Stayseeliz Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 My almost 10yo DD saw several girls wearing this suit at a meet yesterday. http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/5835.htm#color=9325 She has her own money and really wants to buy herself one. She is honestly pretty good. She placed third and fourth in her age category in two of her events yesterday and she's only been swimming a year.She's a hard worker and puts in lots of effort in the pool. Should I let her buy it? It's expensive and I feel like she'll grow out of it quickly but it's not *my* money. Our coach is fairly flexible with competition suits. As long as they are black or navy blue he's fine with it. She's wearing this one now for competition. http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/17018.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 They don't last more than a season, so I wouldn't worry about her growing out of it. Those suits are nice, but mostly they provide a mental boost. Yes, they reduce drag, but at the level it's not that big a deal (unless you are comparing it to a practice suit with lining. Then she would feel how much better it felt). It's fun to have the competition suits. If she wants to spend her money on it, why not? It's part of the excitement of the meet. They are not necessary, they won't really cut her times, but they are nice to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 My daughter wears a technical knee suit for competitions, but for a very different reason then most... Big cons your daughter may not realize: they are a hassle to put on, especially when wet. Generally you order about two sizes below your practice suit. They do not last near as long as practice, OR typical competition suits, expect about three meets before they thin... To be blunt: girls trick to go to the restroom quickly, forget it, take the suit all the way off, spend ten plus minutes putting it back on. They are pretty uncomfortable in the crotch area. My daughter complains every.single.time! Swimming only a year, I doubt she will notice any time difference at this point. My advice, if she doesn't have one, encourage her to spend her money on a nice Sporti parka. She will love them at meets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted October 27, 2013 Author Share Posted October 27, 2013 My MIL bought my two bigs kids Sporti parkas as an early Christmas present. They really love them! I might encourage her to spend her money on a couple practice suits which she REALLY needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 My daughter wore that exact suit for a year or so. It is not a technical suit. It is more like a Speedo Aquablade in a short john. For us, it was a compromise for a technical suit that we could not afford (and I have other issues with the use of tech suits in age group swimming, but that is just me, apparently). One her last team we had to wear that TYR for the team suit. It does not hold up well at all. We had problems with thinning across the chest (she is not busty at all) and holes in the material in the straps. If your daughter wants a "fast" suit for competitions in that price range, I think the Speedo Aquablade is a nice one. Not too fancy and they wear really well. A parka would probably help her times more...especially if she competes outside! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 That is a great price for that suit. Dd wore it at that age also, til I happened on a really good deal for her first technical suit ($50 :thumbup: ). It is not usually worn as tight as the truly expensive suits, especially by 10 year olds. Dd's lasted much longer than her Fastskins do. (I would still save it for "big" meets.) I would let her buy it. It's exciting to have a kneeskin for meets and it has far less exposure on the starting block. It's fun to have the competition suits. If she wants to spend her money on it, why not? It's part of the excitement of the meet. They are not necessary, they won't really cut her times, but they are nice to have. Actually, they can cut her time. The operative question is if her times are still more dependent on her mood than they are on the swimsuit. At 10, that's pretty likely and it would be hard to differentiate between the time lost because of the technical aspects of the suit and the time lost because she was just so psyched to be wearing the suit, IYKWIM. (The technical aspects of the suit will have more effect on girls who are chubby than on lean, mean, swimming machines.) ETA: dd refuses to wear her parka because no one else on the team wears one. Very few are seen on deck around here because 90-95% of our meets are indoors and usually too warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 At that price, go ahead. However, I wouldn't ever buy a fast suit online. They really should be tried on. At least try that suit on at a swim shop before you order; sizing on these suits is different. Knee suits really do improve times. A lot. However, it depends on body type as to how much difference. A body that needs to be compressed will receive more benefit. One that is compressed to start with won't see quite the improvement. Most 10 yos aren't going to need that compression. There will likely be more of an improvement in fly and breaststroke, because these suits float the rear end a bit which helps out a lot. The biggest reason I let my kids have fast suits at that age (not knee skins/made them wait until 12 yo for those) is because they dry so much faster than regular suits. They are easily dry when going from a night finals session to an early morning session. They dry quickly between events during the meet=warmer swimmer on deck. That was big for my girls. The mental edge is most definitely there when the kids put these suits on too. It is like showing up for work with your suit and tie