wetsuit plans for IMWI 2010?
Is anyone familiar with the new wetsuit rules for Ironman races? If I am reading them right, they apply to IMWI 2010 and seem to represent a significant change (no full body wetsuits???). I am hoping somehow these don't apply since I just acquired a full body suit primarily for IMWI!
I assume most folks are still planning on some sort of wetsuit for IMWI... what are your plans?
- Swimwear and swim apparel must be comprised of 100 percent textile material, such as nylon or lycra, and may not include rubberized material such as polyurethane or neoprene. Swimwear may not cover the neck or extend past the shoulders or knees. Swimwear may contain a zipper. A race kit or trisuit may be worn underneath swimwear.
- Wetsuits cannot measure more than 5 millimeters thick.
- Wetsuits may be worn in water temperatures up to and including 24.5 degrees Celsius/76.1 degrees Fahrenheit. Athletes who choose to wear a wetsuit in water temperatures exceeding 24.5 degrees C /76.1 degrees F will not be eligible for awards, including World Championship slots. Wetsuits will be prohibited in water temperatures greater than 28.8 degrees C/84 degrees
Read more:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/201...z0p3gtCLhJ0
Comments
If I remember correctly this was talked about already and you are all set to wear your wetsuit.
The rules are a little confusing.
In other words, 95% of the field will still be able to wear wetsuits no matter what, it is only going to impact a small group.
The bigger change because of this rule is speedsuits not being allowed period. IMLV 2010 will be the last race they can be used at, which is why mine is up for sale.
The thickness restriction is in response to the new suit from DeSoto that's super thick (10 mm?) in certain spots. Emilio noticed that USAT's rules don't forbid any thickness of wetsuits, so he made a super thick one for the obvious reason of buoyancy, etc.
IMWI is Sept 12th, so I believe the rule will in place. However, for ~95% of the field it will mean nothing, and it will only mean something to the other 5% if the water temp is over 76.1. It is usually under 76.1 but last year it was warm and over.
oops, my bad. I got the IMKY and IMWI dates swapped in my head.
I stand corrected.
@ Matt - my guess is that if the water is over 76.1, the rule will impact the entire field unless they have someway of distinguishing who wore one and who didn't. Suppose it's 76.2 degrees and 10% of the field doesn't wear wetsuits to preserve their award eligibility. How will the organizers know whether everyone on the podium swam without a wetsuit? They could mark people as they enter the swim chute, but that could wear off. Maybe they could code the chip as people enter the starting area. But if it's logistically difficult to track, then the easiest thing to do is apply the rule to everyone.
BTW - for now, the rules apply to WTC races only; so you can still wear your speedsuit at other USAT races.
@Paul
In the past I've seen people wear wetsuits at races that exceeded the old 78 (I think it was 78 deg right?) rule. The officials marked their race numbers at the swim start to make sure they were ineligible for AG awards. However, this was a very small amount of people, and in this case it was just an Olympic with wave starts so really nowhere near the logistical challenge as Ironman.
Whether or not 95% of participants have any chance of ranking highly in their AG or potentially getting a Kona slot I still think the majority of people would opt to not wear the wetsuit but I don't know. Me personally? IMWI is going to be my first Ironman and I have nooooooo chance of getting a Kona slot, but if I had to knock myself completely out of the AG running in order to wear one I honestly am not sure what I would do, but I'm thinking I would go without. I don't know, it's all mental, but part of me would always feel like I didn't truly 'earn' it if I 'wussed out' of any part of the day.
I will be willing to bet that no matter what the actual water temperature is, the race director will find a small spot of water that will measure out at less than 76 degrees. I do not think they are ready for a mass start event, with people treading water wetsuitlessat the beginning outside of Kona.
Shouldn't the athletes also be able to tell who wore a suit and who didn't? As in who is "worth" casing down if it comes to it.
So if the temp is 76.2 or above and speed suits are also not allowed, does anyone have any recommendations of alternative legal wear that would give some aid to my sinking legs? Would you just wear your racing kit, or is there something else I can look into buying ( as if I haven't spent enough money already in this sport) that would help with bouyancy as well as cut down on drag ?
Any idea how soon before the race that they will make this determination, 1 hour, 5 hours, a day ?
It goes back to the new rule again:
Swimwear and swim apparel must be comprised of 100 percent textile material, such as nylon or lycra, and may not include rubberized material such as polyurethane or neoprene. Swimwear may not cover the neck or extend past the shoulders or knees. Swimwear may contain a zipper. A race kit or trisuit may be worn underneath swimwear.
The characteristics that you described were pretty much why swimskins started to become popular, they afford you some of those advantages when wetsuits are not legal. However, pretty much all swimskins that I am aware of are now illegal by this rule, it really does not leave you with a whole lot of other option besides wearing a good fitting racesuit and shaving if you really want to reduce drag. There are a few companies that claim their chamois/pad is bouyant, perhaps one of those would help a tiny amount, but this new rule just eliminated a pretty decent chunk of the market for swimwear manufacturers. It will be interesting to see if they come out with an alternative that is allowed under the new rules, but even if they do I'm fairly certain it won't be as fast as previous rubberized suits.
Exactly what happend last year at IMWI and I overheard a few pissed off pros on Monday morning. Last year the rule for pros was no wesuits over 78. The race directors reported the temp just under 78, but it was definitely over. It was the first swim that I came out and was hot and wished I didn't have full sleeves on.
IIRC, the race director is supposed to take the temp for multiple places on the coruse and then report the average prior to the start of the race. That's a USAT rule though and WTC does whatever they want.