Thursday, July 30, 2009

FINA Reaches A Decision

Re-Post from fina.org:

On its first meeting held today in Rome (ITA), the 2009-2013 FINA Bureau fully complied with the decision of the FINA Congress, held on July 24, 2009 related with the procedure concerning swimwear approval. As it was also decided by the Congress, these rules are now By-Laws rules, which allow the Bureau to further control, update and correct any deviation to the process or to proceed with any necessary adjustment related to the development of the swimsuit technology.

The FINA Bureau decisions on swimsuits include:

MATERIAL – The material of the swimsuits will definitively be constituted only by textile fabric(s). The definition of “textile” will be made by a group of scientific experts chosen by FINA and led by Prof. Jan-Anders Manson, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne (SUI). This definition will be available to manufacturers by no later than September 30, 2009. The first definition of “textile” to be further confirmed by this group is: “Material consisting of, natural and/or synthetic, individual and non consolidated yarns used to constitute a fabric by weaving, knitting, and/or braiding.”

SHAPE – For men, the swimsuit shall not extend above the navel nor below the knee, and for women, shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor extend below knee. Furthermore, no zippers or other fastening system is allowed.

USE – In the regulation approved by the Congress, the swimmer can only wear one swimsuit and no taping is allowed.

TESTS – Only measurable scientific tests will be performed within the frame of the swimwear approval procedure. For thickness, the 1mm limit will be adjusted to 0.8mm, for buoyancy the present value of 1 Newton will be reduced to 0.5 (FINA will even consider the limit of 0 Newton), and for permeability the material(s) used must have at any point a value of more than 80l/m2/second. Permeability values are measured on material with a standard multidirectional stretch of 25%. These parameters will be further considered by the above mentioned scientific group.

CONSISTENCY – Swimsuits effectively manufactured and used shall correspond to and be fully consistent with submitted samples. Any modification before use (including impregnation) is prohibited. Moreover, there shall be no variation/modification for individual swimmers.

APPLICATION – Considering the time needed for manufacturers to produce their swimsuits, the submission dates and the implementation of the rules are applicable from 2010 only in Swimming competitions.

In addition to these decisions, the FINA Bureau also approved the new FINA Committees and Commissions for the period 2009-2013.

Finally, it was also established that the Diving Qualification event for the 1st Youth Olympic Games (August 2010 in Singapore) will be held in Mexico City (MEX), in April 2010.

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Garrett McCaffrey, formally of Floswimming.com, is checking the Swim Pulse of the swimming community! McCaffrey has created Swimpulse.net which is your source for everything swimming. Visit the site for up to date swimming news, blogs, and videos. Check out the daily Rapid Roma Recap for the latest on the 13th FINA World Championships in Rome.

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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Were You Beaten by the Suit or the Swimmer?

When asked by the BBC if he was beaten by the suit or the swimmer, Michael Phelps replied: the swimmer. After a great deal of controversy over the usage of tech suits during the FINA World Championships, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps believes it is the swimmer, and not technology that handed him the loss in the Men’s 200 Free. Paul Biedermann of Germany received the Gold in the Men’s 200 Free; handing Michael Phelps his first major loss in four years.

After the race, Phelps stated that Biedermann “split that race pretty much perfectly. He closed really, really well and had the better race tonight. He’s had two great swims, and he’s having a great meet.” Even so, Coach Bob Bowman suggested that he may pull Phelps from future FINA-sanctioned meets if rules on technical suits are not instated. To which Phelps replied, “It’s his decision, Bob chooses the meets I swim in.”

More on swimnetwork.com

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Breaking Records in Rome

After being a last minute addition to the US Team, Ariana Kukors earned the Gold for the women's 200 IM in the second night of the FINA World Championships. Kukors shattered the world record touching in 2:06.15, winning the second medal of the meet so far for the United States. The previous world record for the women's 200 IM was 2:07.03. Kukors impressive win was only 88-hundredths of a second faster than the previous world record. For more world records in Rome follow this link.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Team USA Takes Gold at Worlds

This past Sunday, Team USA took home the gold medal in the men's 400m free relay at the 2009 FINA World Championships. The United States set a meet record with a time of 3:09.21. With a shocking victory, the US touched only 31-hundredths of a seconds faster than Russia. France, who were projected by some to take first place, finished third. Team USA had a great start off to Worlds, click HERE to watch the competitions continue today! To read more about Team USA's victory, visit USA Swimming's website.

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Saturday, July 25, 2009

"Suit Wars" Continue on the Eve of Worlds


The United States World Championship team will begin competition tomorrow at the 13th FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy. This weekend, suit controversies will continue to thrive after FINA's July 24th rulings. New changes will be coming in 2010, but for now here are a few perspectives on what's to come with the "suit wars:"

Rocket Science Sports offers an interesting perspective on their blog.

Craig Lord discusses Speedo's take on SwimNews.com.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Crippen Takes Bronze


The results of the Men's Open Water 10K at World Championships are in. After much protest over the finish of Crippen on Wednesday, the Jury D'Appel ruled in favor of Crippen today. Andrew Gemmell received the silver medal, and Fran Crippen earned the bronze medal. For more details, follow the story on USA Swimming.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Phelps vs......Shaq?


Michael Phelps will be swimming against...Shaq in a new reality series on ABC entitled "Shaq Vs." Shaquille O'Neal will be facing some of sports biggest competitors in their own field. The new hour long series begins August 18th at 9pm. Shaq will be competing against athletes like Michael Phelps, Ben Roethlisberger, and Oscar De La Hoya.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

When In Rome


Who will win the men's 400m free relay at Worlds? Swimnetwork discusses which nation is most likely to take the Gold. Find out out the USA team fairs. And while you're at it, find out how much you know about swimming in Rome by taking the Rome Swimming Quiz!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Open Water in Rome



Open Water expert Steve Munatones discusses ten questions that will be answered in Rome for open water swimmers. Munatones reports that Fran Crippen has confirmed the arrival of the USA Swimming national open water team in Rome yesterday. The USA Swimming national open water team will compete in the 2009 Swimming World Champs in Rome, Italy (July 17-Aug 2). Universal Sports will be covering the event live.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

US Masters Goal Setting

With US Masters Long Course Meters Nationals right around the corner (August 6th-10th in Indianapolis, Indiana) Chris Colburn, Chair of the U.S. Masters Swimming Coaches Committee, blogs about Goal Setting for Masters Swimmers. Goal setting is important for all swimmers. In his blog on swimnetwork, Coach Chris offers tips on how swimmers can set achievable goals.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Phelps' Precautionary Scratch


Michael Phelps and Coach Bob Bowman discuss why Phelps opted out of the men's 100m freestyle.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

All Great Racers go to Indy


Great things are happening in Indy. Yesterday, Aaron Peirsol broke the world record for Men's 100m backstroke with a time of 51.94 seconds. For the unofficial world champs team list and live coverage on the 2009 Conoco Phillips National Championships and World Trials click here. For interesting articles and photos from the event click here.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Gearing Up for Indy



Next week, the 2009 National Championships & World Championship Trials will take place July 7-11 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 5-day event will be held at the renowned Indiana University Natatorium. There has been a lot of buzz on what's expected to happen at the Natatorium. One hot topic is swimsuit evaluations, which will be implemented for all swimmers prior to racing.

For more coverage on the event, follow this link for Swimnetwork's coverage on questions to be answered at Indy. For Chris DeSantis' blog on World Champs Trials Preview click here. One thing's for sure: next week will be an exciting week in the swimming world!