on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 However, I wouldn't ever buy a fast suit online. They really should be tried on. At least try that suit on at a swim shop before you order; sizing on these suits is different. I have ordered them online from SwimOutlet (and other places). They will accept returns if the tags are still on, but do charge for shipping. Dd (17, 5'9" and wears a 28 or 30 Ugly) wears a 24 FS. Since, they are out of the 22 and 24, your dd might want to keep looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 I have ordered them online from SwimOutlet (and other places). They will accept returns if the tags are still on, but do charge for shipping. Dd (17, 5'9" and wears a 28 or 30 Ugly) wears a 24 FS. Since, they are out of the 22 and 24, your dd might want to keep looking. And, that is another thing...these suits often do not come in sizes small enough to actually correctly fit a 10 yo. When the big suit fiasco/ban/changeover/regulations came out, 12 and unders were regulated to not be allowed to wear knee skin suits. Not sure if they ever took that away, or if it is just being ignored. It was totally ignored when it came out. Just looked up the regulation. It is no longer mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 That supersuit ban was for 12 and unders with the 2008 suits used in Bejiing. The new tech suits are not supposed to have bouyancy, but be permeable. That was why the Arena ones were recalled last spring. So, when they changed the rules, they lifted the ban on 12 and unders. We see girls in the tech suits at our state championships, which is unfortunate. They really only fit kids who are approximately adult heights and weights, who frankly already have a huge advantage in age group swimming. Last summer, my 4'7", 65 lb 11 year old was next to one of her water polo teammates, who at 5' 7" and 110 lbs did not look 12 at all. She wore a tech suit. But the one the OP mentioned is not in that category at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share Posted October 28, 2013 No way am I buying a $100+++ tech suit. Not at her age. I'm thinking about the aquablade. I think that would be better for her age, maturity, etc. She IS tall and "bigger" for her age. Not fat AT ALL but not a bean pole. She's about 4'9-4'10 and right at 100 lbs. She's almost the same height as my 12yo DS and 15 lbs lighter than him. She's going to be TALL. She does have some things (a little belly, etc) that could be compressed but like I said, she's not a BIG girl. I think she'd do better with a regular compression suit and not a kneeskin at first then she could move to something longer later. I think?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 No way am I buying a $100+++ tech suit. I thought the suit she saw was $68? The TYR Fusion Aerofit Shortjohn? Metro Swim Shop also seems to have it ($59.95) but their website is having technical difficulties at the moment so I can't tell which sizes. They are also having 10% off til Dec 31. http://www.metroswimshop.com/browse.do?pageNum=3&typeID=1163058124265 I have bought from them before also and their customer service has been great. They even exchanged a Fastskin (in person at a swim meet) we had bought from them online, after she wore it in a race, because Speedo had changed the LZR sizing and didn't tell anybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 My dd2 is exceptionally tiny for her age. Your daughter sounds right in line with many, many of the ten year old girls I know. Only a few wear tech suits, and they are usually the ones who are closer to a standard definition of overweight. Though I think many of the girls who started developing on the early side worn kneeskins (Aerofit or Aquablade) due to being more comfortable being more covered. My older daughter who is nicknamed "Spock" by ds1 refused to even consider a technical suit until last summer. She is not one of the people who respond to a perceived mental edge or lucky goggles or anything like that. She still just shrugs about the tech suits and says, "maybe a few tenths in a 200, who can tell?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share Posted October 28, 2013 Sorry-someone just mentioned a 12 year old having one of the really NICE suits. DD does seem to be "developing" quickly but isn't too curvy yet. DH said she needed to put some pants on during the meet yesterday but she never had time because she kept racing!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-M- Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Most of the girls who swim the USA Swimming meets (as opposed to the rec meets) on our team use the Yingfa 925 Shark Scale Kneeskin. Tech suits wear out quickly, so the $39 price tag makes frequent replacements easier on the budget. That said, at this weekend's meet, only about half a dozen girls were wearing the knee suits -- apart from our team. I think for most swimmers, it really is a mental advantage, as others have maintained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Most of the girls who swim the USA Swimming meets (as opposed to the rec meets) on our team use the Yingfa 925 Shark Scale Kneeskin. Tech suits wear out quickly, so the $39 price tag makes frequent replacements easier on the budget. I've seen those on ebay but never in person. Do you know if their sizing chart (which relates their S size to a Speedo 24-26) is referring to a regular Speedo or a Fastskin? That seems like a big range for a tech suit, which is supposed to fit tightly, like a second skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I bought the same Yingfa kneeskin (like the aquablade but with more compression) for dd1 to have as a back up in case of a tear at Sectionals. She didn't wear it (I think it is great and I love the price point- but she was self-conscious that no one she knows has a