A delegate from the world of open water swimming has filed a complaint to his own federation about the FINA executive's handling of the latest suits mayhem at world championships in Roberval this week and what he describes as the "condescending and dictatorial" attitude of the international federation's Executive Director, Cornel Marculescu.
The delegate explains his reason for writing as a need to highlight "the unacceptable nature of the implementation of the new suit rules" and wished to "demonstrate the inappropriateness of the conduct of the Executive Director of FINA".
When SwimNews put the charges to director Marculsecu, somewhat frustrated himself by events in Roberval, the director rejected the "negative" notions put by the delegate and said: "Speak to anyone else there and you can find positive things to say. All of the information was on the website, everything I gave them."
The delegate, a senior official, was alarmed enough by events at the technical meeting on the eve of racing in Roberval to pen a report to his federation outlining a sequence of moves that he found "extremely inappropriate" and against the rules of FINA.
In the report, a copy of which has been seen by SwimNews, the delegate says that there had been rumours of "new suits ... added" to the FINA list of approved suits without the majority of federations actually having been told anything officially.
The delegate (translated from the original) states that after a handout was distributed with a list of newly approved suits by director Marculescu "the consensus among the coaches of most federations seemed to be that the sudden timing of this important and impactful suit rule change notification, being just one day prior to the World Championship technical meeting, was extremely inappropriate".
However, in response, the FINA director insisted that the information handed out was nothing that had not already appeared on the FINA website and noted that a commission had been set up, including Italian and British federation delegates, to inspect all suits to ensure that principles of fair play were adhered to. The confusion that erupted in Roberval was somewhat self-inflicted, the director suggested, pointing at "swimmers and coaches".
"The confusion exists because in Bangkok on January 15 when swim suits for open water were approved, we then opened a new deadline of April 15 a new deadline because some were and some were not approved because they had zippers [open water suits] and they were not approved. Then the next submission date was July 1," said Marculescu.
The Roberval delegate complains that while many believed that any new suits had to be available to all under FINA rules, "this was not the case". In a damning assessment of the situation in Roberval, the delegate goes on to note: "It is shocking and disturbing that some federations were aware of the new technology and others were not. The most glaring concern came as I was leaving the technical meeting. There were six to eight Italian national team coaches standing around a table passing out new Jaked suits. The process of suit technology rule changes and their announcement, implementation and distribution was not reasonable, and caused real advantages and real disadvantages among the federations."
That perception boils down to a belief among coaches and some swimmers in Roberval that the latest twist on swim suits flies in the face of much that was agreed by the ruling FINA Congress last summer. The Jaked reference is particularly embarrassing for Paolo Barelli, the FINA Hon Sec who heads the Italian federation that has a kit arrangement with the Italian suit maker because it leaves the impression that Jaked is once again at the heart of the controversy it played a major part in last year.
Back in the mayhem of 2009, the Jaked01 (suit for the Italian national team at a home world titles) was booted out of the race pool by Prof Jan-Anders Manson and team of experts but three weeks later was reinstated without changes even though competing suits such as the arena X-Glide were forced to have modifications made and even though the science confirmed the truth of what suit companies claimed for their own suits: this boosts performance in a truly significant way.
In the case of Roberval, however, director Marculescu is adamant that the only suits submitted for open water in July were those of Arena, TYR and Blueseventy, and that none of those newly approved suits were available to anyone in Roberval. He emphasised that the Jaked suit that was put under the spotlight in Canada was approved in April, not July, and that it had been named on the approved sheet since its approval.
Even so, many in Roberval did not seem to be aware that some of the suits worn by rival teams were even available.
Marculescu added: "This is a confusion because swimmers coaches, they don't understand or understand in their own way. The difficulty is the fact that there are swim suits in the market from '98 and '97 which the materialistic style and shape is correct but they are not approved ... it never ends ... that's why we stay with the list [to avoid confusion]."
He repeated yet again that the information on zippers, on which suits could be worn had all been on the FINA website for many months and noted: "We have not done anything other than stick to the list."
The delegate in Roberval adds a personal complaint against the director, stating: "... the tone that Mr. Marculescu used during his announcement of the new rules was unacceptable for any leader in today's society. He was condescending and dictatorial. As Mr. Marculescu was speaking to the federations, it was felt by many that he was 'talking down' to us, and making clear that no changes or objections would be tolerated. During his speech regarding the new suit regulations, Mr. Marculescu conveyed his opinion that Open Water Swimming was 'far removed' from pool swimming as far as technology was concerned and changes needed to be made in phases."
Last summer, FINA Congress voted in suit rules that govern all sports and concluded that swimming ought to be free from performance-enhancing equipment. No suggestion of creep in technology.
The delegate further accuses the director of refusing to answer questions and of "creating an atmosphere that precluded anyone from speaking out against him". He concludes: "Leaders are expected to set and implement fair rules and, perhaps more importantly, communicate to the federations which they govern in a more clear, concise, positive and compassionate manner."
In response, director Marculescu, at the helm of the FINA office for more than 20 years, shrugged off the personal criticism, saying "It's okay [as in, so be it if the delegate wishes to say that]", before returning to the confusion that reigned in Roberval: "People always find ways of to get round what has been agreed. It is a process that we must go through. We need to educate everyone a little bit. We are in a transition period."
