sliding through the water," said another. "The body is completely compressed by the suit. I felt no resistance whatsoever." "I don't feel anything at all," said [an Olympian]. "It's just like wearing nothing." ..."

Sports Illustrated: [Link]

Oh, I forgot to mention that this article was forwarded to me by Anonymous within the comments section of: "A deal is a deal" - Libby Trickett will wear the Speedo LZR at Worlds!" post I made recently.

I also forgot to mention that this Sports Illustrated article was written in 1972, more than 1/3-of-a-century ago! - The Olympian with the comments full of "awesomeness and win" is Shirley Babashoff!

I don't know what happened to Bill Lee, the North American manager for Speedo, but I do know his comments were made after Speedo was getting beat in the pool.

It's all just a little bit of history repeating itself isn't it? This time let's shift to the "Bill Lee's of our day"

[Libby Lenton before the Jaked 01, TYR Titan, blueseventy NERO]

"...MULTIPLE Olympic gold medal winner Libby Trickett believes banning the use of hi-tech bodysuits would set the sport "back a decade".

"...I read that in 1972, I think, there were 53 world records broken, and there has been 54 [long course] this year," Trickett said. "What provided that difference that year?

"...I don't think it really makes sense to ban the suits across the board, because then we would be going back over a decade ago to when we were just wearing the togs - and that, to me, would be a reversal in the sport. I don't see why we would want to go back to that time.

[Link]

[Now the change of opinion]

" I don't believe (swimsuit technology) should have gone to that level ever," Trickett said.

"I don't blame the manufacturers, they are there to make money, but FINA should have put their foot down, they shouldn't have sold out and I believe they did sell out.

"Now people are more concerned about what suit they wear than what training they have done. FINA shouldn't have put us in this position."

Speedo's poster-girl said she would willingly return to 2007 swimsuit technology, before the advent of the LZR, which opened the door to the new generation of fast suits, if it would rid the sport of the scourge of polyurethane next year.

"No-one wants to waste a year of training and get beaten by a swimsuit," she said.

[Link]

But the USA still has their very own versions of "Bill Lee" too:

[Mark Schubert before the Jaked 01, TYR Titan, blueseventy NERO]

“My advice to athletes is, ‘You have a black-and-white decision - the money or the gold medal.' And it's going to be a real test of character.

“There is no doubt the suit makes a difference and there is no doubt that there is one manufacturer that's put millions into research while the other manufacturers are more into fashion. Nobody at this level [world-class athletes] can afford to give up 2 per cent. It is not rocket science. ...” -- Mark Schubert

[Link]

[Now the change of opinion]

"It's totally out of control,'' Mark Schubert, USA swimming's national team director, told me by telephone Monday. ``Now we're into speedboat driving.''

"It would be pretty unfair if a record was set in a suit that becomes illegal and was determined to give a decisive competitive [advantage]," Schubert said. ``But the saddest thing is we no longer are able to [compare] generations. Swimming should be about the swimmer, not the suit."

[Link]

With all this said, the best part about it, and I am sure both sides of the argument can agree, swimming is being talked about and people want to see what these suits look like.

The photo above comes from the Geelong Advertiser. The article is entitled: Libby Trickett, Eamon Sullivan the fastest swimmers on earth!

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.

Will 'Speedo' make a new suit for Michael Phelps at World Championships? - Mark Foster thinks so!

BBC Sport has quite a rant from Mark Foster.

Mark throws down with the anti-suit crowd and go as far as saying that Michael Phelps will be beat if he doesn't wear a Jaked or a 'Jaked analog.' (How is that for a suit endorsement? I bet the boys at the Jaked factory are loving it since they have now been crown the best suit available.)

Here is what Mark had to say:

"..."Michael Phelps is the best swimmer in the world but someone wearing a Jaked suit will beat him if he's using a Speedo suit - they are that effective." [...]

"Phelps is sponsored by Speedo and won't be able to wear this Jaked suit. Speedo will have to make a new suit for him."..."

[Link]

Other predictions about a FINA backlash are made by Australian, Performance Director, Michael Scott as well but quite frankly and quite honestly: the Australians were so very pro-Speedo LZR before they started getting their asses handed to them by swimmers wearing better suits.

Names like Anuary Leveaux, Alain Bernard, Frederick Bousquet, Cesar Cielo...

So, now that the advantage is not in Speedo's favor; and you know Australian Swimming is "owned" by Speedo, these athletes and coaches become "purists" or whatever adjective they shoose that makes them sound with rhetorical embellishment as the good guys.

