Blueseventy vs FINA (c’td)
Blueseventy will find out on Monday if the Point Zero has been approved
Swimwear brand Blueseventy was one of 13 brands to present their high-tech body suits to swimming’s world governing body, FINA, yesterday (18 June 2009). However, the announcement of which suits will be approved has been delayed by two days until Monday 22 June.
The sport has been in limbo since FINA placed previously approved world record-breaking suits on the banned list. The status of records set is still under question. Eleven BlueSeventy models were amongst 136 suits not approved for racing and have been effectively ‘off the shelves’ since last month. It was banned on the basis of ‘air-trapping’.
BlueSeventy called on the technical expertise of Huub Touissant of the University of Amseterdam to demonstrate that the suit does not trap air. On this basis BlueSeventy is not proposing any alterations be made to its existing suits.
The delay to FINA’s announcement, originally scheduled for Saturday 20 June, is based on the French national federation’s request to avoid disruption at their national championships, which are taking place this weekend.
Matt Baird
Editor of Cycling Plus magazine 
