Wetsuits SUCK

Triathlon Forum
1

I just read through the posts on the ‘uh oh I can’t swim’ thread by wannatri. now this is in no way a knock on wannatri - give him HUGE credit for getting into the sport.

however in that post there are a few references that all generally say - ‘hey don’t worry about being a poor swimmer, just throw on a wetsuit and you will be able to be a MOPer even if fundamentally you can barely swim, you really don’t have to give swimming much consideration/work/effort, you can basically cheat leagally with the wet suit.’

this freakin SUCKS. swimming is tough particularly in terms of technique and the inherent difficulty for land loving man to become comfortable and proficient in a new medium = water. but it is (or at least was) inherently part of the challenge of being a triathlete.

my theory is that there is a huge conspiracy afoot here. the primary limiting factor in growing the sport of triathlon is directly connected to peoples…

  1. fear of the water
  2. inability to swim and thus needing to start at the very basics with swimming lessons
  3. the difficult, non-social and farankly boaring nature of swim training

thus - at some point in time years back the head honchos of our sport conspired to allow wet suits into most all races. i would venture that there were some other schnanagans (sp?) going on in terms of promoting wetsuits as the head honchos were probably either wetsuit manufactures or being paid off by them - but that topic is for another rant.

bottom line - we have cheappened and whorred our sport with the infusion of wet suits.

plainly put wetsuit = cheating, technically leagal or not it is still cheating and makes the sport of triathlon less than what it should be.

someone is goign to say - well you can use one too, ya correct but as a good swimmer I don’t get the same huge boost to my performance that a poor (or in many cases almost non-swimmer) swimmer gets by putting on a wet suit.

and there is no other technological device in running or biking that compares to the performance enhancement provided to swimming by a wet suit.

for instance - my biking sucks - how come i can’t place a small motor on my bike to help me up hills? on a hilly course that would save me 10 minutes on a 1/2 im - I’m happy to allow everyone this advantage, probably will only hlep a strong cycalist save 4 minutes on the same course - but it would be fair because we both got to use the motor!!!

how do i go about submitting a proposition to USAT that basically says… For all races where the water temp is above 62 degrees no wet suits permitted.

END THE CHEATING - BAN WETSUITS

2

Sure, wetsuits are a performance booster. I find my performance is 10 times better when I’m not suffering from hypothermia.

Wetsuits are piece of safety equipment – that’s why cold-water swims are wetsuit legal, and warm water swims are not.

3

YOU had better watch it- they *could *compare this to my “Just Say No to Integrated Headsets” or “Life is too short to ride clinchers” or “Downtube shifters rule, Just say NO to integrated shifting” rants.

Glad you have an opinion. You’re my type of person.

4

Wetsuits do have a place in the sport since they let you have races in places that otherwise would have water too cold to compete in. And the more races in different places, the better, IMO.

But allowing them to 78F is freakin’ ridiculous. Most pools I swam in growing up were colder than that. If you’re too cold in 78F water, you’re not working hard enough in it. Make it like 66-68F for the cutoff, which is where it seriously starts to get nippy.

And if you’re a weak enough swimmer that you need one as a basic flotation device, and can’t complete the course without one, you’re a hazard and shouldn’t be in the water. Spend some more time working on the basics, and come back when you’re truly cfomfortable in the water without props. I was amazed and disgusted to hear about the people who wouldn’t do the swim at Disney 1/2 last year because it wasn’t wetsuit legal. Folks, it’s an inland lake with no current. If you sign up for a race in Florida in May/June, and we’re not talking a spring pond, there’s about an 80% chance it’s going to be over 78F in the water.

5

olddog

you gotta be kidding me with the ‘safety equipment’ arguement.

78 degree cut off for use, as Jill points out, is way to high. All of us have swum very easily in pools that are donw at 70. swim hard and 65 becomes very comfortable.

if you are concerned about safety - swim with a life preserver or one of those round-while bouies found on boats - not clad in the EPO of swimming a west suit.

