Phelps-made-famous swimwear banned for Minn. high school swimmers
High school swimmers in Minnesota won't be able to wear the high-tech swimsuits made famous by Michael Phelps during last summer's Olympics.
The Minnesota State High School League, which has the job of regulating high school sports, enacted the ban. The league says it's been a controversy in Minnesota for a year.
Male swimmers will now have to wear suits that don't go above the waist or below the top of the kneecap. Suits for female swimmers can't extend beyond the shoulders or below the top of the kneecap.
The suits will also have to be "constructed of a woven/knit textile material, permeable to water and air, constructed so as not to aid in buoyancy, and shall not contain zippers or other fastening systems," according to a statement.
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Minnesota is following the lead of the national organization it's part of - the National Federation of State High School Associations - which enacted essentially the same ban for all states to follow.
"These high-tech suits had fundamentally altered the sport and become more similar to equipment, rather than a uniform," said Becky Oakes, with the NFHS, in a statement.
The group also noted that the rules of swimming have always banned wearing items that would aid a swimmer's speed -- and these high tech suits had evolved to where that's exactly what they were doing.
The rule takes effect immediately.
