Ban on ultra-fast swimsuits hits high schools immediately

The National Federation of High Schools quickly followed suit after swimming’s international governing body banned the new generation of water-repellant, skintight and ultra-buoyant “swimskins,” which have generated an unprecedented assault on world records during the last two years.

The ban at the international level will not take effect until 2010, but the high school federation and, by extension, the Kansas State High School Activities Association, have outlawed the suits effective immediately:

“These high-tech suits had fundamentally altered the sport and become more similar to equipment, rather than a uniform," NFHS assistant director Becky Oakes was quoted in an Aug. 11 news release. “The rules of swimming have always prohibited the use or wearing of items that would aid in the swimmer’s speed and/or buoyancy.”

The following also applies to Kansas high school swimmers:

•All non-textile, non-permeable suits and/or suits that aid buoyancy have been outlawed. Also, suits no longer can have zippers or other fastening systems.

•For boys, the suits may not extend above the waist nor below the kneecap. For girls, the suits may not extend beyond the shoulders nor below the kneecap and cannot cover the neck.

•The practice of double-suiting, or wearing two suits in an effort to trap air and increase buoyancy, also was banned.

More than 170 records have fallen since the introduction of the Speedo LZR Racer and subsequent imitators like the blueseventy, which became popular with high school swimmers in Kansas.

“It’s a victory in general for the sport,” said Olathe South swimming coach Arvel McElvoy, who also serves as president-elect for the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association of America.. “It puts everybody on an even playing field, too. With the suits costing $300, $400, $500, some kids can afford them and some can’t.

“But I think (the ban’s) a good thing for the integrity of the sport, and I don’t think I’m in the minority on that. The sport should be all about the athlete and not the equipment they are wearing.”

Some have called the suits technological doping, comparing them to performance-enhancing drugs. Others viewed the suits as the evolution of a sport.

Now, it no longer matters.

The assault on world records grabbed most headlines, but there’s little doubt the suits affected competition at every level.

“What happened this year, like for instance with the All-American program, in some events there were more than 130 people with automatic All-American qualifying times,” McElvoy said. “That has never happened before and it went over 130 in some events. The standards were set before the new suits were available, so I think that shows the impact the suits had.”

Blueseventy suits tipped the balance in Shawnee Mission East’s favor at the Sunflower League championships last spring when a handful of Lancers wearing the suits (some wearing two such suits) shaved seconds off their times and helped coach Rob Cole’s squad win the league title.

“Those suits didn’t hurt them any,” McElroy said.

Cole offered no apology for playing within the rules: “The way I look at it is you have to give your kids the best opportunity to go fast while staying within the rules of the game,” he said. “All these kids invest so much time and energy and train awful hard. My whole thing is, the suits are legal and my kids deserve to swim as fast as they can.”

The days when the fastest a person can swim is relative to the swimsuit being worn appear to be finished.

submitted by TOD PALMER - 2009-08-18 13:11:02

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