I’m considering using Blue Seventy swim socks at IM CDA, but I can’t seem to find any literature that states conclusively whether they are legal or not.
From the USAT Rulebook:
4.9 Illegal Equipment. Any swimmer wearing any artificial propulsion device, including but not limited to fins,
gloves, paddles, or floating devices of any kind shall be disqualified.
From the Blue Seventy site:
At the moment, the Swim Socks are not legal at USAT sanctioned events **** so they are primarily a training aid.
Does anyone have the official word on whether Blue Seventy swim socks are legal at IMNA events, specifically CDA?
I was under the impression that they were illegal unless the race director chooses to make an exception. One case was Oceanside in 2006 when the temp was 56 degrees.
I would send an email to the IMCdA contact to get a final say on this one.
It’s been posted before that they ARE legal for USAT races unless specifically disallowed by the race director. That might have changed, so you might want to ask just in case.
Scroll down this thread and look for the post from trizoom who works at B70.
Well, that thread certainly made me feel a lot better. It sounds like they should be legal, and I’m sure that trizoom has spoken to race officials before about them. I might still contact race officials and see what they say, if they say anything at all.
If anyone has heard from USAT or IMNA recently about this I’d love to know about it.
I think they were recently made legal for USAT races but like someone else said, it is up to the RD in all other instances. The Accenture Chicago Tri for example, has always allowed them…most people just don’t know that they can wear “aqua socks”
I had the same question a few weeks ago for the Galena Tri. I contacted USAT (Charlie), he is the head official. He specifically told me that they are legal if wet suits are allowed. Straight from the horses mouth. If you would like to confirm with just shoot him an email at USAT, he got back to me within an hour.
I also emailed NAS (IMNA) and have not heard back from them.
I’m bringing them to Couer d’Alene and might ask (might not if they don’t say anything then legal right???) during the pre race meeting
The Swim Socks are USAT legal and have been officially certified by Charlie Crawford (USAT Commissioner of Officials).
There is some ambiguity around there legality for all races as has been discussed here. Some race directors may veto them. If in doubt please check with the race officials.
The fact of the matter is they are to designed to help you enjoy your swim experience in cold water and provide some insulation (minimal as they are only very thin) and a little more assurance when entering and exiting from rocky beaches. Some people also extol the virtues
of the socks for long t-runs between swim exit and bike rack (IMWI as just one example).
The swim sock will flush some water thereby creating drag and a marginally slower swim. In our field based testing the socks did slow the swimmer down however the benefits in t1 (and the remainder of your race) from having warmer feet and often faster running speed helped by having some foot coverage should more make up for this.
blueseventy are about making open water accessible to everyone and a product like the swim sock has helped many people who were afraid of open water swimming and others with very poor circulation overcome their fears and build confidence. Race directors should see this as a huge benefit of the product to increase participation. It is not going to make anyone faster therefore it is not performance enhancing.
Thanks for the extensive information! I know you guys are going to be there for the morning swims, I’m looking forward to saying hello.
I really appreciate the honesty about the socks being a little slower. That’s helpful information - I always like to go in armed with as much information as possible. I still think they’re a good option for my wife who gets cold easily, but I might only wear mine for the practice swims. It all depends on how much the lake manages to warm up in the next 11! days.
Edit to add: If you guys have any pull with IMNA, could you get some clarification on the line in the Athlete Guide under the swim section that says:
2. NO FINS, AQUA SOCKS, GLOVES, PADDLES
I’m really hoping they just copied and pasted from an old athlete guide before the socks became legal, but you never know!
In March they were listed as legal by USAT, but still not legal at Cal 70.3. Same wording in the Cal 70.3 rules, so my guess is IMNA is not going to allow them at CDA.