FINA to hold further swimsuit discussions
24/02/2009
FINA, the International Swimming Federation, held a meeting at its headquarters in Lausanne on February 20 with representatives of 16 swimwear manufacturers to examine amendments to its current requirements for “swimwear approval”.
At the end of the meeting, FINA announced that it had decided to take forward discussions on a number of proposals to its meeting on March 12-14 in Dubai.
In Dubai, the organisation will consider a new ruling that would prevent competitors from wearing suits that cover the neck, or that extend past the shoulders or the ankles.
Another possibility is that manufacturers will have to use materials with a maximum thickness of one millimetre and “follow the body shape” of the swimmer. Also up for consideration will be a suggestion that swimmers should not be able to wear more than one suit at a time, to prevent adding to their buoyancy through air-trapping effects.
The Dubai discussion will also consider proposals that swimsuits should not have a buoyancy effect of more than 1 Newton or provide external stimulation or influence of any form, for example pain reduction, chemical or medical substance-release or electro-stimulation is prohibited.
On the question of customisation, FINA will consider ruling that all swimsuits of an approved model must be constructed in an identical fashion with no variation or modification for individual swimmers.
The Lausanne meeting also established that FINA will set up its own independent control and testing programme for swimsuits. Scientific testing will be conducted by a team led by Professor Jan-Anders Manson, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and Laboratory of Polymer and Composite Technology.
Swimwear manufacturers will be able to make submissions for approval of swimsuits until March 31, 2009. One of the main aspects Professor Manson and his team will examine is the use of non-permeable material.
At the end of the session on February 20, FINA president, Mustapha Larfaoui, said: “FINA has studied this matter very carefully, and together with all interested parties and the scientific expertise of EPFL, we have reached the best possible result. With these amendments, FINA shows that it continues to monitor the evolution of the sport’s equipment with the main objective of keeping the integrity of sport. While we need to remain open to evolution, the most important factors must be the athletes’ preparation and physical condition on achieving their performances.”
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