6

Jill

I was at the 1/2 at Disney also - freakin unbelievable - we are not talking a few folks that bowed out but something like 100 - disgraceful - and exactly to my point - being a triathlete now means you can run and bike, and oh ya float around with a life preserver on.

sad

7

hey foolish tri guy - if you’re biking sucks go buy an aerobike, get a bike fit and a set of race wheels…did someone say life is unfair?

I will say this…I started as a none swimmer getting into tri’s and within one season went from a 49 minute 1.8mile swim to 37 mins…guess what, I was wearing the same wetsuit in both races. The bottom line is wetsuits provide marginal assistance but doing the drills and workouts are necessary to become a swimmer…this my third season i hope to have improved even more, and will actually be choosing to wear a less buoyant wetsuit.

8

You could also ask USAT to ban running shoes, aerobars, and gearing on the bike. Your analogy about using a motor on your bike isn’t similar to using a wetsuit on the swim - the wetsuit doesn’t propel you, it just makes swimming a little easier/faster (kind of like how wearing running shoes makes running a little easier/faster, and aerobars and gears make biking a little easier/faster).

However, if you feel as strongly about it as you seem to appear, why not just stop wearing one yourself? Make a statement.

9

The two points I take from this:

Foolish Tri guy is showing that the wetsuit is closing the gap between poor and strong swimmers, and heavily favoring the poor swimmer in terms of the advantages it offers.

FLAJILL - the point of becoming a liability on the course if you are wetsuit dependent.

Both great points - I think the harsh reality is - wetsuits are going to be here to stay - unless you have the good fortune to grow up near a body of water (ocean) or swam at school - most people as a whole (encompassing the tri community AND beyond) are not great swimmers! I don;t know that anyone can challenge that. We may become great swimmers with time, effort and a dedication to training and getting better - yes!

In tris - old school rules down under allowed wetsuits only in cold water temps - everything else was no wetsuit. The water there doesn;t really get cold - but early and late season races - the wetsuit was nice to take the edge of. The flotation benefits of wetsuits were then communicated to the tri community as wetsuits developed, beyond an adaptation of a surfers suit.

Yes - they kept us warm, yes they provided flotation and improved swim times, cutting down fatigue.

But…and here is where I have issue - and agree with both FTG and FLJILL - there ARE too many among us that are poor swimmers - that believe using a wetsuit will get them through anything from a sprint to a long course of even IM race.

Become a good swimmer without the wetsuit - and you will be a better swimmer with it.

Expecting to be a good swimmer BECAUSE of the suit is downright dangerous and threatens the sport we all enjoy.

What of having to provide race directors with a profiency test or at the very least - proof of being able to swim the race distance, unassisted in a pool.

After all, you can crash your bike anywhere - you’ll often get up and walk away - you only drown once!

AJ

10

Triathlon is not a sport just for the competetive. It is geared so many people can have fun and be active. Not all of us take it so serious and consider it a race. Are the people who can’t swim well really causing you distress?

11

pbashfor & jhendric

you guys are so way off base with the get better equipment and only provides a bit of improvement arguements.

put a wetsuite on a poor swimmer in a 1500 m swim and they can easly cut their time by 20%

please show me the running shose or aero bike part that will cut 20% off my 10K split or oly bike time - does not exist

also - a wet suit can take a guy/gal who basically can not swim and allow them to compete in a tri.

again show me the running shose or bike part that will take someone who can not either run or bike and make them capable of compeating - does not exist

12

and there is no other technological device in running or biking that compares to the performance enhancement provided to swimming by a wet suit.

What about aero-bars? I started in triathlons before aerobars. I spent years working on being able to hammer in an aero tuck on drop bars. Then aerobars came out and suddenly nearly everyone was in an aero position. Sure, I got an advantage, too, but not nearly as much as others who would previously ride on the brake hoods for much of the race, etc.

13

Pbash

His biking doesn’t suck - he’d suck the shifters off most people’s rides as he goes by them.

14

Go f yerself. :wink:

I’ll see you on the bike, after I get my westuit off. (insert smirk here)

All you losers who swam in HS can now gloat that there was some benefit to doing this stoooopid activity for all those years, how nice for you.

