12U COMPLIANT TECHNICAL SUITS
Everything You Need To Know About Tech Suits Before You Buy
The technical suit restrictions of 12 and under swimmers takes full effect everywhere in the USA on September 1, 2020.
The rule states that no technical suit may be worn by any 12 and under USA Swimming athlete in a competition. However, what is the definition of a tech suit in this rule?
- A Technical Suit is any suit with any bonded or taped seams regardless of its fabric or silhouette or any suit with woven fabric extending past the hips.
- If a 12 and under swimmer wants to wear a suit with legs (female short john or male jammer) that suit must have stitched seams and be a knit fabric.
- If a 12 and under swimmer wants to wear a woven fabric suit then that suit must be in a female regular cut or a male brief and have stitched seams.
We have made shopping for 12 and under compliant suits super easy by listing them all here in one accessible spot. All of our tech suits that are compliant with this rule say so in the description of the suit in question.
You can click here to be brought to USA Swimming's official breakdown of the Tech Suit Restrictions for 12-and-Under Swimmers.
12u Compliant Tech Suit "Green Checkmark"
Shortly before USA Swimming adopted the 12u technical suit rule there was a proposal (we can't find any literature that supports that is was fully adopted into a rule) that all 12u compliant technical suits be marked by a "Green Checkmark" logo next to the "FINA Approved" logo. This would make it easier for officials to confirm that the suit is compliant to the rule. A tech suit can be 12u compliant and not have the "Green Checkmark" logo. USA Swimming has produced a list of compliant makes and models of tech suits. The best way to know if your tech suit is compliant to this rule is by checking the make and model and/or the FINA serial number of your suit against that list. The FINA serial number is the number under the QR code on the "FINA Approved" logo.
USA Swimming did put out an official memo about compliant tech suits without the "Green Checkmark":
What happens is a suit is legal, but doesn't have the checkmark?
Even though we have promoted the upcoming change, there may be instances where a parent purchased an older stock suit that had the FINAL approval logo on it but does not have the checkmark on it because a dealer had older stock of the suit or your child is in an adult and not youth size. In this instance, the "work around" will be:
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- USA Swimming will have a list of these suits on the website. Currently there are 12 that have been approved (some suits have a child size and an adult size).
- Swimmer or coach takes the suit to the meet referee prior to the start of the meet (should a swimmer arrive late the swimmer must have the suit approved prior to their event).
- The tag on the suit has the name of the suit on it (the FINA serial number and QR code) and the referee can compare that with the list on the website.
- Referee with a green Sharpie, places an "X" over the FINAL approval logo.
- It is up to the simmer and/or coach to have this approved prior to them swimming the race.
This will help in the "rare" instance where a parent purchased a suit that is legal but does not have the checkmark on it due to older stock or sizing of the suit. Unfortunately, there is nothing to prevent a coach, swimmer, or parent from putting an "X" on the suit with their own Sharpie. We must trust that no one would do this.
This official "workaround" is why Poco Loco Swim Shop recommends that swimmers, coaches, and parents print off a copy of that guideline and a copy of the USA Swimming approved list and keep them with them for every swim meet if they purchase a legal model that does not have the "Green Checkmark." We also recommend that you follow this guideline and have your suit verified by the meet referee at every meet that the suit is worn at and not trusting the green Sharpie "X" after the first time that it was marked. We also recommend that meet referee's keep track of which swimmers have verified tech suits much in the same way that you would special needs swimmers and their ADA allotments or how high school officials keep track of taping.
