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USA Swimming Swimsuit Rulings
NB: USA Swimming is issuing interpretations regularly.
This document may be out of date. For most recent information, please visit usaswimming. org.
FINA issues final 2010 suit list (1/7/2010)
On January 4, 2010, FINA, the international governing body for the sport, issued its final list of suits approved for use in competition in 2010. However, USA Swimming expects to receive further guidance from FINA later this month regarding the list. Until such time as we receive that guidance, USA Swimming will continue to allow all swimsuits which are either listed on the final FINA list or meet the criteria below:
1. Swimsuits for men may not extend above the navel or below the knee and for women may not cover the neck or extend past the shoulders or below the knee;
2. No zippers or other fastening devices are allowed except for a waist tie on a brief or jammer; and
3. Suits must be of textile material and must not be made of any rubberized type of material such as polyurethane or neoprene.
If you have questions regarding this, please send an email to USA Swimming.
FINA issues initial 2010 list of approved swimsuits (10/20/2009)
FINA has issued its first list of swimsuits that have been approved for use in competition. The 2010 List of Approved Swimsuits, available here, is not all-inclusive and is not the final list. As additional suits are approved, they will be added to the list.
Until such time as FINA publishes its final list, USA Swimming will allow all swimsuits meeting the criteria below, including those listed on USA Swimming's Reference List for Allowable Swimsuits in USA Swimming competitions.
The criteria for allowable swimsuits at USA Swimming competition, under Rule 102.9, is as follows:
1. Swimsuits for men may not extend above the navel or below the knee and for women may not cover the neck or extend past the shoulders or below the knee;
2. No zippers or other fastening devices are allowed except for a waist tie on a brief or jammer; and
3. Suits must be of textile material and must not be made of any rubberized type of material such as polyurethane or neoprene.
Please note that in some cases the suit models reflected on FINA’s list have the same name as older manufactured suits which did not meet the new technical swimsuit requirements. Before purchasing any of the suits on the list, be sure to ask if the suit is the new model which meets the new requirements. If you have questions about the rules for allowable swimsuits, please send an email to USA Swimming.
Bruce W. Stratton, Chair, USA Swimming Rules & Regulations Committee, has released interpretations with regard to approved swim suits for competition, number of suits for competition and suit limitations for 12/U athletes. These interpretations are listed below.
Allowable Swimsuits for 12/U Swimmers
At its
September 2008 meeting, the USA Swimming House of
Delegates adopted an amendment to its rule on
swimwear design. The amended rule, which became
effective May 15, 2009, reads as follows:
102.9 Swimwear
.1 Design
A. Swimsuits worn for all 12 & under age group defined competition shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor past the knee.
B. Swimsuits worn for competition must be non-transparent and conform to the current concept of the appropriate.
C. The Referee shall have the authority to bar offenders from the competition until they comply with the rule.
In January 2009, an exemption to 102.9.1 was published. An exemption to Article 102.9.1 may be granted, on a case by case basis, to a swimmer who:
1. Based upon the swimmer’s stated religious beliefs, is required to wear a suit that covers more of the swimmer’s body than is permitted under this Rule; or
2. Whose medical condition requires more of the swimmer’s body to be covered than permitted under this Rule.
Swimsuits Approved for USA Swimming Competition
On May 19, 2009, FINA issued a list of swimsuits approved for competition. The approved list, which was effective immediately and is attached, includes 202 swimsuits. More....
06.06.09 update:
We have heard from
several athletes, coaches and parents of USA
Swimming who have brought forth comments or
questions
about the
amendment to Rule 102.9 regarding swimsuits. We
are listening, and we recognize that this rule
change and the timetable have created some
unintended difficulties for some USA Swimming
families. We also realize that many swimmers
have made significant financial investments in
new suits which have not been approved by FINA,
on its
current list.
However, with the immediate impact of FINA’s
suit legislation affecting competition at the
highest levels of our sport, and the focus USA
Swimming places on maintaining an even playing
field for all competitors, we felt it was vital
that
our rules remain in line with those
of our international governing body.
We continue to
await changes to the
FINA-approved list,
as some swimsuits have been re-submitted for
potential approval. FINA ‘s intent is to release
its final list of approved swimsuits for 2009 on
June 19, and USA Swimming will adopt that list.
FINA has indicated that these approvals
will remain valid until December 31, 2009, with
the next round of swimsuit evaluations to take
place by January 1, 2010.
There are a number of suits, especially older
models, which were not submitted to FINA for
approval, and therefore do not appear on the
FINA-approved list. This presents a practical
problem in how to distinguish these suits from
those that were rejected by FINA. We do not, and
likely will not, have access to the list of
suits that were actually rejected. For this
reason, we have included exception criteria in
the amendment, stating:
Swimmers will, until otherwise directed by FINA,
also be able to wear traditional swimsuits not
on the FINA-approved list as long as the
swimsuit meets the following criteria:
1. For female swimmers, the swimsuit shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulders or past the pelvis, and
2. For male
swimmers, the swimsuit shall not extend above
the navel or below the knees.
The exception criterion is intended to provide
an easy and clear-cut method of identifying
acceptable suits that are not on the list. We
recognize that the FINA ruling and subsequent
amendment to rule 102.9 are complicated matters,
and ask for your patience as the international
governing body for our sport (FINA) works to
establish final guidelines for competition
suits. For questions about specific suit models
or manufacturers, you may consult the
FINA-approved list, or contact the suit
manufacturer directly. For more information
about FINA’s rules and swimsuit evaluation
process, please see the
Dubai Charter.
Two Swimsuit Interpretation (March 18, 2009)
There have recently been a number of questions regarding the use of two swimsuits during competition. Although the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations do not specifically address this, FINA has interpreted its General Rule GR 5.3 to allow the use of only one swimsuit during competition.
Our Rules & Regulations require that USA Swimming’s technical swimming rules conform to those of FINA. In order for our interpretation to conform to that used by FINA, the following interpretation is being made, effective immediately.
For purposes of Article 102.9 of the
USA Swimming Rules & Regulations, Swimwear, the use
of more than one swimsuit at a time during any USA
Swimming sanctioned or approved competition is
prohibited.
Clarification
to the above was published March 24, 2009
SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MEETS The Rules & Regulations Committee has issued an interpretation that only one suit swimsuit is allowed during competition. A further clarification provided an exception and allowed that a second suit worn for modesty or support purposes would be allowable and would not be considered a second suit. However, under FINA rules, as currently written, there is no exception for the wearing of a modesty or support type apparel as a second suit. For the purposes of our National Championship Meets (US Open, National Championships, Junior National Championships and Trials Class Meets) and our Grand Prix Meets, in order to strictly conform to current FINA rules, no additional swimsuits or apparel may be worn during the actual competition (a race) at those meets. The use of only one swimsuit of any kind during a competitive race will be enforced at all National Championship Meets.