The general rule seems to be that those things which enhance the sport tend to be allowed (I'd definitely include spiked shoes in that category, as they help athletes put down the power and prevent injury, probably curved poles also due to improved ergonomics), along with some of those which only make you faster, but don't have any significant downsides (aero bike helmets). These swimsuits don't do anything to enhance the sport - they make you faster, but that doesn't make swimming any more fun or easier to learn. Meanwhile they have significant disadvantages, including price, durability and the difficulty of putting them on and off. Chris On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 3:56 PM, Tamas Rudnai wrote: > Why were those clothes banned btw? > > Should not they ban all special clothings in other sports, like funny > helmets on cyclists, the curved poles used by skiers and even the > shoes with spikes used by many different sports like in soccer, golf, > running etc? > > Tamas -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist