If triathlon follows FINA new ruling on swim suits (like I believe it has followed FINA’s rulings in the past) then trisuits will become illegal for the swim leg. This suggests to me that triathlon might (will?) split from following FINA.
Does anyone have any insights on how things will likely move forward?
Does anyone have an opinion on what triathlon should allow / disallow?
Since the advent of swim skins, USAT has largely split from FINA. The USAT requirements for the swim skins - in terms of proving buoyancy - are different than Fina’s. Also, most TRIsuits are 100% textile, which is still allowed. I don’t believe they are going to ban the full body suits, just non-textile ones. But I could be wrong. I would think suits like the original Fastskin would still be allowed. Maybe not. The question is “will swim skins be banned?” I imagine USAT will abide by its own ruling on this, given that WETSUITS are allowed for most swims. I mean really, if USAT wants to tighten up it’s rulings, how about starting with the absurdity of wetsuits in 78F water (for AG athletes). The fact that pros have different wetsuit rules shows you that wetsuits are being authorized as simply a crutch for poor swimmers.
Rapp: I mean really, if USAT wants to tighten up it’s rulings, how about starting with the absurdity of wetsuits in 78F water (for AG athletes). The fact that pros have different wetsuit rules shows you that wetsuits are being authorized as simply a crutch for poor swimmers.
Me: x2…hundred
FINA rules have no impact on triathlon, just like the UCI rules have no bearing in triathlon.
+3, heaven forbid triathletes learn how to swim.
just like the UCI rules have no bearing in triathlon.
Ummm…yeah they do. At least for ITU races.
FINA rules have no impact on triathlon, just like the UCI rules have no bearing in triathlon.
Herbert,
Agreed. So why then are there endless discussions on here about the UCI regs? I mean I would get it if every triathlete was seriously competing in Road TT’s at the state/Provincial/National level, but this is not the case. These rules apply to a very small group of the cycling population.
As to the issue at hand here: The USAT rules are welcome and simple: Is the suit/material buoyancy neutral? Yes/no. Trying to figure out the FINA rules is . . . well . . . they can’t even seem to be able to make up their mind. Hard to play the game when the rules are constantly changing and even the people that make the rules don’t seem to know what they want to do!
That’s actually debatable. Simon told me, for example, that many folks believed you couldn’t use H3s (or spinergy) wheels in ITU races, but that was strictly rumor. Hunter used them several times without a problem. They may have since changed their rulings, but the ITU does not (or at least did not) abide by UCI rules. There are some notable exceptions that would make me think the ITU has their own ruleset, the most notable being the shorty aerobars, which would not be allowed under UCI rules.
FINA rules have no impact on triathlon, just like the UCI rules have no bearing in triathlon.
Herbert,
Agreed. So why then are there endless discussions on here about the UCI regs? I mean I would get it if every triathlete was seriously competing in Road TT’s at the state/Provincial/National level, but this is not the case. These rules apply to a very small group of the cycling population.
To answer your question: I’m a joe blow who was looking at getting a new Tri bike…Then I read all these “UCI” regulations about how certain bikes are legal/iilegal. As someone who doesnt really understand the writing in certain rules, it just gets kinda scary to know you are buying a really expensive bike (to me $3500 is expensive buy) and the thought of it being illegal can be frightening. Than discussions start and some people understand UCI and others dont, and then data and rules get kinda mixed up and then the fear of “OMG my bike is illegal, what do I do” happens. So basically to sum it up, some people (myself included) dont always know or understand the line of which race or organization has certain rules. When people simply see “UCI is making X bike frame illegal”, that can be kinda confusing to understand in what context it is in.
Basically it’s kinda confusing to the “avg. tri racer” to kinda know exactly what rules affect them and what rules dont affect them.
They used to allow H3s in ITU races, but they changed that rule and seem to fall back on to the UCI list of “approved wheels”, for non-standard wheel. Also, if you look at the ITU rules, they specifically say that in general UCI rules apply, including handlebars with the exception being shorty clip-ons being allowed for draft-legal racing. Whether they enforce all the rules or not is another issue…
So basically to sum it up, some people (myself included) dont always know or understand the line of which race or organization has certain rules. When people simply see “UCI is making X bike frame illegal”, that can be kinda confusing to understand in what context it is in.
I hear you. Sports admin and governing bodies seem to be in the business of making life as confusing as possible for the participants in that sport. Believe me over the years I have seen the inner workings of a few and it’s crazy. However, you compete in triathlon and the only rules you need to concern yourself about are those of your national governing body and the ITU. People toss the UCI rules around here like everyone is a Pro Roadie, but those specific rules really only pertain to a very small segment of even the road racing community.
I’m not surprised they’ve gone that way. What will be interesting is how much they commit to the UCI. Will they just adopt & use UCI rules for pro-level drafting races? What if those rules change?
I don’t know about that Fleck
Not to take the thread too far off topic but every Provincially sanctioned TT that I’ve done in Ontario and now in BC (not including the weekly club TT’s) have been governed by UCI regs. Sometimes they measure bikes, sometimes they don’t.
I’m sure you’ve mentioned it countless times that with all the aero goodies already in place, triathletes should do more TT’ing. If we’re gonna play though, we gotta play by their rules so I do think a “UCI-able” bike is a worthwhile consideration for more triathletes than you may think.
As for the swim suits…I’m with the rest of the fish. Get rid of 'em!
Rapp: I mean really, if USAT wants to tighten up it’s rulings, how about starting with the absurdity of wetsuits in 78F water (for AG athletes). The fact that pros have different wetsuit rules shows you that wetsuits are being authorized as simply a crutch for poor swimmers.
Me: x2…hundred
I used to think that way, then I did the National City race back in the mid-90's. The wetsuit cutoff then was 72 deg. for everyone and some of the older/slower participants ended the day with hypothermia. It was hard for me to believe that 72 deg. was so cold that some people NEED a wetsuit for a 1500m swim...but that's how it ended up. I guess if your circulation slows, your watts aren't that high, etc. this can be an issue. 78 is probably overkill, but there's got to be some serious liability in not allowing someone to use a wetsuit when that puts them at hypothermia risk. The collateral damage is a bunch of AG folks with poor body position getting to swathe themselves in SCS neoprene for flotation not warmth.
Actually my understanding is that the FINA ruling is that men will only be able to wear jammers (waist to knee bathers) AND they have to be textile.
I thought that for non-wetsuit swims the guideline for what is allowed for triathlon is what FINA will allow for swimming races?
If that is not the case, how does triathlon (I realise that I’m lumping it all together and tat there are different ruling bodies) determine what is allowed and what isn’t for non-westui swims?
What do you think will be the guideline going forward? For
example, would you be able to race a tri swim wearing a Jaked suit that is illegal for pool and open water simming under FINA?
Fleck, I think people get wrapped around the UCI regs because those determine what kinds of bikes the manufacturers will be producing for the most part. The demise of Softride speaks volumes about the support for non-UCI designs out there. There will always be niche product targeted to triathletes…but the big guys…Trek, Specialized, Look, etc…need to be producing bikes that conform to the UCI regs.
“Buoyancy neutral”. My understanding is that has also always been FINA’s rule. That suggests that the new generation of swim suits might continue to be allowed for triathlon.
At yesterday’s NJ Triathlon, they announced the water temperature in the lake as 77.9. I kid you not.
USAT sets it’s own guidelines. See Fleck’s post. I think most other bodies go off what USAT says. They do a simple buoyancy test. I think Charlie Crawford oversees them.