INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, July 29. THE NCAA Divisions I, II and III Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Committees have endorsed swimsuit rules for 2009-10 collegiate competition and beyond that restrict suit construction to textiles or a woven material.
The swimming committees also recommended that suit coverage be limited to between the waist and kneecap for men and between the shoulder and kneecap for women.
The new standards, which must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel before being implemented, also would require materials to be 100 percent permeable to both air and water and be no more than .8 millimeters thick.
The proposal comes after 18 months during which hundreds of professional and collegiate swimmers wearing impermeable, body-conforming and drag-diminished suits essentially rewrote the records books. The NCAA committee actions reflect the sentiment of coaches wanting restrictions that would make suits more closely resemble those worn in the 2008 collegiate championships rather than the ones that contributed to 70 NCAA meet records in 2009.
"Our decisions reflect the vast majority of college coaches deciding what they are willing to accept in performance augmentation," said Michigan women's coach Jim Richardson. He provided the technical expertise for an NCAA suit subcommittee that brought recommendations to the full committees after months of comprehensive research and communication with other constituencies, including suit manufacturers.
"The general feeling among coaches was that the new technology suits had too profound of an effect on performance," Richardson said.
FINA, the sport's international governing body, adopted similar restrictions for international competition during a series of meetings that concluded this week in conjunction with the 2009 world championships in Rome. However, Oakland Athletics Director Tracy Huth, who chairs both the Division I committee and the rules committee, said the NCAA reached its conclusions independently of FINA.
"Our NCAA subcommittee has been working tirelessly since the end of the 2009 collegiate championships and even well before that to get our arms around this issue," Huth said. "We wanted to develop rules regardless of what FINA might do."
Huth said the similarity between NCAA and FINA standards regarding the suits likely reflects a growing concern among coaches and others worldwide who worry that the new technology suits that made such a splash at the 2008 Olympics ultimately threatened the integrity of the sport. Huth and Richardson said the NCAA committees' goal was to get away from the impermeable material used in the technology suits that added buoyancy and reduced resistance. Coverage also was a factor, they said, since the more the suit covers, the more it affects on performance.
The primary difference between the NCAA recommendations and FINA's is when the new policies take effect. FINA has indicated its standards will be effective sometime in 2010, while the NCAA recommendations are for the collegiate season that begins in September.
Other minor differences include the NCAA allowing a space not to exceed 9 square inches for an impermeable school logo.
"This represents the first time we'll have rules specifically for suits," Huth said. "Previously our rules covered equipment and ‘uniforms,' but now we have rules designed specifically for the suit swimmers wear. We certainly couldn't have anticipated this being a need two years ago."
The NCAA committees also voted to disallow qualification for NCAA championships in multi-national meets sanctioned by FINA. Swimmers seeking qualifying times for NCAA meets must do so in bona fide competition conducted under NCAA rules (this would include meets sanctioned by USA Swimming and USA Diving as well as competition at Canadian institutions that are in the process of reclassifying as NCAA members).
Committee members also voted to retain records set in the 2009 NCAA championships. The decision followed a rigorous discussion about whether this past year's meet records set with the techno suits diminished previous accomplishments.
Sentiment among committee members ranged from placing an asterisk by the 2009 marks (one coach on the committee even said records set at the institution's pool this past year were not being recognized as school marks if they were set by swimmers wearing the techno suits) to allowing them as legitimate under terms that at the time were acceptable.
The committee did agree to include the previous mark for records set in 2009 on heat sheets at the 2010 championships to provide context for participants. The group stopped short of footnoting the circumstances in other record documents, however, not wanting to diminish the accomplishment of any student-athlete.
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July 29, 2009 OK FINA.....how easy was this??
They talked, they researched and did it all inside your timeframe and you are still mired in the mud about this.
And voila....a return to swimming AND by September of THIS year (hear that Speedo? THIS year - not 2010).
Have to admit I am getting a chuckle out of this. Why? Because at the end of the day, probably the whole reason this happened so quickly is because we all know that the NCAA has bigger and meaner bullies for lawyers than Speedo could ever hope to have.
If Speedo was to throw a fit, they might just find themselves on the outside looking in on all collegiate pools.
Way to go NCAA!
FINA......anything to learn? Submitted by: rcoach
July 29, 2009 Finally!!!! Unlike 2008-2009 a level playing field for college swimmers and a HUGE step for saving college swimming in all but the most $$$$'d schools. Thank you NCAA for getting it right in every way! Submitted by: chapter13
July 29, 2009 not so fast ncaa did the same thing last year and then caved when speedo threatened... i'll believe it when i see it Submitted by: onehandtoucher
July 29, 2009 Yeah - IF the NCAA can so reasonably sit down and hash this why not FINA.
For those of us still actively involved in the NCAA world a huge sigh of relief is being felt nationwide.
Thanks to this ruling body for maintaining the purity of this great sport.
Submitted by: Lorraine
July 29, 2009 onehand..
I think last year wasn't it the level of NCAA that this rule just passed the point where they caved in?
It passed this now and has moved on to the overall rules cmte. that deals with all sport, not just swimming to be approved and written into the rule books. With sports like football, basketball and such and all the pressure and lobbying that probably goes on from far bigger and more powerful sources, it seems odd they would cave in to a relatively small entity like Speedo once it reaches this level.
But I don't know that for sure. Maybe someone out there can shed some light on this and tell us which level backed down last year.
Seems like once it reaches overall rules cmte. it would pretty much be stamped through.
Potentially a great day for swimming though!!!
FINA has a lot to learn from them.
Be interesting to know if this hits like a thunderbolt over the Rome pool. Seems like the NCAA was off the radar lately.
Be funny if Speedo completely freaks because they have to start fighting a 2 front war.
Submitted by: rcoach
July 29, 2009 Thank you NCAA - for having the insight to take control of this issue well in advance of the collegiate swimming season. The college coaches knew it would come, now they have to align their coaching styles to what really counts, hard work, committment and raw talent. As it has been in the past and should stay. Congratulations! Submitted by: afan
July 30, 2009 New NCAA Swimsuit Standards Detailed
In the paragraph: DESIGN
It says;
For men, the swimsuit shall not extend above the waist and below the top of the kneecap.
Did they mean, 'either above the waist or below the top of the kneecap.'?
Legskins would fulfill this criteria as they don't extend above the waist and below the top of the kneecap.
FINA's recommendations do not include legskins. Submitted by: Godolphin
August 2, 2009 Since FINA banned the bodysuit, it would only be right go back to 2000 for the beginning of the new World Record times prior to Ian Thorpe's World Record in the 400Free. That would mean Phelps won't have any World Records... Submitted by: speedboat
August 2, 2009 The way I read it, FINA definition for "fabric comes out Sept 30th giving the swimsuit makes 90 days to comply with the new rules. The NCAA rules start in September. Does that mean we're going to have to buy one suit for the NCAA and another for USA Swimming & FINA sanction events?? If so, the swimsuit makes will double our cost.. Submitted by: speedboat
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