Murky Waters Regarding Tech Suits

UPDATE 6/1/09: More here.

It’s all so confusing. I keep sitting down to right about these tech suits — which ones are banned, which ones need to be modified, what that means for upcoming swim meets, etc. But I read news articles and press releases and blog posts  and just get more confused.

If you own a Blueseventy, you might want to keep an eye on the company’s blog. It seems to be a good source of information.

This article does a good job describing that “chaos reigns” when it comes to decisions about the tech suits.

I am of the opinion that if the Blueseventy Nero Comp was made by Speedo – and thus called the Speedo Nero Comp – the suit would have been approved by FINA just like the Speedo LZR was approved. You’ve never heard of the USA Blueseventy Swimming Championships, or the Blueseventy International Age Group Meet. But if you’re a member of the swim community, you’ve certainly heard of the Speedo Swimming Championships or the Speedo International Age Group Meet. It’s all about influence and money. Blueseventy hasn’t been paying to play long enough, I guess.

I’m anxious to see how it plays out, but I’m not holding my breath. I think it will be a long time before anyone is able to see clearly in these murky waters.

Playgroup Parameters as Complicated as Starbucks Order

I’m meeting the members of our new playgroup tomorrow. It’s for Moms who are over 40, who have kids under 2, who can meet weekday mornings and want to do so without husbands. It reminds me of my Starbuck’s order before they invented “skinny” as part of their ordering process and before I quit going to Starbucks for budget reasons:

“I’ll take a venti sugar-free cinnamon dolce latte with skim and an extra shot of espresso, extra hot.”  I was on my cell with my brother one day when I placed that order and he said, “Just order a #%*^ing cup of coffee, for crying out loud.” Now that I see my playgroup parameters in writing, I feel like I should just make a few friends, for crying out loud.

But it’s not that easy. And I do have friends. I just don’t have MANY friends who are over 40 and who have toddlers. Most of my friends have moved on to other things. Many of them have returned to a more traditional work setting. Those who haven’t returned to work are golfing, lunching, gardening, etc. The women who are home with young children tend to be 20-somethings. I have nothing against 20-somethings — I just don’t want to hang out with them. They make me feel like I’m 40-something. Plus, as Busy Mom puts it so eloquently in this post, I’m a little past the stage of getting excited about my toddler’s first precious snowflake, so to speak. And I wouldn’t be very good at hiding that fact.

I thought I’d skip the whole playgroup thing this time around, especially after becoming friends with a wonderful neighbor who is home with two young girls and who is ALMOST 40. But said neighbor can probably only tolerate me popping in for coffee so many times a week before she tells me to get a life.  So, for my toddler’s socialization (okay, I admit it, for my socialization, too) I’ve decided to give it a try.

Kudos to Parents as Teachers, which helped connect all of us “over-40-playgroup-seeking-moms.” Someone at the Rockwood Parents as Teachers program realized the need for such a group, put together a brief questionnaire regarding our more specific interests, and then assigned us to a “customized group.” When I first filled out the questionnaire, I never suspected that there would be enough of us over-40s for more than one playgroup. But after all was said and done, these groups were formed: the 2 and under weekend group; the 3-year-old girl morning group; and the under 2 weekday morning group. It’s been funny, because lots of emails have been exchanged, reassigning this or that Mom/child, etc. But I’m really looking forward to meeting these women/children tomorrow.

Now, back to the second sentence of this post: It’s for Moms who are over 40, who have kids under 2, who can meet weekday mornings and want to do so without husbands -  which means there are men out there who want to do playgroup because that’s why the weekend group was formed. That sounds very hip and urban and young — not necessarily something I would’ve expected from the over 40 crowd, but cool just the same.

