It is regrettable, but typical of them, that FINA have once again crumbled 
under commercial pressure from costume manufacturers and allowed all 
polyurethane swim suits in competition, notably the imminent World 
Championships.
If FINA cares about the sport, rather than the industry which is taking it 
over, it should roll back the ever onward march of high tech equipment in to 
a sport which should be one person against others regardless of who can 
afford the best gear. The only way to even-up competition is to insist that 
all competitors wear identical suits, set on a world standard, preferably 
supplied on a random selection basis by the meet organisers to avoid 
cheating. As all suits would then be equal, they need not be the highest of 
high-tech, as everyone would be equally affected by the design. There would 
be outcries by those obsessed with time records, but a line would have to be 
drawn under all records set under the old 'any costume' rules, and new 
record books would have to be opened under the new rules. The consequent 
debate over records would be never-ending, but no worse than the current 
debate which accompanies records achieved with the help of each new costume 
gizmo.
It is time FINA, and the various National Swimming bodies, started to return 
swimming to real people who see it as part of life, not all of it. The ever 
widening gap between the elite, expensively funded few and the many who swim 
for fitness and fun does neither the sport nor society any good.
Personally, I look forward to the day when FINA and all those who pay homage 
to them realise, as I did many years ago, that costumes are actually 
unnecessary anyway; swimming is much more pleasurable, and cheaper, without 
one at all!


-- 
Duncan Heenan