High-tech suits use woven, rather than knitted, fabric, bonded seams and water-repellent coatingGETTY IMAGES
Some swimsuits worn by Olympic swimmers can "cost as much as $500" and increase the speed of athletes by 1-2%, and the proliferation of "expensive gear with dubious advantages has created anxiety over the future of the sport," according to Karen Crouse of the N.Y. TIMES. The cost raises "questions about elitism and whether the youngest participants are being taught that success can be bought." The suits have "pitted parents who have the financial wherewithal and unswerving determination to give their children every competitive edge against other adults involved in the sport who fervently believe that the focus for preteens should be on fun and skill development, not performance." USA Swimming CMO Matt Farrell said, "Right now the high-tech suits in age-group swimming are a parental arms race." USA Swimming’s BOD on Saturday voted to move forward with a "proposal to forbid the use of tech suits by athletes younger than 13, except at high-level meets." Now USA Swimming's house of delegates will "vote on final approval in September." High-tech suits are "distinguished by woven, rather than knitted, fabric, bonded seams and water-repellent coating." They are designed to make bodies "more compact so they glide atop the water like sleek hulls." Seeking to "clear up confusion about the tech suits’ place in the age-group arena, USA Swimming commissioned a study of the suits last summer by Stu Isaac, a consultant who spent 25 years in marketing and promotions" for Speedo. Isaac delivered a 57-page "report in March that shaped the policy under consideration." Isaac unearthed "no evidence to support widely held assumptions that the suits’ costs were hurting participation by making the sport inaccessible to less affluent families" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/11).
