>> 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?

> 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,

But some athletes (notably Kenyan's AFAIR) at one stage ran world
records in BARE feet against players in footwear of their choice.
(Dimming memory offers ?Kipshank Keno?). It seems there to be that
many benefit from the innovation BUT it's not a necessary one for
success.

Some sports have controls re what is allowed in order to keep the
sport standardised.

Golf is an excellent example. A golf course is standardised to par 72.
It is expected that a good player accustomed to wearing plus 4's and
using wooden shafted clubs would, after getting over the culture
shock, have about the same handicap with modern equipment on the same
course, once he got used to the new (inferior ? :-) ) equipment.

Any new introductions in golf which genuinely lift the ability to
perform are banned once this is proven. Two examples are the "between
the legs" putter ("Sam Sneed"?) and a version of golf ball with a
definite improvement in aerodynamic carry. Once these were shown to
definitely work their faces were seen no more. Certainly some
innovations may work for some people but be of low enough mean effect
as to keep them legal. There are probably ways of optimising equipment
that would help the Tyger* that would not overly assist the average
player.

When it comes to swim suits - PERHAPS copyright, branding, advertising
and IP rights are part of the issue. If you can only buy the gear from
one supplier who has patented the system then the sport is subject to
commercial distortion. (As opposed to eg shoes with swooshes on them
that perhaps only apparently make you run faster :-) ).



              Russell

* Blake's imagery seems entirely apposite to him.
I suspect he's an alien - closest golfer to Beetlebomb that I ever heard of.
Sometimes doesn't make the cut.
Just makes the cut and YOU can almost always forget winning.
What if he played like that consistently?
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