One Pediatrician’s Advice on Swine Flu

Since April 30, when I wrote this about the changes I’m making in my daily routine out of fear of the Swine Flu, my toddler hasn’t been to Mom’s Day Out or our YMCA nursery. During the same time period, she has had croup and last week she had some dreadful virus that involved a fever reaching 102.5 for a few days and an awful sounding cough. Said virus resulted in a visit to our pediatrician’s office. We never suspected Swine Flu, but while I was there, I brought up the subject and told our doctor of the modifications I’ve made in routine. He really helped me put things in perspective. This is a paraphrasing of his comments:

“In my nearly 25 years of practicing medicine, I’ve never lost a single patient to the flu or any other flu-like disease. I have, however, lost two patients to accidents involving swing sets. I’ve lost a patient to SIDS and I’ve lost a patient to a fall from a shopping cart in a grocery store. I’ve lost patients to car accidents. Last year, one of my patients was killed when his best friend accidentally shot him. Now, do you spend time worrying about swing sets. If you have a swing set, have you considered removing it? Do you put your child in the car, or take her to the grocery store? If you can’t live with yourself by not modifying your behavior, then do what you have to. But at this time, I don’t recommend keeping your toddler home from normal daily activities.”

What a “freeing” conversation. Maybe it was just the excuse I was looking for, because I really miss my YMCA. My toddler has always loved going there, and I’m afraid if I keep her away too long, she won’t be so agreeable when I drop her off at the nursery. Maybe I’m worried that there will be no sensible end to our self-imposed isolation. Maybe I don’t want to give up the possibility of Mom’s Day Out in the fall, or a new playgroup for older moms that is forming in my area and that I really want to join. Maybe I realize I was over-reacting, or maybe I’m being selfish and wanting my normal routine back. Maybe it’s a combination of all of these things, but I think I’m going back to the YMCA this week.

Track Meet

My son made his school’s track team a few weeks ago in the long jump and the 4×50 Relay. I don’t know if that’s correct ‘track’ lingo because I’m not a track mom at this point. I suspect I may become a ‘track mom when he gets to high school because I think he’s a fast runner and that might be a sport that interests him, but there really isn’t much opportunity to be a track mom when there is only one track meet per year.

Anyway, here is the video compilation of his performance. I was very proud.

FINA’s Recent Ruling on High-tech Suits Raises Questions

UPDATE 6/1/09: More here.

UPDATE 5/29/09: More here.

UPDATE 5/28/09: I know I should update this post, but I still don’t have many  more answers and I’ve been crazy busy with the end of school. I’m not ignoring the topic, but I think things pretty much stand the way they did when I first wrote this post. The Blueseventy is still on the “needs to be modified” list and I think there are dozens, if not hundreds, of attorneys involved at this point on behalf of Blueseventy and the other brands that were either banned or are being required to be modified, as well as for the swimmers whose world records are in question, even though they were swimming in suits that were considered legal at the time they set them. The waters are still very muddy.

UPDATE 5/21/09: USA Swimming, as expected, is not taking any action at this time but will support the FINA regulations when it does take action. See the statement here.

Also, Steve Nicolls of Blueseventy left the comment below on this blog.

“Thanks for the posts, nice to see such a proactive community both for and against.
To clear up a few points mentioned below:
1/ Our suit passed the buoyancy and thickness tests, it does not float, and is not a wetsuit.
2/ the materials in the jaked suit are (to my knowledge) not chloroprene like the our blueseventy nero suits or the TYR titan.
3/ We launched a buy back program 2-3 weeks ago I believe, where any suits bought between now and the end of the year we would buuy back at approx 50% of the purchase price applied as a credit on the 2010 FINA legal model.
4/ Interesting the comments re: pockets of air being the reason the suit is fast… one of the most popular strokes for our suit has been breaststroke, while I’ll not admit to being a total swim geek and having intimate knowledge of breaststroke stroke mechanics, my discussions with athletes on product design has been that of all the strokes this is the one that has the most time underwater…. which would kind of mean that buoyancy assistance is not an advantage…thoughts….
If you have any other questions regarding the suits you would like answered please feel free to mail me:
Steve@blueseventy.com Steve@blueseventy.com, check our website, or our blog…

—–

As is the case with most governing bodies, and as is the case with most decisions made by governing bodies, FINA’s ruling Tuesday on High-tech racing suits leaves as many questions as answers.