Yingfa- hard to shake the cheap label in a status conscious group) because she didn't need it. The sizes seem to run closer to the smaller size- I bought her a M (26-28) and it definitely fit more like a 26. The legs are a bit shorter than Speedo or TYR, I think. Dd1 thinks it is in between an aquablade and a fastskin. Definitely cheaper than both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 However, I wouldn't ever buy a fast suit online. They really should be tried on. At least try that suit on at a swim shop before you order; sizing on these suits is different. I have ordered them online from SwimOutlet (and other places). They will accept returns if the tags are still on, but do charge for shipping. We only buy tech suits from our local swim store. The owner told me that he has his staff write the date on the boxes when they arrive because the material breaks down over time - even in a little box. He said that online stores can and do sell older suits, usually at a marked down price. I bought my son his last tech suit 12 months ago and we were told he would probably only get 5-6 meets out of the suit (grandma paid the $$$). My son has been extra careful to never pull the suit to pop the elastic and he has never used the suit for warm-ups but he keeps it on until he is done instead of taking it on and off after each event. He wore the suit this past weekend (12 months and 15 meets later) and it still looks like new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 I bought the same Yingfa kneeskin (like the aquablade but with more compression) for dd1 to have as a back up in case of a tear at Sectionals. She didn't wear it (I think it is great and I love the price point- but she was self-conscious that no one she knows has a Yingfa- hard to shake the cheap label in a status conscious group) because she didn't need it. The sizes seem to run closer to the smaller size- I bought her a M (26-28) and it definitely fit more like a 26. The legs are a bit shorter than Speedo or TYR, I think. Dd1 thinks it is in between an aquablade and a fastskin. Definitely cheaper than both! Fastskin 26 or practice suit 26? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 I talked to their other coach (they swim on another team when our team in town is on hiatus) and he said that the kneeskins are banned in the USA league here. He suggested the Aquablades for both DD9 and DS12. He said they really DO cut time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 The Yingfa fit like an aquablade 26. I personally cannot understand how an aquablade can cut time. It is not a very good compression suit--way underneath the quality of a fastskin. The cutting time wearing a different suit is difficult to know. I know that dd1 wore her super cheap technical suit at Sectionals and cut time, but was that because she was tapered for her championship meet or because she trains at altitude and the meet was a sea level or the suit? It is very difficult to separate out those elements, especially because the $$$ suits are usually only worn at the swimmer's championship meet. Dd1 and dd2 wear an aquablade during regular season meets. I don't think those suits have any effect on times at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCMom Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 My almost 10yo DD saw several girls wearing this suit at a meet yesterday. http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/5835.htm#color=9325 She has her own money and really wants to buy herself one. She is honestly pretty good. She placed third and fourth in her age category in two of her events yesterday and she's only been swimming a year.She's a hard worker and puts in lots of effort in the pool. Should I let her buy it? It's expensive and I feel like she'll grow out of it quickly but it's not *my* money. Our coach is fairly flexible with competition suits. As long as they are black or navy blue he's fine with it. She's wearing this one now for competition. http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/17018.htm I would get it only IF others on her team that are her age wear them, and the coach okays it. It would only be for higher level meets. It's really cute but not sure what affect it would have on time, other than the previous mentioned mental boost. But it is cute! My dd18 wears Endurance suits for regular meets and a >$300 :tongue_smilie: technical suit for regional/ and higher meets as her coach requires this. One never wears any form of technical suit to a meet not in prelims/finals format, 'round here; it is considered tacky, weird, etc. Littles on our team do not wear technical suits ever except for at the state meet, should they qualify. The technical helps, but it hurts, lol. No pain, no gain... Georgia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 The Yingfa fit like an aquablade 26. I personally cannot understand how an aquablade can cut time. It is not a very good compression suit--way underneath the quality of a fastskin. The cutting time wearing a different suit is difficult to know. I know that dd1 wore her super cheap technical suit at Sectionals and cut time, but was that because she was tapered for her championship meet or because she trains at altitude and the meet was a sea level or the suit? It is very difficult to separate out those elements, especially because the $$$ suits are usually only worn at the swimmer's championship meet. Dd1 and dd2 wear an aquablade during regular season meets. I don't think those suits have any effect on times at all. It is many factors, but one that is very evident is the way they shed/channel the water. They do make a difference, even the lowly Aquablade (which was considered to be a top of the line suit when I first bought one!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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