A good swimming costume approved by World Aquatics (formerly known as FINA, Fédération Internationale de Natation) must meet certain technical and material standards to ensure fairness and performance in competitive swimming. Here’s what typically makes a good World Aquatics-approved swimming costume:

1. Fabric and Material

  • Non-buoyant fabric: Swimsuits must not provide buoyancy, meaning they cannot assist the swimmer in floating.
  • Water-resistance: The material must minimize water absorption to reduce drag, improving hydrodynamics.
  • Compression: High-performance swimsuits provide compression to enhance muscle support and reduce drag, but without restricting movement.

2. Design and Coverage

  • Men’s suits: Can only be from the waist to above the knee (jammers) and must not extend above the navel or below the knees.
  • Women’s suits: Can cover from the shoulders to the knees, but cannot extend past the neck, beyond the shoulders, or below the knees.
  • No zippers or fastening mechanisms: Competitive swimsuits must not have any external fastenings like zippers or clasps that can affect performance.

3. Thickness

  • The material used must not be thicker than 0.8 mm. This ensures that the swimsuit does not create artificial advantages like added buoyancy or drag reduction.

4. Seams

  • Seams must not create an unfair advantage. World Aquatics generally prohibits outside seams that can act like a “rib” in the suit to channel water and reduce drag.

5. Approval and Compliance

  • The swimsuit must be on World Aquatics’ list of approved models. This list is updated regularly and manufacturers submit their designs for approval. Approved swimsuits carry a World Aquatics label.

6. Modesty and Rules

  • For modesty, the swimsuit must provide appropriate coverage without transparency, especially when wet.
  • Swimmers must wear only one costume during competition (no layering of suits).

7. Fast-Drying & Durability

  • Performance swimsuits are designed to be fast-drying and durable, maintaining their performance over time and during multiple uses.

These guidelines ensure that swimmers compete under equal conditions without the assistance of enhanced or technologically-advanced swimsuits.

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