So, here is my prediction: If we go back to briefs, jammers and one-piece suits, swimming will shrink due to boredom, lack of meet sponsorship capital, and lower payouts to athletes.

TYR responds to FINA suit list - Play fair or we will pursue legal action!

This was just sent to just me minutes ago:

"... HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA – June 25, 2009 – Based upon the declaration issued by the FINA Executive on June 22, 2009, TYR is content with the inclusion of 37 swimsuits on the official “FINA 2009 Revised List of Approved Swimsuits.”

Among these technologies immediately available for use are Tracer Light, Tracer Rise, Tracer A7, Fusion, and Sayonara. We are looking forward to their success at the upcoming World Championships in Rome.

However, TYR has had additional suits rejected by FINA that consisted of similar fabrics and are engineered similarly to those by other manufacturers that received approval. These suits from TYR were submitted specifically to maintain fairness to our athletes on the possibility that those definitive technologies were approved. TYR was not provided any reasoning from FINA, or testing results, as to why our technologies of equal development were not approved while others were passed based upon no modifications (as previously requested from FINA).

Our understanding now is that certain manufacturer’s were allowed the ability to “submit arguments” defending their suits. This does not comply with the Dubai Charter which distinctively asserted “FINA has established its own independent control/testing program.” Why has the burden now been placed upon the manufacturer to persuade FINA when they have already secured their own protocol?

TYR has continuously followed the guidelines set forth by FINA, as well as, the spirit intended by the “Dubai Charter” established in March. The Charter stated that, “FINA brings together athletes from around the world to compete on equal conditions,” but at this time it is simply not the case. TYR, our athletes, our federations, and our coaches are being placed at a disadvantage for our compliance.

In the interests of our athletes and federations, our counsel has formally requested, from FINA, the testing results of those specific manufacturer’s suits and the testing results of the similar TYR suits that were not approved.

This revised ruling prevents our athletes from having access to our comparable technologies that TYR has developed and are similar, or the same, to those approved by others. Not only does this create an unlevel playing field, it also presents the possibility of athletes choosing not to compete in international competition until there is clarity. This would be an unfortunate detriment to our sport.

FINA claimed, in the Dubai Charter, that the Bureau would “revise the requirements for swimsuit approval with the aim of making them more clear, simple and transparent.” They have failed measurably in this regard.

Again, in the best interest of the sport, and for the basis of clarification on FINA’s own guidelines, TYR has requested a response from FINA by Friday, June 26th. If sufficient correspondence has not been met, TYR will pursue appropriate legal remedy at that time. ..."

My take: WHOA!

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 appears to me that 'USA Swimming' will "rubber-stamp" the FINA swim list!

I am openly biased in regards to the way USA Swimming conducts business. I have made this clear in several posts mostly when I talk about the TYR/Speedo/USA Swimming lawsuit or when they were tr7ing to get in bed with the Wasserman Media Group.

Now that this bias is again out in the open, I have a question for all of you: is it just me or does this press release from USA Swimming simply state that they are going to "rubber-stamp" the FINA decision with no forethought or consideration of the consequences whatsoever?

My interpretation of what I read is in the brackets. Here is the USA Swimming press release:

"... USA Swimming will follow the FINA ruling made Tuesday in Lausanne, Switzerland. As the World Governing Body for our sport, we rely on FINA to provide adequate testing and judgment on which suits can and cannot be used in competition.

[That is what I believe was the rubber-stamp part]

Certainly, such legislation has an effect on our more than 2,800 club teams and the athletes they represent. We want to assure our membership that we are reviewing the recent legislation and will soon provide an update on how this might affect swimming at the club level.

[That was the part where I believe they will tell the "barking dog" that they will "consider" throwing it an imaginary bone and to just trust them to do so.]

We appreciate your patience as we work to provide complete and accurate information on this topic.

[I can't think of anything witty to say but I am thinking that letter I posted was pretty darn accurate to me.]

USA Swimming has not yet taken any action with respect to the published list of approved suits and will not do so until after the Rules & Regulations Committee meeting scheduled for May 29-30. Following that meeting, a formal announcement will be made regarding how the approved list will affect USA Swimming and its rules & regulations.

[The above is a carefully written "escape clause" in case the "poop hits the fan" lawsuit-wise and USA Swimming needs to adopt a "USMS approach" to avoid getting hit by the incoming mess.]