This article goes into more detail, stating:

“After reviewing 348 swimsuits from 21 manufacturers,” FINA said in a statement, “the FINA Executive decided the following: 202 swimsuits approved, 10 swimsuits rejected for not passing the tests of buoyancy and/or thickness.”

FINA said 136 other swimsuits needed to be modified to meet the requirement that “swimsuit material shall not be constructed to or include elements/systems which create air/water trapping effects during use.”

FINA said the manufacturers had until June 19 to “resubmit the same swimsuit for FINA approval, with the corresponding corrections.”

My personal interest is that my daughter has a Blueseventy, which is not on the approved list. It is among the among the suits on the list that need to be modified. Blueseventy released this statement about the ruling. So I have a lot of questions:

• Can Blueseventy appeal the ruling?
• If Blueseventy makes the modifications to their suit and gets it approved by FINA, what happens to all the suits already purchased (at a hefty price tag, I might add)? Will Blueseventy replace those suits? Pay to modify those suits? Give a credit toward a modified suit?
• Is this ruling effectively immediately? In other words, can swimmers who own suits not on the approved list wear them until all of the appeals, etc., are complete?
• I have a friend who recently bought a Nike Swift — also not on the approved list — can that swimmer wear that suit at summer long-course meets?

Of course, on a more “local” level, USA Swimming has yet to make a ruling on this other than the ruling it made last fall.  Ozark Swimming, our swim club’s Local Swim Committee or LSC, adopted the same rules regarding high-tech swimsuits (aka Speedo LZR, Blueseventy) as USA Swimming.  Here is the wording that was adopted by USA Swimming at the 2008 House of Delegates:

Swimsuits worn for all 12 & under age group defined competition shall not cover the neck, extend past he shoulder, nor past the knee.

You can read this ruling  from last fall here.

I suspect USA Swimming, and thus, Ozark, will wait until all the dust settles and all the appeals and modification deadlines are passed before making any new rulings on the suits. That makes sense, but again, it leaves room for lots of questions regarding the summer swim season. Do the current USA Swimming/Ozark rules stand, which means our swimmers who own Blueseventy’s can wear them in summer competition, particularly big meets like Championships, Sectionals and Zones?

Interestingly, FINA approved the Speedo Lzr, worn by Michael Phelps and several other swimmers who set world records in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

I’ve written a lot about the Blueseventy controversy on this blog, and at my previous blogging site. If you choose to comment on this topic, please do so on this site, as I no longer write at the previous site or moderate comments there.  I will approve comments that leave a valid email addresss (which won’t be published, but is simply requested for verification). I will not, however, publish comments that are personal attacks on my family. Unfortunately, this issue has brought out the very worst in some people, so this clarification is necessary.

Great New Song – and it’s free!

I  love the ITunes Single of the Week  free song deal, and this week the single is REALLY good. Diane Birch’s song, Rise Up, is available for a free download between now and May 25.  It’s a soulful, swing your hips kinda song that I can’t get out of my head.

According to Rolling Stone, Diane is a ”piano-playing preacher’s daughter with a shameless love for Sixties and Seventies south and singer-songwriter pop.” Her debut album,  Bible Belt, will be available June 2.

The song and album are worth checking out. Diane has been chose by the Apple folks to be a part of an elite groups known as the  ITunes Next Big Thing artists. That is also worth checking out if you’re a music junkie.

Mayathon

I think “Mayathon” is the perfect moniker for the month of May. Having run two marathons, I can speak with some authority when I say the month resembles an endurance event.

First you have the school stuff:

• End of the year strings concerts
• End of the year celebrations
• Field Day
• Six Flags day (for which my daughter remembered at the last minute that I had to sign the field trip form IN PERSON at the school with an eyewitness and my driver’s license. Next thing you know, you’ll need a notary public. I’d love to know the story behind this necessity.)
• Endless field trips (Is it possible that the Magic House, the Zoo and the Science Center aren’t open until May?)
• Teacher Appreciation

Then you have the extra-curricular stuff:

• Awards banquets (at which food is seldom served, so why call it a banquet?)
• End of the year Boy Scout picnics (at which food IS served, and you wish it wasn’t)
• Mother’s Day (a day of rest and relaxation — NOT!)
• Memorial Day (which used to happen AFTER school was out, but this year, Rockwood managed to START school in the middle of August, earlier than EVER before, and end AFTER Memorial Day, later than I ever remember. I am personally a huge proponent of starting school AFTER Labor Day, but that’s for another post).

