Swimming Argument Essay

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.

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.

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