If USA Swimming does not adopt a measured response such as the Italian Federation, The USMS, and Japanese, their management should be voted out.

Daina Swim unleased: Press release regarding unapporved swimsuit

My readers are so good to me and they contribute so much that it humbles me. Minollo sent us this press release from Diana Sport - It was translated into English rather qucikly:

Diana Sport is astonished learning that its own bodysuit “Cyclone” has not been approved by FINA, as [evident] from the official notice issued by the International Federation on 19th. May and from which results that others 135 costumes have been considered irregular.

"... The main shocking thing is that the costume Cyclone has passed all the scientific tests fixed by Fina and intended to verify the observance of requisitions and limits appointed by the Federation itself as regards to the buoyancy and to the fabrics thickness.

The missing homologation is due to a mere presumption formulated by the expert of the Federal Polytechnic in Lausanne, person in charge to effect the tests, who affirms that the costume “could cause air trapping effects”, effect in principle prohibited by the rules. Therefore we are in front of the paradox that tests fixed to control the respect of the bench marks in an incontestable scientific way will be overcome by a subjective [judgment] that asserts, on a purely hypothetical way and not supported by any empirical evidence, that the costume is not in compliance with such rule.

Due to this reason Diana contests in a more absolute and firm way Fina’s decision.

Relieved from the results of the tests that certify the regularity of its own costume Cyclone and sure that the right is not based on mere suppositions , Diana reserves the right to undertake every kind of action , nothing excluded, in order to protect its own economic and of image interests. ..."

[Link]

Thank you so much Minollo! :-*

Japanese Swimming Federation may accept Ryosuke Irie's 200-back WR despite FINA objection!

This is perhaps the biggest story of the year: The "speedsuit war" is escalating: The first shot fired was back in the Spring of 2008 when TYR filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal court against USA Swimming, Coach Mark Schubert, and Speedo.

Now the second salvo: The Japanese Swimming Federation may acknowledge Ryosuke Irie world record in the 200-back despite FINA refusal to accept it due to the swimsuit he wore was not FINA approved.

Could the French do the same with Alain Bernard's world record in the 100-free?

From Swimming World: "..."Even if Irie's world record would not be ratified by FINA, the Japanese Federation will not omit it from the Japanese record book," Japanese Swimming Federation Executive Director Masafumi Izumi said. "The position of the Japanese Federation is different from FINA. Although there are discrepancies, and we are in confusion. The Japanese Federation will have to distinguish FINA's standard and our own standard in the ratification process...."

[Link]

What a mess! This is a "shot across the proverbial bow" of FINA's governing authority. That is to say, if Irie's world record is validated by the Japanese Federation, then his suit is validated as well.

I admit that all of the above is hyperbole but FINA is in trouble and it needs help and guidance.

My suggestion is that all swimsuits that have ever been approved by FINA be placed back on the approved swimsuit list till FINA can produce an engineering standard that is based on quantifiable data rather than theoretical opinions.

'blueseventy' and others passed the buoyancy tests but if this letter is factual, they were denied with prejudice not science!

Science is not about fact or faith - it is about preponderance of evidence. When experiments cannot be reproduced, science will change it's model.

Again, science is not about faith nor it is it about suspicion or conjecture. It's about what you see right in front of you and even then, someone has to reproduce it. When "facts" change, science changes.

Above is a letter from Jan Anders Mason, Professor Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne, Switzerland, written to the Executive Director C. Marculescu of FINA.

Click image to enlarge!

The highlighted paragraph along with the paragraph above clearly state that the swimsuits with non-permeable fabric, such as the 'blueseventy' and perhaps the TYR Titan, complied with the buoyancy factor. THEY COMPLIED!

In plain words: THEY PASSED. The suits met the scientific standards agreed upon in Dubai and duly tested by the Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne yet the suits were denied because of the mere speculation or conjecture on the part of Professor, Jan Anders Mason.

Prejudice is defined as "...A judgment or opinion formed before the facts are known. In most cases, these opinions are founded on suspicion... A preconceived preference or idea. The act of forming a judgment beforehand without knowledge of the facts."

Hence, the 'bueseventy,' in my opinion, was denied over the suspicion of buoyancy rather than demonstrable evidence of it.