So, I’m ready for summer, but not really. I don’t have a “plan” yet, which means I need structure of some kind but I haven’t figured out what form that structure is going to take. Thus, I’ve got one more thing to add to the Mayathon – write my summer plan!

Winner of the 2nd Weight Watchers Membership Giveaway

Congratulations to Jill, the winner of my 2nd Weight Watchers Membership Giveaway.

If you entered my contest and didn’t win, I hope you’ll consider joining Weight Watchers and the Momentum Walk-It Challenge just the same. It’s a great program, and once you reach and maintain your goal weight for six weeks, you achieve lifetime status, which means you never have to pay again as long as you remain within two pounds of your goal weight.

Guess I Should Worry More About Electrocution & Less about Swine Flu

This is what my toddler does when she manages to get her hands on my keys:

Let's pretend this outlet is a car ignition and put a key in here!

Now before you freak out and call DFS on me, I did NOT risk my baby’s life for a photo opportunity. This outlet is protected by one of my favorite child-proofing devices. The outlet cover swivels, and it takes some dexterity and know-how to use the prongs of a plug to swivel the covers into place so the prongs can slide into the outlet.

That brings me to another of may favorite child-proofing devices, which is featured in the video below. It’s called a “Double-touch Plug N Outlet Cover” by Safety 1st which allows you to have items plugged into an outlet while also keeping it baby-proofed.  As you will see in this video, my toddler was NOT happy about having her favorite, face-level outlet covered with a more effective device. We had been using those little plastic outlet plugs, which she promptly used her teeth and tongue to remove.

I’m not sure what her fascination with outlets is, but between keeping her from getting electrocuted and preventing her from falling off of furniture or securing furniture to prevent it from falling onto her, I don’t have enough time to worry about the swine flu. So far, we’ve secured one bookcase and one antique radio as a result of this story on CBS This Morning.

Here is a post on two of my other favorite child-proofing devices. Do you have a favorite device of child-safety tip?

Swine Flu in the Rockwood School District

Now there is a confirmed case of the Swine Flu (or should I say H1N1) in the Rockwood School District. A student at Fairway Elementary in Wildwood was diagnosed and has been out of school since last Friday, according to a letter sent home by the principal yesterday. Here is the text of that letter:

Dear Fairway Elementary parents/guardians:

This afternoon we received information from the St. Louis County Health Department indicating one of our students has a confirmed case of H1N1 flu (swine flu).  The student has been out of class since last Friday and has already been treated for this illness.

In recent days, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revised its recommendations for school closings related to this virus. The CDC no longer recommends schools routinely close due to confirmed or suspected cases of influenza A H1N1. Instead, this flu is treated like any other seasonal flu that impacts schools every year. In the case of seasonal influenza, schools typically only close if a significant number of students or staff become ill and school functioning becomes disrupted. This is not the case at present; therefore, we have no plans to close school at this time. 

We sanitize our classrooms and building and emphasize the healthy practices of hand washing and covering coughs.  We will continue to do whatever we can to minimize the impact of this illness in our school and keep our students and staff healthy. As a reminder, sick students and staff should stay home if they have flu-like symptoms, contact their doctor, and notify the school office. Flu-like symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. For more information on the swine flu, please visit the CDC Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ or call the St. Louis Health Department at 314-615-5000.  

Sincerely,

 Karen Hargadine,

Principal

I admit to being concerned. I wrote about my fears and the precautions I’m taking regarding the swine flu here. I pray that the child at Fairway recovers quickly and that no one else in the family gets sick. I also hope that other members of that household are taking precautions to prevent spreading the illness in public situations.  Fortunately, this virus hasn’t been as deadly in the United States as it was in Mexico, and for that I am thankful and reassured.