Speed Suits to be banned by WTC..

Slowtwitch Article:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/USAT_okays_WTC_rules_1277.html

As of Sept. 1, 2010, wetsuits great than 5mm (Water Rover, anyone?) and swim skins will be banned IN WTC events.

If you're trying to race Ironman, you're out of luck - but if you're racing non-WTC, you're golden. USAT is still allowing them to be raced.

bryan, i heard exactly what you did about a month ago from the ironman store in tampa, but about 2 days later on ST someone posted that it was retracted and they were not going to be banned. looks like they changed their mind again. at least i've got a few seasons left before my speedsuit is disallowed at usat races. guess FL 70.3 will be my last WTC speedsuit race.



Edited by JonCT 2010-03-31 11:19 PM

I don't do many IMs or 70.3s, but I like the new WTC rule changes and hope that USAT adopts them eventually.

No more speedsuits in non-wetsuit swims:  It will always be a concern that a speedsuit offers extra buoyancy (a competitive advantage).  Rather than trying to determine at race start if some people have illegal speedsuits, it's easier to just ban them.  Even if the buoyancy advantage is only 1 second per 100m, that's 20 seconds in a HIM and 40 seconds in a IM, which is significant to lots of folks.  The only downside is that lots of people will have difficulty putting on a tri-top over a wet body in T1...

Lower watertemp cutoff to 76ºF:  The current cutoff for wetsuits is 78ºF -- this is pool temperature!  I get overheated in a sleeveless wetsuit at 78ºF; others may not.  In my last HIM I was so hot I had to stop, rest a bit to cool down, then continue without my cap in order to cool down.  Normally I'm a top 10% swimmer, but not in this one....

Wetsuits with 5mm or less thickness:  This puts the US in line with rest of the world.  The purpose of a wetsuit (IMO) should be to keep you warm, not to give a competitive advantage through buoyancy.  While enforcement of this rule may be difficult, it at least encourages manufacturers to design according to a specification (USAT doesn't have any thickness or buoyancy specification).

Brian 

Aren't the new rules specifically geared toward the Olympic-style skin suits like the LZR (or whatever it is called) and such like Michael Phelps used in the last olympics?

Do you think they would not allow something like the Desoto Liftfoil which is basically just a one-piece tri suit you wear over your normal tri suit?

different regulations, FINA is the governing body for Swim specifically and they already did ban full body stuits, only jammers are pretty much allowed.

so is this mean that my Xterra Vortex will not be usable for my Miami 70.3 race which is in October?

Edited by trix 2010-04-01 10:57 AM

Right, I understand that.  I'm talking about the WTC regulations.  I understood it that they were trying to ban those similar types of suits and not all one-piece "over" suits that you could wear in a tri in non-wetsuit conditions.

That's a good question that I don't think has been answered clearly. 

Right now there are speedsuits that offer buoyancy, swimskins which don't offer buoyancy but may reduce drag a bit and you wear over your tri suit, and one-pìece tri suits. 

If they go with FINA (Int'l Swimming Fed) rules none of the three would be allowed for men; only bottoms which don't extend below the knee.  Women would still be able to wear one piece tri suits that don't offer buoyancy and don't cover the shoulders or knees.    

I believe the intention of the WTC rule is to never have to worry again (knock on wood) that certain speedsuits give a swimmer an "unfair" advantage.   If they don't go with FINA rules they could still allow one and two-piece tri suits for men.  They just wouldn't allow two layers (swim skin over a two-piece tri suit, for example).   I personally don't like this idea since manufacturers might start making buoyant one-piece tri suits to get around the speedsuit ban...

We probably ought to wait for the rules clarification before speculating, though....

Brian

Disregard much of my post above.....

FINA rules for open water swimming (different from their rules for pool swimming) actually allow full suits for both men and women as long as they don't extend beyond shoulders and ankles and don't offer buoyancy (and a few other less important details).  Typical one-piece tri suits obviously meet these rules.  So I doubt WTC would even consider disallowing men wearing tops on the swim as this would go even beyond FINA standards.

I'd bet that WTC just won't permit any second layer suit on the swim.

Brian
 

what about fins??? I can still wear them right??

It's interesting they have taken this stance on wetsuits/swimsuits to bring them in line with international policies according to them, but yet they haven't taken a similar stance on bike regulations. It could be argued that some of the new bikes that have been banned by the UCI, but allowed at triathlons provide a more significant advantage than any swimskin or wetsuit.

I have a hard time taking anything seriously if it was announced on April 1st.  When was the announcement made?

^^ It was announced yesterday. You can see Dan's post about it on the slowtwitch front page.

Good to know.  I'll go check it out there.  Thanks!


ETA: Here's a link to the article if anyone else wants it.

Edited by Artemis 2010-04-01 1:44 PM

Rick,

In response to your question: "so is this mean that my Xterra Vortex will not be usable for my Miami 70.3 race which is in October?" ...

Great question.  Short answer.... YES. The Vortex3 is and will continue to be ITU, WTC, and USAT legal.  In fact, all of our triathlon wetsuits (VOLT, Vortex3, VectorProX2 and Vendetta) are legal where wetsuits are legal.

We (XTERRA WETSUITS) also back all purchases with a 30 day money-back guarantee. In fact, we let you swim in the suit and conduct a thorough test during this trial period.

Aloha,

Glynn ([email protected])

So, how is it an unfair advantage if they are available to everyone?  The companies are not selective on who they are sold to.  Since all qualifications are done on a race by race basis, who cares?  If you think someone has an advantage over you, go get one for yourself.