Here blueseventy's official statement:

"...New Zealand — May 19, 2009 — Today FINA released its list of approved suits for the World Championships in July. FINA rejected 10 high-tech racing suits and approved 199 others with 136 swimsuits to be modified in accordance with the “Dubai Charter”.

blueseventy submitted 11 models of suits for FINA approval, including tights and jammers. At this time, blueseventy suits are not listed on FINA’s site as approved models, including the models that had previously been submitted (in late 2007) and had received approval.

blueseventy is stunned by this omission. “As a company, and personally, we were very comfortable with the criteria for testing that FINA had outlined, our suits passed well under the threshold for buoyancy and thickness proposed by them,” stated blueseventy’s Global Marketing Manager, Dean Jackson. “We have had confirmation that our suits passed the independent laboratory testing for both of these tests.”

Officially blueseventy is classified as one of the suits that ”may cause significant air trapping when worn by the swimmers.” However, there are several other similar brands with suits that use exactly the same fabric, with a similar construction, that have passed without a problem. This confusing situation has led the company to seek clarification directly from FINA and blueseventy is awaiting their response.

blueseventy has 30 days to make modifications to the suit so that it no longer traps air, but the system around this is unclear since trapping air is not a measurable value and the subjective nature of this “testing” is not black or while. Initially the Dubai Charter and resubmission of these suits was in order to gain acceptance for the Rome World championships and it is blueseventy’s understanding that previously approved suits remain legal for all competitions.

“We are dedicated to working on the best solution to the short-term situation and will work closely with FINA on this process,” said Roque Santos, blueseventy Vice President of Swimming. “Most importantly, we care about swimmers, we care about our company and we care about fair play for all brands in this process.”..."

USA Today: "FINA to announce approved swimsuit list!"

Attention FINA: If a FINA staff member is being paid by a suit manufacturer, they should not be allowed on a FINA commission deciding which suits get to stay and which suits have to go.

From USA Today: "... LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Swimming's governing body was preparing to announce Tuesday which high-tech racing suits will be approved for this year's world championships.

The list has been created by a special commission which included national team head coaches Mark Schubert of the United States and Australia's Alan Thompson. ..."

[Link]

How is this for some background info: Mark Schubert, according the New York Times blog, Schubert was being paid by Speedo when coaching our Olympic team. Could Alan Thompson be on the Speedo's payroll too?

"...What he did not mention is that the defendants, in asking for a continuance, provided sworn testimony from Stu Isaac, the director of marketing for Speedo, confirming that [Mark] Schubert is paid to endorse Speedo and that one of Isaac’s jobs is to manage Speedo’s relationship with USA Swimming. ..."

[Link]

May 18th will be FINA's version of 'high noon' for some speedsuit manufacturers!

Above is the new redesign of the Rocket Science speedsuit. Note how the legs have been shortened and the arms removed. I actually like the look of this suit better when compared to the original design.

With all these changes in mind will this suit, the Jaked, or the bluseventy Nero be deemed illegal for the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome? We find out, or find out something on May 18th, 2009

From the Canadian Press:

"... LAUSANNE, Switzerland — A panel of swimming experts will meet Monday to decide which models of high-tech swimsuits can be worn at the world championships this summer.

FINA, swimming's world governing body, said Wednesday independent laboratory tests have been completed on all models of suits which have been used by swimmers to rewrite the sport's record book in the past 15 months.

"Now we have the results of the tests," FINA said in a statement. "The commission will analyze the results and draw a list of the swimsuits that are approved and not approved."

[Link]

How do you like that last sentence? That tells me that there will be rejected suits. The consequences of that are far reaching for this will effect age group swimmers, the college teams and USMS masters swimmers.

I suspect that the approval process will be highly political and that FINA is not loving this situation at all.

For instance, what if the LZR is found to be the only "scientifically acceptable" speedsuit and all the others are deemed too buoyant? The amount of lost revenue to suit manufacturers through R&D research, lost sales, and blown-out ad budgets could potentially bankrupt some suit manufacturers and perhaps cripple global sponsorships. This includes the USMS, FINA events and perhaps college swimming.

Yes, FINA is not loving this at all.

This second round of approval is odd. The suits were approved once and now they have to be approved for a second time at great expense. This is the equivalent of an umpire in a baseball game reversing his "strike-call" to a "ball" at the behest of the opposing league coaches.

In this case my perception of the "opposing coaches" metaphor comes from my observation that it was the National Governing Bodies calling for a second suit review rather than living with the first approval round. Governing bodies like USA Swimming; (who is being sued by TYR for a an anti-trade bias with Speedo), and Australian Swimming whose coach has made it clear he supports the Speedo LZR.

