ROME -- The manufacturers of technologically advanced swimsuits have grown so frustrated over the current mess in the pool that they are ready to take a step back in time and return to old-fashioned briefs.
Swimmers get in the pool at the world championships Sunday and manufacturers are counting on a change in leadership at FINA, swimming's governing body, before then to help settle things.
"We're in charge of making technology and helping swimmers to achieve their best but right now what's happening isn't fair," said Matthew Zimmer, promotion director for Californian manufacturer TYR.
"So if my choice is between fair and briefs and unfair and what's going on right now, we're going to take briefs every day, and I think every athlete would too because this is out of control."
FINA has come under criticism for its failure to regulate the rapid advances in swimsuit technology that led to 108 world records last year and nearly 30 so far this year.
Some suits are suspected of creating air trapping effects that artificially enhance speed. Last month, FINA approved 202 suits and rejected 10 others. The move to approve modified versions of suits that were initially rejected has disappointed the United States and Australia -- the sport's two most powerful countries.
Speedo's LZR Racer, the suit responsible for most of last year's world records, is now widely considered slower than Jaked's 01 and Arena's Powerskin R-Evolution.
"We're happy in this specific moment, yes, but it's still a mess," said Arena global marketing director Giuseppe Musciacchio. "It can't go on like this. These are serious problems. These suits don't work the same on every athlete and they cost a lot. I think FINA needs to take a step backward."
TYR had a suit similar to Jaked's and Arena's rejected by FINA and appealed to a French court, which last week agreed that the suits need to be retested but ruled there wasn't enough time to do so before the worlds.
"It didn't entirely solve the problem for Rome and the athletes here," Zimmer said. "We'll see if athletes take issue and stand up against what has been imposed on them in an arbitrary way. At this point, it's somewhat out of the hands of the suit manufacturers and it comes down to the athletes saying, 'Is this right and are we going to stand for it?"
USA Swimming has made a few proposals to change FINA's rules regarding swimsuits. Most notably, the Americans would like to see swimming rule 10.7 altered.
The current rule states: "No swimmer shall be permitted to use or wear any device that may aid his speed, buoyancy or endurance during a competition."
USA Swimming wants the words "or swimsuit" inserted after "device" and an independent agency used for testing. The Americans would also like a rule limiting swimsuit coverage beyond the shoulders and below the knees.
FINA delegates will examine and vote on the proposals over the next couple of days.
"I think the majority of the world wants to see something done," USA Swimming president Jim Wood told The Associated Press. "I mean it would be great if FINA comes out ahead of time -- sometime in the next 24 hours -- and announces what they're going to do. If not, I hope the rest of the voters get going on this."
But FINA doesn't appear ready to budge.
"A swimsuit is not a device. A swimsuit is equipment," FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu told The AP. "They can propose whatever they want, we are in a democratic world, but a device is clearly defined in the rules."
But with the rules changing from month to month, manufacturers have been left guessing.
"I still don't know what rules to use starting in September. If the rules change for January, we need four months of time for redesigns," Arena's Musciacchio said.
Making matters more complicated is that Julio Maglione of Uruguay will take over from Mustapha Larfaoui as FINA's president on Friday.
Maglione is rumored to favor a return to briefs.
"I'm hope it's more than a rumor," Zimmer said. "The new president is going to have to clean house. That's really the only way that this can happen. And I don't just say that for us. We know that Arena is very upset, Speedo has got to be really upset about what's happening, just because we've all invested a lot of money.
"It doesn't make any sense to anybody on the pool deck. There's only a couple guys sitting behind closed doors at FINA that seem to understand what they're doing and why."
Italy coach Alberto Castagnetti was one of the first opponents of the new bodysuits, defining them "technological doping" more than a year ago.
"We've gone down a very dangerous road," Castagnetti said. "Now we're in a situation where we don't even know what to do anymore. The technology and progress of materials is beyond control."