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Impact of High Tech Swimsuits on Performance
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Over 130 world records were broken in less than one year around the time of the 2008 Olympics (Shipley). Nearly all the record-breaking swimmers were sporting newly designed high-technology swimsuits. Because of this, most International Swimming Federation officials, also known as FINA, along with a majority of the competitive swimming world, believe that long-length high-tech swimsuits give swimmers an unfair advantage. In 2010, FINA banned all high-tech suits, but let the world records that the athletes wearing the swimsuits set stand (Dyer 7). This rule will affect competitive swimmers of all ages, including United States swimmers. USA swimming follows the international governing body rules meaning all youth will also be affected. …show more content…
The majority of people believe that high-tech FastSkin swimsuits greatly improve a swimmer’s performance. It is a common belief that these suits decrease the amount of skill required, because they reduce the drag in water and help swimmers glide more smoothly. It also appears that swimmers do not fatigue as quickly in long-length suits and they can take fewer strokes (Tiozzo, Leko, Ruzic 155). It is assumed that less drag can result in a faster velocity for the same energy cost and thus benefiting all swimmers (Chatard and Wilson 1149). Athletes all over the world started to achieve obvious success in the suits after they were introduced. Not everyone saw this improvement in swimsuit technology as fair, so FINA now requires athletes to show more skin (Crouse). With a lot of people pushing for a ban on high-tech suits, FINA decided to only allow waist-to-knee suits for men, and shoulder-to-knee suits for women (Shipley). Although some people support FINA for requiring suits to be made of permeable materials and not cover the full-body, including gold medalist Michael Phelps, not everyone is satisfied (Crouse). FINA’s claim that high-tech suits give swimmers an unfair advantage relies on questionable evidence. It is not universally accepted that the suits greatly improve performance. FINA’s swimsuit ban was not based on precise and dependable tests. …show more content…
Many swimmers claim beneficial effects psychologically. Tiozzo, Leko, and Ruzic state that the high-tech swimsuits give swimmers positive motivation (155). More investigations need to be done with psychologists to test the psychological point of view on swimmer’s speed. United States swimmer Matt Grevers stated, “Mentally, I think everyone’s prepared to go slower” when asked how he felt performances would compare after the swimsuit ban (Crouse). Mindset plays a large role in swimming, but it is hard to test the exact effects. Furthermore, it has newly been suggested, “the recent return to more basic swimsuit designs has proved no handicap at all and therefore that the full suits proposed benefits might actually be fundamentally psychological in nature” (Dyer 7). FINA’s tests on high-tech long-length swimsuits did not consider the psychological point of view before banning suits. A lot of this sport is mental, so it is possible that a majority of the success in recent years could be related to psychological factors instead of the swimsuit length and material. FINA needs to consider these elements before banning all high-tech
Imagine swimming in the big Olympic pools. All you can hear is the muffled noises of ecstatic fans cheering. All you can feel is the water urging you to keep swimming. Then you reach your hand out and feel the wall. You emerge out of the crystal blue pool water and have won! Michael Phelps and Dara Torres are two extraordinary swimmers who live their lives in the Olympic pools. Both Torres Is Tops and Michael’s Magic deal with the challenges and successes of Dara and Michael’s Olympic careers, but they do so in different ways. Let’s start our swim through the lives of these two Olympic champions.
By universal definition, "sport" is listed as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively." Football, basketball, baseball, soccer and other primary activities have always been concretely defined as sports in society. However, one of the most physically demanding activities is constantly forgotten when it comes to the realm of sports- dance. Dance requires a tremendous amount of training and creates an aura of competition in which people compete to be the best, win, and take home the trophy- just like in traditionally accepted sports. These sports, however, do not possess an element of psychological health threats that some competitive dancers unfortunately must account for due to the emphasis placed on physical appearance.
Pendergast DR, Mollendorf JC, Termin AC. Application of theoretical principles to swimsuit drag reduction. Sports Eng 2006 [cited 2011 Aug 6]. 65-76. Available from: http://www.teamtermin.com/docs/SwimSuit_Drag_Reduction.pdf
In the story, “The Shark Swimmers,” starts with how most kids are when they are young. The three boys are innocent just going to their favorite show on the beach admiring the cutest girl in their school. The author, Melissa Fraterrigo, is known for many other books including her novel Glory Days (Melissa). She is also known for her short story collection The Longest Pregnancy (Melissa). Her fiction and nonfiction has appeared in more than forty literary journals and anthologies from Shebnandoah and The Massachusetts Review to storySouth, and Notre Dame Review (Melissa).
People have been asking what FINA is going to do about the world records set using the now banned swim suits. Thirty-eight of the forty-two world records have been broken by swimmers wearing the LZR Racer while it was legal. Twenty-three of these records were set at the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing with the suits on. Ninety-four percent of the gold medals were won by people wearing these swim suits and eighty-nine percent of the total medals won were by swimmers in these illegal suits (Cole, 2008). These statistics say a lot about how much the polyurethane swim suits have changed the sport of competitive swimming. Records are made to be broken, but it is a clear indication that these suits should not be allowed when twenty-three world records fall at one meet. This is not normal for swimming, records are very hard to break and it does not happen often. FINA had three choices, they could take away the records and go back to the ones set before people wearing the suits broke them. This is an unacceptable way to handle the problem. It is not right for FINA to take the records away because they are the ones that approved the suits in the first place and who is to say that the person couldn’t have set the record without the LZR swim suit? The chances are not high but it is not up for anyone to decide now. They had the choice of keeping the records as they are. This is better that getting rid of them, however, it will be very hard for anyone to even get close in breaking those records for a very long time. These suits make such an enormous difference not only physically but mentally as well. If you are told that the swim suit you are wearing is the fastest swim suit in the world, you’re going to feel and swim like you are the fastest...
