Tech Suits in Swimming by Vera Soukhanovskii
When watching swim competitions like the Olympics, you may have noticed that competing athletes are wearing suits that are different from your average swim suit. Competitive swimmers often have suits that they wear for practice, and a different suit for meets and races. Specially designed suits made for competitions are called tech suits. In this article, I will be telling you all about tech suits, and briefly telling you the story of my first tech suit experience.
Tech suits are known to be extremely tight, and are specially designed to reduce drag, repel water, and help swimmers propel through the water with a much more efficient stroke. They help swimmers shave seconds off of their personal bests, and feel more confident in the water. Because of this, they are very difficult to put on, especially since swimmers have to be careful to not tear them in the process as well. A new suit can take up to thirty minutes to put on, and that is when it is dry! One major difference between racing suits and practice suits for women is that racing suits are kneeskins, meaning they extend to the knees to create even more compression. This adds to the difficulty in putting them on.
One of the major downsides to tech suits is that due to all of their benefits and carefully throughout designs, they can get expensive. A ‘beginner’ suit or a twelve and under suit ranges from $90 - $200, and suits designed for older swimmers can reach $650. What suit you get is also very important as some are specifically modeled to benefit certain events or distances. When picking a suit, it is important to do thorough research to understand what kind of tech suit will benefit you the most as a swimmer. With my first suit, I did not know this and ended up learning some valuable lessons after the experience.
When I started swimming competitively, my mother and I were introduced to tech suits. Unsurprisingly, my mom was concerned about the extreme cost of the suit. She was sceptical about if the advertised benefits are worth the money. Younger me, influenced by professional swimmers, was convinced that a tech suit will pave my way to the Olympics. After much thought and discussion, my parents and I had a deal. If I improved enough to drop the time needed for a certain competition, they would get me my very own tech suit. I was ecstatic. I wanted to be like the older swimmers, so I trained harder than ever. Eventually, my hard work paid off. After qualifying for the meet, my parents told me that I could choose a suit, within a given price limit. Unfortunately, I let excitement get the best of me, and I did not put much thought into the purchase. After scrolling through an online store that sells swim gear, I announced that I made my choice. The suit was a vibrant blue, and looked stunning in the pictures. My parents asked me if I was sure that this is the suit I wanted, and I told them that I had made up my mind. I wore that suit to many of my future competitions, and soon, it began to stretch out. I also realized that while the suit was not bad, it did not provide all of the benefits. My explanation to that was simple: I should have done more research to choose the suit that was perfect for me. I had made the mistake of choosing a tech suit for its looks, not its functionality.
As my next birthday approached, I explained my foolish mistake to my parents. They were disappointed, but agreed to get me a new suit under new circumstances. I had to do thorough research before I chose my suit, and this new suit would have to last me until the end of my high school swimming career. They also agreed to raise the previous cost limit to allow me to get a good, trustworthy brand and model of the tech suit. With these new restrictions, I began researching. I read dozens of articles online, hundreds of product reviews, and an endless number of Reddit posts answering questions about brands, models, benefits, pros and cons, and sizing. I learned that the type of suit you need to get depends on what events you prefer swimming, how much compression you want, and the perforations for the overall fit of the suit. I visited many different websites that listed each model and its advantages. Throughout my research, I found myself getting convinced by one brand, and then minutes later seeing people’s negative review on the same suit. Finally, I narrowed my choices down to two different suits. They were different brands, but both promised high compression, long lasting benefits, and were just below the price limit set by my parents. My only problem was that I did not know which one to choose. I was scared that I would make the wrong decision, and receive a product that would not reach my expectations. I decided to ask some of my teammates for their advice. After talking to people with different suit preferences, I made my decision. I chose the Arena Carbon Core Fx Tech Suit.
Before agreeing to buy the suit, my parents made sure that I was positive of my choice. I told them about why I chose this suit, showed them the most promising articles I read online, and finally, opened up the link to the chosen suit. Finally, they were convinced. The suit I chose has specifically designed tweaks that benefit swimmers who swim similar events as I do, and after wearing it to multiple competitions, I am happy to announce that all of my research paid off. Through this journey, I learned about the importance of putting thought in important decisions, and I hope you all learned something new about swimming and tech suits.
