FINA Adopts New Regulations To Curb World Record-Setting Suits
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New Regulations Will Be In Place
For Rome World Championships |
FINA has "adopted new rules for the high-tech suits that helped produce more than 100 world records since their introduction just over a year ago," stipulating that swimsuits "should not cover the neck and will not extend past the shoulders and ankles," according to the AP. FINA Saturday in a statement said the regulations, which "will be in place" for the July 17 world championships in Rome, limit suits to a "maximum thickness" of 0.04 inches. Suits also will be subject to a "restricted buoyancy effect." The new regulations also "ban external aids for the swimmer, such as pain reduction or electro-stimulation." FINA added that starting in '10, it will "limit the use of non-permeable materials in the suits and only recognize results as world records achieved in swimwear it has approved." The submission deadline for approval applications for suits to be used from January 1, 2010, is November 1. Future submissions "will need to be made 12 months in advance of a world championship or an Olympic Games." FINA will publish a "list of approved models and these will be used in competition starting" January 1, 2010. The AP piece noted the "debate about changing the rules governing swimwear resulted from the overwhelming effect that the introduction of high-tech suits such as Speedo's LZR Racer have had on the sport" (AP, 3/14).
SPEEDO CONFIDENT: The AAP reported Speedo is "confident its controversial LZR Racer will be approved" for the '09 world championships in July despite the new regulations. A Speedo spokesperson said, "At this stage we are of the opinion the LZR Racer will be fine. But we are still ... trying to get some clarification from FINA as to what the new sort of testing approach will actually involve because that is something that has not been made clear at this stage" (AAP, 3/15).
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