Do I need a FINA approved suit for racing?

You may have heard of FINA and FINA approved suits but what does FINA mean and why do I need an approved suit?

FINA stands for Federation Internationale de Natation and is the world governing body for aquatic sports. The body has recently changed its name to World Aquatics so FINA approved suits are now World Aquatics approved suits.

To compete within National and International competitions a FINA or World Aquatics approved suit is required. This is to ensure the suit meets the governing body’s rules so that a swimmer doesn’t gain an unfair advantage.

The majority of competitive swimmers competing in local galas, county or regional competitions therefore don’t need to wear a FINA or World Aquatics suit so why do most swimmers do so?

Like in many sports, amateurs want to use the same or similar equipment as the professionals. Approved suits will normally incorporate increased compression which increases circulation of the blood to the muscles resulting in faster replenishment of oxygen and removal of toxins. In addition, the materials and construction of  racing suits leads to lower hydrodynamic drag (resistance) making the swimmer move through the water faster.

The benefits for junior swimmers are not significant but as a swimmer grows the benefits increase significantly, especially where the difference between positions is often milliseconds.

The other key factor to consider at all ages is the psychological impact of wearing a race suit. The lightweight, compressive materials make a swimmer feel faster and this in itself can improve performance.