Update: Minutes after posting, USA Swimming emailed SwimSwam to tell us that “the report recently went to the suit manufacturers for review and discussion.” We asked when the report would be made available to the public, and will update when we receive a response.
While USA Swimming as an organization has been battling with a renewed national focus on allegations of a cover-up of sexual abuse by member coaches, an unrelated key date has come and gone with still no report from the national governing body for aquatic sports in the U.S. The 3rd-party tech-suit study, which is originally due in November, and then promised for membership in February after “some initial conversations with (the) Age Group Development Committee” at its meeting on February 3rd, has still not been released.
The study, led by former industry-executive Stu Isaac, was to look at the issue of tech suits for young USA Swimming members, and whether or not USA Swimming should enact a national policy on the matter. Several LSCs, including Southern California, Maine, and Arkansas, have instituted local moratoriums on suits for swimmers of a certain age (usually 11 or 12 years and younger).
SwimSwam asked USA Swimming for an update on the report on March 1st, and a spokesperson said that they would check and get back to us with an update. SwimSwam checked again on March 10th, and this time did not receive a response from the organization.
USA Swimming said when the study was commissioned that the review would look at the following things:
- Review of existing and proposed LSC rules, policies and actions
- Review of a sample of swim club suit policies
- Analysis of membership history and trends vs. tech suit timeline
- Review of the range of suit technology and costs
- Market analysis of tech suit use
- Impact of any new rules on teams, swimmers, parents, coaches, manufacturers, retailers, officials
- Impact of LSCs with differing rules (ex. swimmer from one LSC competing in another LSC)
- Age cut-offs
- Financial impact to parents
- Need for a national rule vs. LSC-by-LSC
- Legal issues
- Evaluation of suits and/or testing
Those in favor of a ban often cite preferring to focus on technique rather than technology for swimmers at a young age, which they suspect will lead to improved long-term development. Others have also cited ‘leveling the playing field’ for different economic groups and making the sport more accessible to all.
Opponents of the ban feel that it is an overreach by USA Swimming, jumping into matters of how parents should best spend money on their children, and violating the athletes’ rights to use a suit that is approved everywhere else in the world. Swimming World Magazine publisher Brent Rutemiller even went so far as to suggest in an editorial last week that suit companies might pursue legal action against USA Swimming (which would result in them suing an organization that would pay for its defense with dollars received from, among other places, those very same suit companies).
Report is embedded in the USA Swimming Draft BOD minutes from Feb 3, 2018.
https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/board-of-directors-meeting-minutes-and-attachments-public/draft-2018-february-3-bod-usas-minutes-with-attachments.pdf?sfvrsn=2
This is basically an article from The Onion.
A number of thoughts:
– zones at age 10& U make this an issue beyond the LSC. How does a zone meet reconcile between differing LSC rules?
– USA swimming mission is to the members. Why would the vendors get a say, if at all, but ahead of the members?
– its clear that tech suits help. So now we’re arguing about degree of help. Can we apply say NCAA rules and let the market decide ?
– Why cannot USA swimming make funding available for needs based kids, to be allocated by the LSC, for the purpose of equipping kids ?
Having Stu Issac in charge of this study is like having the fox guard the henhouse. USA Swimming should get their heads out of their a**es and make a blanket decision regarding this matter and stop leaving it to the LSCs to create different rules across the country.
Why do we want a small group of people who have proven time and time again that they are fallible and slow to react to make decisions in this type of thing. This is a preference issue that should be able to be cared for by the parents and coaches, or by the LSC if deemed necessary. USA Swimming seems to have enough serious issues on their plate without having to address stuff like this.
Do any of us really care if another LSC allows their kids to wear or not wear tech suits?
I would also like USA swimming to limit kids to latex swim caps and cheap goggles that would be great. Could we also ban any club from charging more that $55 a month and offering more than 4 practices a week until after age 14. I really think that parents are incompetent and the more we can get the government bodies involved the simpler us parents lives will be. I would hate to make a financial or simply a parenting decision to keep my kid in brief etc. and then have them lose to someone who did not make the same decision as me.
If USA swimming or an LSC wants to make rules then I am happy to live… Read more »
I don’t think this is the issue, really. If you want an even playing field, eliminate the clubs that force high-ability swimmers to pay for private coaching.
So, all of them?
All they need to do is release a statement discussing how the suits aren’t going to make your child a super star. Technique is always going to make a bigger difference. If your child can’t hold a tight streamline the suit isn’t going to fix that.
Maybe make a statement about the suits and require that all teams give a copy to the parents? As a former swimmer I knew that a suit wouldn’t make my kids faster until they fixed all the fundamental errors. We made a deal with our kids that if they got AAA times then we would get them a tech suit. Until they can get around AA-AAA a suit isn’t going to get them… Read more »
First time hearing about this, agree with Josh swims with regards to the timing being delayed until winter championship season is over$. USA swimming should stick to governing the sport and protecting It’s memeber athletes from abuse by coaches that they are responsible for credentialing. If athletes want to wear tech suits and parents want to spend hard earned money on them, that is their business.
I’d say that specifying guidelines for swimwear falls squarely under the purview of “governing the sport,” wouldn’t you?
There is no reason why an organization with as much money and personnel as USA Swimming shouldn’t be able to protect its athletes while ensuring fair competition and reducing the economic burden of the sport on families.
Certainly you are not convinced that reducing the economic burden for families is a good argument for banning tech suits? That has as many holes in it as banning them so they can focus on better technique! These suits don’t contain magic dust that make a swimmer faster. The suit does not make the swimmer.