USA Swimming Rules with FINA

At the 2009 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships and World Championship Trials, and the 2009 Open Water World Championship Trials, the following rules apply, in addition to the above.


Only those permitted swimsuit models that are available to all competitors may be used. To avoid confusion, availability is defined as follows:
1. The swimsuit manufacturer is present at the event with its approved swimsuits available for all competitors on a purchase, loan, give-away or other basis, or
2. The swimsuit manufacturer has provided to USA Swimming a written representation in the form requested by USA Swimming, that its approved swimsuit will be made available before July 7, 2009 to all World Championship Trials competitors and before June 14, 2009 to all Open Water World Championship Trials competitors on a purchase, loan, or giveaway basis through retail stores, the internet, or other means.

The real difficult situation is that surrounding World Champ Trials, both pool and OW. even if suits are on the approved list they must be readily available (or some ambiguous term) to all athletes. The suit manufacturers either have to actually be on site with suits available to all athletes, or the manufactureres have to prove to USA-S that suits are readily available via retail, internet, or "other means". Now seriously, with this stipulation how many other suits are going to be "readily available for all athletes" except the LZR ....name 1 ?

A situation that has been very poorly handled over time by the ruling bodies of the sport.

expected.

The ruling is not misleading at all:
If the technical suit is on the list, as of today, it is permissible to wear. (for how long we don't know)
If the technical suit is not on the list, as of today, don't wear it.
You are allowed to wear any brief or jammer you wish.

If you look at the list, you will see that at this time, the full body suits (excluding any suits that go from the shoulders to wrists) are still permissible.

The ruling in July may change the length of suits.

does their ruling mean that men can only wear suits to the knees? aka jammers/briefs??

The question is not whether or not USA Swimming will decide to follow in suit with FINA, but rather if FINA will stay in line with what they decided in May. At their meeting in July, they may decide to change their rulings. This will confuse not only USA Swimming, but NCAA and the suit manufacturers. Schubert (USA Swimming) BELIEVES that FINA will decide to only permit suits that are 100% permeable, but there is no way for anyone from USA Swimming to NCAA to the swim suit companies to know what FINA will pass until they actually meet in mid-July. Both USA Swimming and NCAA will design their rules based on that meeting.

It really is too bad for the companies such as Blue-Seventy who have benefited from the rules of the previous year. I feel the worst for all of the athletes who have achieved such benefit from the suits and may never have the opportunity to see those times again. The suits didn't "ruin the sport" as many have said; the people who allowed such a highly controversial suit to be permitted without adequate testing from the governing bodies of our sport are responsible for the controversy of the past year.

I think it's a non-story - and a no-brainer. USA Swimming told us before the ruling that the USA Swimming would immediately follow the FINA list. I was only surprised that they waited until this week's meeting. What other choice do they have. FINA botched this whole thing - and some could well argue that USA Swimming was no angel throughout - but making some kind of anti-FINA stance wouldn't be helpful.

The entire May 19th farce still makes me angry - and totally sickened by our sport.

I would have been shocked if USA Swimming went against FINA's ruling. The best thing for the sport (IMO, of course) is for FINA to lay down some clear guidelines (that are TESTABLE) for what is allowed in suits. I think we'll get there because the swimming community will demand it, but I think things really won't begin to be resolved until at least the beginning of 2010.