It is regrettable, but typical of them, that FINA have once again crumbled
under commercial pressure from costume manufacturers and allowed all
polyurethane swim suits in competition, notably the imminent World
Championships.
If FINA cares about the sport, rather than the industry which is taking it
over, it should roll back the ever onward march of high tech equipment in to
a sport which should be one person against others regardless of who can
afford the best gear. The only way to even-up competition is to insist that
all competitors wear identical suits, set on a world standard, preferably
supplied on a random selection basis by the meet organisers to avoid
cheating. As all suits would then be equal, they need not be the highest of
high-tech, as everyone would be equally affected by the design. There would
be outcries by those obsessed with time records, but a line would have to be
drawn under all records set under the old 'any costume' rules, and new
record books would have to be opened under the new rules. The consequent
debate over records would be never-ending, but no worse than the current
debate which accompanies records achieved with the help of each new costume
gizmo.
It is time FINA, and the various National Swimming bodies, started to return
swimming to real people who see it as part of life, not all of it. The ever
widening gap between the elite, expensively funded few and the many who swim
for fitness and fun does neither the sport nor society any good.
Personally, I look forward to the day when FINA and all those who pay homage
to them realise, as I did many years ago, that costumes are actually
unnecessary anyway; swimming is much more pleasurable, and cheaper, without
one at all!
--
Duncan Heenan
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