Tech Suit Restriction for 12-and-Under Swimmers

The tech suit restrictions, proposed by the Age Group Development Committee, will go into effect for 12-and-under swimmers beginning September 1, 2020. Below are complete lists of the suits that will be restricted for athletes 12 and under, and then a list of those tech suits that will be allowed for athletes 12 and under:

• Restricted 12-and-under tech suits
• Approved 12-and-under tech suits

For a detailed breakdown of approved and restricted tech suits by brand, click the links below:

• A3
• Adidas
• Agon
• Arena
• Blue Seventy
• Dolfin
• FINIS
• Funkita
• Kiefer
• Mizuno
• MP
• Speedo
• TYR

102.8 SWIMWEAR  

.1 Design 

F. No Technical Suit may be worn by any 12 & Under USA Swimming athlete member in competition at any Sanctioned, Approved or Observed meet. 

 

1) A Technical Suit is one that has the following components: 

a. Any suit with any bonded or taped seams regardless of its fabric or silhouette; or 

b. Any suit with woven fabric extending past the hips.
 

(Note: WOVEN FABRIC-A suit with woven fabric and sewn seams that does not extend below the hips is permitted.) 

(Note: KNIT FABRIC-A suit with knit fabric and sewn seams not extending below the knees is permitted.) 

This rule is in effect for all USA Swimming competitions in the United States, so any manufacturer or vendor selling a suit in the United States is subject to the above rule. No Technical Suits may be worn by any 12-Under USA Swimming athlete member in competition at any Sanctioned, Approved or Observed meet.

A Technical Suit is one that has the following components: 

• Any male or female suit with any bonded or taped seams is defined as a technical suit regardless of its fabric or silhouette.

                Bonded Seam                                      Sewn Seam                 
   

Any male or female suit with woven fabric and to the knee or mid-thigh is defined as a technical suit regardless of the type seams: bonded, taped or sewn. (Note: A woven suit with sewn seams and in a male brief or female regular cut not to the knees is not defined as a technical suit and is not restricted).

                Woven Fabric                                         Textile Fabric                        
     

 Compliant Suits

Any suit that does not have the FINA logo on it, is approved for 12-Under use.

There are a handful of suits in the market that have the FINA logo that would be considered legal for age group competition because they do not meet the definition of what is deemed a technical suit. These suits and only these suits will bear an additional check mark logo developed by USA Swimming to indicate that the suit is compliant with the rule. This check mark will be placed to the left or right of the FINA logo on the suit. A picture of the check mark logo is next to this paragraph.

For additional tech suit info for officials, click here.