Juniors at world and European level may soon be protected by specific rules aimed at them, call-room suit checks will be conducted at the European junior championships in Prague, while all European records established before May 19 will be ratified but no marks set in suits that did not make FINA's approved suits list will count.

The European Swimming League (LEN) sent a strong message to those racing in the Jaked01 at Italian nationals in Pescara: set a continental standard if you will, but it won't count.

LEN also announced that, in parallel with discussions at FINA level, it is considering special suit rules that would apply only for junior swimmers. LEN stated that its move was "to contribute to establishing a collaborative front and framework to protect our swimmers in the formative stages of their careers", while a senior FINA source confirmed to SwimNews that the high cost of current-generation suits (anywhere between $350 to $700 a go, with durability a serious issue in some cases) has been central to discussions that have taken place specifically with a view to the youth market.  

The LEN ruling on records makes clear that any efforts swum after May 19 in what would have been European-record time by swimmers wearing the likes of the Jaked01 will not be considered for ratification. 

If the likes of the Jaked01 make it back on to the FINA list in unmodified state, however, all things may need to be considered once more in that light should any potential record times have been established in suits under particular scrutiny.

The LEN Office in Rome, headed by director Laszlo Szakadati, issued the following statement:

After the LEN Bureau Meeting held in Chania (GRE) on May 15th and 16th, and the continuing development and ongoing steps being taken toward a stable situation regarding the use of new swimsuit models that have appeared on poolsides since February of 2008, LEN wishes to inform of the following:

• LEN follows FINA Rules and Regulations (LEN General Event Rule E 1.2) and will therefore prohibit the use of new generation swimsuits that are not on FINA’s regularly updated list of approved models at LEN Events.
• The current list of ratified European Records will stand as they are, but from this moment on, all European Record applications must specify what single swimsuit model the swimmer was wearing at the time of the potential European Record performance.
• At the European Junior Swimming Championships to be held in Prague (CZE) from July 8th to 12th of 2009, we emphasize that all swimmers will be controlled at a dedicated call room before competing, and if they wear a new generation suit that is not on FINA’s list of approved models, they will not be allowed to swim.

LEN has consulted its member federations regarding limitations in the use of this new technology by junior and younger age-group swimmers in order to be informed on the current regulatory situation in each country, and to contribute to establishing a collaborative front and framework to protect our swimmers in the formative stages of their careers.