For example: Alan Thompson quoted in FOX Sports Australia:

"We have to know scientifically what is really happening."

Australian head coach Alan Thompson said talk about the suits detracted from the performances of the swimmers.

"People saying the suits doing it takes away from the athletes, there are rules that govern these things and Speedo did what they need to get them passed. I have no problem," he said.

"World records go down at this time you would hope (in the lead-up to an Olympics)."

[Link]

Next example of a Speedo bias comes from USA Swimming Olympic Team Coach, Mark Schubert, who was being paid to endorse Speedo while coaching our Olympic team.

For instance: On June 28th, 2008, in the New York Times Blog: RINGS 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, Karen Crouse wrote this about Mark Schubert's relationship with Speedo

"...What he did not mention is that the defendants, in asking for a continuance, provided sworn testimony from Stu Isaac, the director of marketing for Speedo, confirming that [Mark] Schubert is paid to endorse Speedo and that one of Isaac’s jobs is to manage Speedo’s relationship with USA Swimming. ..."

[Link]

Both National Governing Bodies have made it clear that they want speedsuit design suppressed. This occurred after several dynamic and innovative competitors entered the market with suits made of a different rubber and a simpler way to manufacturer than the Speedo LZR.

Is this truly a buoyancy "fix" or is it more like something Tony Soprano would say such as: "the fix in"?

Once FINA has makes their decision, how will consumers react and what will be the consequences?

In just weeks, Australian has lost five world records to European swimmers!

From Nicole Jeffrey writing for the Australian:

Australia has lost five world records to European athletes in the past two weeks, none of whom was wearing a Speedo suit.

Rapidly evolving swimsuit technology is influencing results so much that sports newspaper L'Equipe listed the French team for the world titles by suit when it was announced this week.

Eleven of the 15 men and 14 of the 20 women in the team wore Jaked suits.

Three of the four men who did not - Bernard (Arena), Hugues Duboscq (Adidas) and Amaury Leveaux (Tyr) - had been pre-selected after winning Olympic medals last year.

In a complete reversal from the Beijing Games, when the Speedo LZR was regarded as the pace-setting suit, only five successful French swimmers wore Speedo.

[Link]

The Australian team is sponsored by Speedo but Australian Swim Team members can wear suits from a competing company as long as these suits are unbranded or do not display a logo or manufacturer name.

With all this in mind, which Australian athletes will be wearing unbranded suits versus the Speedo LZR? The subject of the article, Stephanie Rice, states that she does not have a suit sponsor. Obviously, Rice, was given remarkably good advice from her handlers to keep her suit options open and thereby allow her the opportunity to wear the fastest suit possible at any race she competes in.

Hence, we may see her in a Jaked come the 2009 Fina World Championships in Rome or a blueseventy Nero, or a TYR Titan, or perhaps a LZR in Rome.

Her logic seems so impregnable to me: Her swimming drives her business but her business does not drive, or is allowed to hurt, her swimming performance. This way her suit decisions remain flexible; (or fluid ;-), and she can feel absolutely in control of her suit decisions.

Next week is when the FINA releases their list of approved suits for 2010. With swimmers like, Eamon Sullivan, complaining that the aforementioned suits should be banned, has he not in turn promoted these suits as a superior alternative should they be allowed?

The most informative article I have ever read regarding the Jaked!

The Jaked has been accused by many has being hyper-buoyant but Spaniard Rafael Munoz says it is not:

From the ChinaDaily:

"... Some competitors said the suit had nothing to do with their displays.

Spaniard Rafael Munoz, who broke the 50 butterfly world record wearing a Jaked suit earlier this month and set a 100 butterfly European record on Saturday, said: "My times don't depend on the suit because if you throw it into the water it doesn't move by itself.

"It also has less buoyancy than others. It repels the water and could give some advantage but my times can only be achieved with a lot of work." ..."

[Link]

What also seems quite scandalous is that Bernard was wearing a suit without official FINA approval though Arena, his sponsor, say they submitted the suit well before the suit deadline! What does that mean before the suit deadline? Submission and approval are to different concepts.

Urethane is apparently the "new" Chloroprene; (The Jaked is all polyurethane), but now there is a rule in place for January 1st which states that only 50% of a speedsuit can be covered in polyurethane. The Speedo LZR and the TYR Tracer Rise make use of the urethane plates and they would seemingly be legal whereas the Jaked and others will have to undergo a major design retool.