Sports psychology can be defined as the study and application of the attitudes and behaviors of athletes (including team athletes) that impact (either positively or negatively) performance in sports or competitive settings. The goal of sports psychology is to help athletes and teams identify unhealthy attitudes and beliefs, apply mental toughness skills and peak performance strategies to perform at optimal levels (Cohn). Sports psychology is not recognized as a traditional field of practice offered by graduate programs; although, it is a recognized field of specific study under Kinesiology and Physical Education Programs. Sports psychology was first founded in 1920 by Carl Diem in Berlin, Germany. Later on, in 1925, sport psychology was brought to the U.S by Cloman Griffith. These early psychologists aimed to observe the effects of mental state on different factors of performance such as reaction time, tension, relaxation, and awareness (Haney). In the 1960’s Griffith’s research interest in sports psychology reemerged after having faded away for a while; however, the field had a...
“Physical repetition alone will not get the job done in mastering a skill and taking an athlete or team to the next level; imagery is equally, if not more important.” (Mallett). Many people believe that although the sport is played with the body, it is won by the mind. Not surprisingly sport performers increasingly turn to psychology in an effort to gain a winning edge over their rivals. In this sense, mental imagery, or the ability to represent the minds information that is not currently being perceived, is widely used by athletes to enhance their performance in competition. (Moran). Many sports such as golf, tennis, and swimming, not only require physical skills, but also a strong mental game. Most coaches say that sports are only 10% physical and 90% mental. An extra edge, the metal edge, can be extremely crucial in sports where hundredths of second or tenths of an inch separate the champions form the mediocre athletes, thus many athletes are turning towards mental imagery to take their sports performance to the next level. (Plessinger). Although physical training alone is effective on enhancing sports performance, when combined properly with mental imagery and visualization can amplify an athlete’s performance to levels that could not be attained with physical training alone.
A unique facet to the nationwide college athlete discourse surrounds the rigorousness of their academic standards. Supporters of the current standards cite that student-athletes must meet the same minimum GPA as traditional students. Although the GPA requirements differ depending on the institution, the students must make progress toward graduating based on a schedule established by the NCAA. Violating the rules can result in ineligibility. Bill Hawkins, a professor at University of Georgia, points out that student-athletes must also adhere to the same admission standards as other students, despite many athletes coming from poorly funded public schools. Hawkins also argues that student-athletes are devoting 50 to 70 hours a week to sports and cannot handle a full-time academic course load during the sports season. The NCAA points out that graduation rates for all student-athletes are rising. Graduation rates among women student-athletes are around 80 percent for many sports and exceeds the rate for women students overall.
The tiles were still dirty from the residue of chlorine and pittle combined into one thick layer of impossible gunk. This gunk surrounded the edge of pool right where the water met the lowest part of the tile and was even apparent underneath the shallow water fountain around the back end. The ring had been worn away in spots where the missus had got so fed up that she was gonna put an end to this "ring of filth" once and for all. A few times she had started, but had always found a broken nail or straying hair to become spontaneously obsessive about when her arm got tired of scrubbing.
4 James E. Counsilman and Brian E. Counsilman, The New Science of Swimming, (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1994) 10-22
All over the world, it is believed that physical exercises help people achieve wellness. Physical exercise not only encourages physical wellness but also have a significant impact on mental stability and health. Although such positive believes stand, many benefits of physical activity has lost value overtime, as people nowadays have the tendency to rely on modern technologies and machineries, which are believe to make life easier. This often leads to shortage of physical activity and over sometime both physical and mental health will deteriorate. This argumentative essay, will explain how engaging in physical exercises improve one’s mental health.
Physical education in school systems is beneficial because it improves students’ health. Without physical education the child’s overall health will decrease. Despite these benefits, some people believe that physical education has no value to children in schools. Physical education is significant in schools because it improves children’s health.
The affects of swimming on disabled people’s bodies’ physically is colossal due to the fact that water provides support, stability, and has numerous healing mechanisms. According to aquatic therapist Stacy Bintzler, “Water has four main features that are not offered through land activity: buoyancy, resistance, support and hydrostatic pressure” which allows for simple movement to be less painful and easier in comparison to the same movements on land (Bintzler). Water’s main components aid in the following ways: buoyancy, reduces stress on joints; resistance, buil...
When analyzing the physics of swimming Newton’s three laws of motion are essentially the most important piece of information in the analysis of the different techniques of swimming. Propulsion is best explained by Newton’s First Law. Newton’s First Law: explains that force is a requirement in order for “to change the motion of any body, whether it is moving or at rest: Any body will remain at rest or in motion in a straight line with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an outside force” (Urone, 1986, p. 32). Newton's First law basically states that propulsive forces are important, should be amplified and strongly enforced. Resistive forces should be decreased as much as possible against the human body to allow it to perform skilled strokes with ease.
Rutemiller,B.T , 2012., USA swimming ends speedousas sponsorship agreement., [online] available at: [accessed at April 2014]