P07083

Swimming is arguably the biggest sport in the world; however getting internationally recognised for sporting achievements has became significantly harder. This is an end product of; the extreme technological advancements, the changes in international regulations and the failure of action to advance swimming into the future buy FINA (swimming’s international governing body).

Gaining selection to international swimming teams in New Zealand (along with many other countries) is done by reaching 900 ‘FINA points’ in an Olympic event. FINA points are an international cross-stroke standard. This allows swimmers of different strokes and distances to compare time on a level basis. The points are reset in line with the worlds ten fastest times of the past year. E.g. 900 FINA points for men’s 200 freestyle 2008: 1:48.84sec, 2010: 1:45.66sec.

The dramatic drop of 30 world records at the fina world champs, Rome 2009 was an unprecedented feat. That feat was undoubtedly aided by the revolution of swimsuit technology. The flow-on effect of the technology revolution is that selection to national teams becomes significantly harder for younger and developing swimmers and the gap between the elite international swimmers and those aspiring to be there becomes ever greater.

With the development of technology in any sport comes cost, this is no exception in swimming. Some of the most advance swimsuits can cost upwards of $700 putting them out of the question for many. The cost is an added hindrance that many swimmers can not afford on top of the other costs of being a competitive swimmer (club fees, attending away meets, ECT)

As of December 2009 the international swimming body ‘FINA’ introduced new regulations on racing swimsuits. These stated; only one swimsuit can be worn, the only fastening devices can be a drawstring for men, no clips or claps on women’s suits, for men suits must not go above the navel or bellow the knee, for women above the neck or below the knee. They also stated that there can be no air trapping system to increase the swimmers buoyancy and limited [buoyancy] to one Newton.

I feel that for the next few years swimming will sit in dead water, meaning that since the development of swimsuit technology had been somewhat halted with world records/ FINA points not altered. Some say this could have been avoided by FINA acting faster on altering swimsuit regulations or not altering them at all.