What a coincidence that the two largest suit manufacturers happen to all ready meet that requirement well before that rule was even suggested in Dubai. (I am being sarcastic.) Could a person assume that both Speedo and TYR used their political leverage to game FINA? I don't know, but they both seemed better prepared design-wise heading into January 1st.

For instance: TYR has a Chloroprene suit; (TYR Titan), a polyurethane paneled suit; (Tracer Rise), and a "nylon" suit; (Tracer Light). They will certainly have one or more legal suits come 2010 whereas Jaked, Blueseventy, Rocket Science, and Arena may have some hefty R&D costs if FINA decides to reject what they have already approved.

As for Speedo, their urethane panels currently meet the 50% rule all ready out of the gate. It almost seems like some "psychic" alerted them to this rule two years in advance since their suit absolutely meets the "letter of the law" so thoroughly. It's almost creepy!

THIS IS HUGE: 'blueseventy' to offer $200 rebate off their next generation suit should your 'Nero swimskin' be deemed illegal in 2010!

UPDATE II: Rob, of RobAquatics rocks the Zeitgeist! blueseventy to extend update period to April 1st rather than May 1st due to his comment to this blog and a post he made.

UPDATE: ...We are seeing the testing protocol today and not one specific to blueseventy.

Also we are looking at suits bought May 1st onwards for the buy back program.

The news has not been release yet but you have my permission to go "bang down their door" and ask if it is true. Just so you know, my source is gold and this is what I was told!

This Wednesday, FINA will be conducting revealing their permeability testing protocol in Switzerland on the blueseventy, NERO swimskin. The people at blueseventy are so confident that the NERO will be approved once again for competition in 2010 that they are willing to go "beyond the call of capitalism" and launch a "buy back" program should the NERO not be approved for 2010.

This is how it would work: You own a NERO swimskin and FINA outlaws the suit for 2010, blueseventy will "buy it back from you" by giving you $200 off their next generation, FINA approved speedsuit!

So, if you currently own a NERO swimskin or you were thinking of buying one for USMS Nationals but wondered about FINA suit regulations circa 2010, I say go for it.

[...]

Alshammar's 50m Butterfly WR Has Been Rejected!

Therese Alshammar was wearing a Jaked swimsuit, a European brand which uses a fabric that appears to be chloroprene in nature. The suit has few seams, an indented cut in the chest area and could provide modesty issues for swimmers.

From The Australian:

Alshammar immediately submitted an appeal against her disqualification. But after discussing the rules with referee Janelle Barnett, Alshammar elected to withdraw her appeal.

Alshammar told The Australian she had misunderstood the local swimsuit rules: "I'm still happy with the swim - it's just a technicality in my eyes.

"I have obviously not understood the rules of the Australian championships. I was wearing a unisex suit which does not cover my chest completely so I need to wear an old cut-down suit underneath. I thought it was a modesty suit. It's just so I don't fall out the side, to feel more comfortable."

[Link]

Ian Thorpe considers the FINA speedsuit meeting a mugging or "beat up."

Ian Thorpe is pro-speedsuit and he wants swimming to move forward with them. According to Ian, the FINA meeting last weekend was a "mugging" whereas several several speedsuit manufacturers were "beat up." Here is what he had to say:

"If you look at it historically, swimsuits have progressed since the early 1900s," Thorpe said. "When we talk about the swimsuits now the claims of how much they improve performance have been less significant than some of the claims that have been made in the past.

"It's something that's just beat up over and over again. For most of the swimmers, we're happy to swim in them. The only question that I may agree with some people is the fairness at that kind of intermediate level, when we are talking about kids wearing these things.

"We know that they are more expensive and so that people have equal access to what they swim in, I think we can make some new judgment and assessments on that kind of level."

[Link]

One attendee told me that Rocket Science was never shown any measurable data, nor any hard evidence as to why long arm suits should be banned. None. No studies, no side-by-side comparisons, or drag tests. I spoke with another attendee and he said FINA's attitude was, "well, we have to give [the governing bodies] something!"

I am beginning to think that the meeting was a political "dog and pony show" to appease the national governing bodies rather than the swimmers at large. I think masters will ignore the ban and FINA will look the other way or make special rules for masters swimmers.

I feel the sport will grow as as a result of speedsuits; I think it will contract without them. To ban or heavily restrict speedsuits will result in fewer sponsored swimmers, fewer meets, fewer open water events, and way less money to spend on swimming related products.