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Hilary Pitner

Dr. E

First Year Composition

7 September 2010

An Aquatic Advantage

When I began swimming as a six-year-old I wore a baggy, one-piece swim suit;

large, alien-like goggles; and a wrinkly, uncomfortable swim cap for my summer-club

swim team. Sure, I looked cute as the swim suit swallowed me, but I soon learned that

carrying a giant bubble of water in my oversized uniform hampered my speed during

races. When I joined the local year-round club program as a nine-year-old, I discovered

the ingenious idea to actually purchase a suit in my size. I instantly dropped time in my

races and evolved as a better swimmer. For the next five years, I followed that clever

plan of competing in suits that fit. Each moment I dropped time, I knew it was due to

improved abilities as a swimmer from training hard and trying my best; it was not

because of a new, different-sized swim suit.

When I entered high school, my world of swim suits changed. During practice

and in-season meets, I continued wearing my simple, comfortable, fitting attire;

however, for the championship season, coaches required us to wear “speed suits.”

Speed suits were made of a thinner, water-repellant fabric that reduced friction in the

water and helped improve times by mere tenths of a second. In competitive sports,

people are always looking for an advantage, so naturally these suits became incredibly

popular amongst my peers. As we all found out, this slight increase in speed came with
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a slight increase in price—about fifty dollars. In the end, most people were willing to pay

the extra cost for better performance, including my family.

The developments did not stop there, though. My junior year, the advancements

in swim suit technology skyrocketed. Major companies such as Speedo, TYR, and

BlueSeventy pioneered what were known as “tech suits.”Tech suits were new and

improved versions of the once-coveted speed suits. However, they were not just

composed of thin, water-repellant, textile fabric. The new material of the suits varied

from polyurethane to titanium that introduced higher buoyancy and lack of seams. The

skin-tight fit of these suits suctioned the whole body from shoulders to ankles and took

nearly twenty minutes for one person to put on. The high school swimming world had

never seen anything like them. These suits belonged to professionals like Michael

Phelps, not sixteen-year-old high school athletes.

When championship season rolled around during my junior year, I browsed

online for the different brands of tech suits. My parents guffawed and rolled their eyes

when I showed them the prices. They thought I was joking. The new suits ranged

between 300 and 600 dollars apiece, creating an even greater hike in the cost of better

performance. As always, some were willing to pay the expense, but countless families

could not afford the fancy ensembles. After long discussions over dinner, my parents

and I opted against making such an expensive investment for one high school meet. We

agreed that no huge gap would form between the competition and me, and our money

would be better spent elsewhere. We were extremely wrong.

The new swim suits created a new era in swimming. During my championship

meet, I watched swimmer after swimmer shatter previous records. In addition, nearly
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every person with a tech suit dropped loads of time. Deafening cheers engulfed the

natatorium after each of these remarkable swims. None of the excitement from the

crowd was for my swimming, though. I dropped one or two seconds in each of my races

—normally an impressive accomplishment. However, that was nothing compared to the

time drops from the tech suits. I, along with many others, felt shocked, disadvantaged,

and inadequate as I fell to the bottom of the competition ladder. It was quite evident that

this latest technology practically enabled fast times to be “bought.” Fortunately, I was

able to stand my ground and qualify for my third State Championship, but this was not

the case for everyone. It was apparent that suit technology was spiraling out of control

and out of price ranges.

For me, swimming began as a fun sport with a great core of competition. By my

junior year of high school, the competition existed more between the suits than the

actual swimmers. This caused the sport to lose its original appeal. FINA, the

international governing body of swimming, rapidly became aware of these complaints.

After several meetings, FINA finalized the decision to ban all tech and body suits from

competitive swimming. Any suits from that point forward were required to be made of

textile material above the knee—a huge leap backwards from the once-worshipped

suits.

Many people wonder if FINA’s decision was the right one. Questions arose like,

“Will the new records ever be broken? Will swimmers lose confidence? Will anyone ever

be as fast as they once were?” In my opinion, FINA was incredibly smart to outlaw the

tech suits. I fully believe that new records will be set and swimmers will easily regain

speed and self-confidence. I have already seen it happen. FINA’s verdict allowed
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swimming to return to its glory. Improvements in swimmers’ times are again due to their

dedication, hard work, and perseverance as opposed to money and technology.

Sometimes I wonder what future suits could have been without FINA’s established

restrictions. Although it would have been interesting to see, I think the sport of

swimming would have been ruined forever if swim suit innovation had not been

decelerated.

Technology can be a great thing; however, there is a place and time for it. In

sports, technology developments should be limited because they affect the nature of

sports in general—swimming in this case. Hopefully with the new constraints, the

number of participating swimmers will expand and improve. Now, when I see six-year-

old children in baggy suits and bug-eyed goggles, I think about the swimming world

ahead of them—fun and competitive without the issues of steep costs and technology

races. That is the way it should be.