Kast-A-Way Swimwear is now taking pre-orders for the new (and FINA Approved) LZR Racer Elite. The prices are more expensive than the FS-Pro, which is to be expected since the FS-Pro is now several years old. However, if you’re comparing the price to last year’s LZR Racer, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The LZR Racer Elite Jammer will retail for $260.00, which is more than the FS-Pro Jammer ($180.00) but less than the original offering of the now-illegal LZR Racer Jammer ($290.00).

The LZR Racer Elite Recordbreaker Kneeskin is priced at $375.00, which is more expensive than the FS-Pro Recordbreaker Kneeskin ($260.00) but less than the old LZR Racer ($425.00).

The LZR Racer Elite Recordbreaker comes out at $270.00, which is more expensive than the FS-Pro Recordbreaker ($190.00) and does not compare to the old, illegal LZR Racer because that suit was never offered in a Recordbreaker cut.

On Thursday I got permission from the powers that be to leak some of the marketing images from Speedo’s 2010 line of LZR Racers: the LZR Racer Elite and LZR Racer Pro. As soon as I posted a link on Twitter, I got some confused responses. For example:

aquaticsintl: Hmmm… aren’t these illegal? RT @kastawayblog: First Look: 2010 Speedo LZR Racer Elite & LZR Racer Pro http://bit.ly/hbbPS

Aside from addressing the confusion one-on-one with customers who call in, the other customer service reps and myself were trying to come up with a concise and universal way to clear up the confusion. It seems the source of the problem comes from Speedo’s decision to continue using the LZR brand name in the post-tech-suit era.

On one hand, the LZR brand name implies speed and reliability. When I read “LZR Racer” I’m instantly reminded of the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of the suits’ prevalence. On the other hand, it’s easy to see how less obsessed swim parents or non-swimming sports reporter would have questions. Is the LZR legal? I thought I heard something about a rule change. Aren’t speedsuits banned?

Short term solution? I’d suggest slapping a “FINA Approved” or “NEW” sticker on every box and web image to drive the point. I’m also going to point people to the official suit list released by FINA, where the names LZR Racer Pro and LZR Racer Elite are clearly printed.

Kast-A-Way Swimwear will begin taking pre-orders for the 2010 line of LZR Racers in the very near future! The LZR Racer Elite and LZR Racer Pro are the latest technical suits from Speedo that are FINA Approved for use under the new FINA suit guidelines.

The LZR Racer Elite is Speedo’s most advanced competition suit that remains in-line with the FINA 2010 rule changes. The main difference between the Pro and the the ELITE is the construction. The ELITE utilizes a fully bonded construction (technology that was pioneered in the original LZR Racer), while the Pro does not.

Furthermore, the LZR Racer Elite uses LZR Pulse fabric, while the LZR Racer Pro uses LZR Pulse II fabric. The LZR Pulse II fabric is marketed as a more durable version of the original LZR Pulse fabric (used in the original 2008 LZR Racer). The Pro’s non-bonded seams will hold up longer as well, making the Pro the less premium but more durable version of the two. Both offer a dynamic 3-D pattern and high compression.

On January 1st, 2010, the new FINA suit rule will take effect. High schools and the NCAA are on board for banning the suits immediately – before the season gets underway. The end of bodysuits is upon us!

However, because of the late notice, some people are left holding speedsuits without a place to use them. To help those swimmers, I’ve compiled 7 perfectly good ways to use your old, illegal speedsuit:

1. Fight Crime


2. Go Tanning

3. Sandbag Your Flooded Doorstep (Non-Permeable Suits Only)

4. Join Cirque du Soleil

5. Flesh Colored Paint – Just Keep Wearing It!


6. New Winter Olympic Sport: Sled-less Ice Luge


7. Break A Slip n’ Slide Speed Record

…I guess if all else fails, you’ll have the most expensive Michael Phelps halloween costume this year!

The options of synchronized diving or 400 meter swimming proves to be a real challenge for many of the groups. Found via SpeedoUSA on Facebook.

http://www.cbs.com/e/bDza3KDtbZzXOOvaNu4kUH0_4_QGkdtT/cbs/1/

This is a great clip, if you have the patience to get past the 15 second commercial. It’s interesting how two of the teams chose to try synchronized diving (jumping) because they assumed it would be easier. I think plodding along at a slow dog paddle would be easier–it would take a while but at least you would finish. There’s a chance the teams would never sync up correctly for their first time on a 3-meter board.

Then again, the LZR Racer could take up to 25 minutes to put on. But I doubt the Amazing Racers are worried about getting the best drag-reducing tight fit. It’s exciting to see swimming and diving once again making its way into mainstream American living rooms on TV!

One of our readers sent me this article, it looks like the swimsuit controversy has reached The Wall Street Journal where Matthew Futterman provides his overall summary of the past few months of deliberation and drama.

The article provides a lot of anecdotes and quotes from coaches facing budget problems while trying to find ways to first locate, and then pay for the newest technology in swimwear.

Two interesting facts from the article are Futterman’s report of the total life of the LZR Racer suit, and some additional background about the suit production and cost. Futterman reports that the suit will last 30 hours if properly cared for, which is new information to me because I’ve always heard the suits last anywhere from 7 to 10 swims. Secondly here’s an excerpt from the article, about the production of the suits, that I found interesting:

Craig Brommers, director of marketing for Speedo in North America, said the company’s factory in Portugal can now produce some 80,000 LZRs annually but was unprepared for the massive demand after 91% of gold medalists in Beijing wore the suit. “There were some shortfalls,” said Mr. Brommers. He explained that the high cost reflects the years of research and development Speedo dedicated to the LZR.

An informative and well-written piece–however… In a section titled “Flabby and Lazy,” Futterman writes:

Most troubling to coaches, the suits seem to help the flabby, lazier swimmers the most, because their fat gets compressed but remains more buoyant than dense muscle, allowing them to float higher in the water and swim faster.

While I agree with the physics behind this statement, I don’t agree with how this is ‘most troubling’ to coaches. And which coaches? Is this saying that coaches are torn between training their athletes and fattening them up? Is this saying that “lazy” college swimmers have breakthrough swims much to their coach’s chagrin? Is there such a thing as a lazy college swimmer with respect to the rest of the swimming community?

I’m not trying to bash the Wall Street Journal article too much, because its intended audience is surely non-swimmer business-minded types looking for Michael Phelps name-drops, I just wanted to express my confusion and concern over the “Flabby and Lazy” section.

This instructional video, made by Speedo, is a great resource for how to fit a speedsuit. As you can tell by the video, this process will take time to do correctly. View the video HERE or watch it below:

I’m working on a more extensive section about speedsuits and bodyskins, if you have any questions please post them in the comments section.