I expect to see you at your next Tri on a slack road bike w/ no aero bars, toe clips and straps & box rims w/ 32 spokes, and of course - running barefoot.

15

I’m with you. And I’d have a beer with Foolish anytime, although my swimming just plain sucks.

People all over the tri echelon (from the RD’s down to the athletes) have gotten way too soft these days. And the wetsuit issue is a primary example of that. Triathletes would be well served by attending events put on by the pure swimmers (open-water swims, lifeguard competitions, and such) where no rubber is seen for miles around.

Sure the water is cold. So what!!! The bike is hilly, and windy. And the run is hard. Just suck it up or drop out. If you insist on putting your life at risk by refusing to drop out, my hat is off to you. I’ll buy you a beer… if you make it back to shore.

Survival of the Shawangonks in upstate NY is a basically a series of swim/runs through the woods and ponds. They allow you to wear a wetsuit… but you’d have to carry it with you on the runs. I love that attitude.

Ahhhh… I feel a little better now.

16

“Triathlon is not a sport just for the competetive”

This appears to be true, but if your not trying to be competitive, then why sign up for a race? Leave the front door of your house and you can swim, bike and run all you want.

17

I agree. Wetsuits should be banned unless it’s really cold.
The problem is determining what’s cold.
My Northern Ontario chubby friend happily frolicks in 52 degree water while I start feeling chilly around 58-60…

I never swam competitevely. I ride a bike with no gears.
I do wear running shoes. I don’t use aerobars.

18

Casey

I have nothing agains people who can or can’t swim

my issue is that we have allowed a device (wetsuit) into the sport because so many people don’t want to expend the time, effort or energy to become moderatly proficient on one of the three diciplines of the sport.

my conspiracy argument is $$ based - because so many people are adverse to becomming a competent swimmer (unlike all the time folks will gladly devote to running or biking) there was a real limitation to the growth of the sport, and thus the influx of $$$$$$$$$

thus the growth and promotion of wet suits. they took a hard sport in general (triathlon) and picked the most difficult aspect (swimming) and made it far easier - so more people could get into the sport on the ‘easy’ - ie. - I’ll devot all sorts of time and effort to running and biking and then just put on a wet suit to get through the swim even though I really can not swim.

it is amazing how many people, almost verbatium, say this. sad teh tri(3)athalon is really a 2 1/2 dicipline sport

19

I expect to see you at your next Tri on a slack road bike w/ no aero bars, toe clips and straps & box rims w/ 32 spokes, and of course - running barefoot.

Is this the same as no wetsuit? You said in the ‘i suck’ thread that you can go from not being able to swim-- to finishing an Oly Tri by purchasing a wetsuit. Are you telling me that if I can’t bike, I wouldn’t be able to finish an Oly Tri with the above bike, but I could on an aero bike?

If you guys won’t admit that a wetsuit provides an advantage, unparalleled in the sport of Tri, to the disadvantaged swimmer then you’re just fooling yourself, and you know it.

But at the end of the day, who cares? I feel bad for the slower swimmers because they have to deal with the hell of getting out in the middle of, then biking through, a huge pack. They have it bad enough, let’s not kick them while they’re down just because we’re good swimmers.

On another note, you will never see me on the bike, unless it’s a two-loop course.

20

also - a wet suit can take a guy/gal who basically can not swim and allow them to compete in a tri.

Oh my gosh and we wouldn’t want that!!! To me this post is nothing more than just trolling. If your agruement is seriously as stated above, then it is pretty weak. When I first started tri’s I couldn’t swim. It took me about 6 months to get the nerve to do a sprint. My first sprint was in 60F water. When I stuck my face in the water that first time, my mind freaked out and i couldn’t swim at all. I did the side stroke (or my bastardized version of it) for the whole 750m. If it wasn’t for the floatation of the wetsuit, I know I would have drown. I didn’t realize how different lake swimming was from pool swimming.
Go troll somewhere else.