Three Arena Powerskin Suits Non-Compliant; Arena, FINA Take Action

Published:May 6, 2013

Courtesy of: Peter H. Bick

PHOENIX, Arizona, May 6. ARENA has quickly taken steps to correct an issue with three versions of its Powerskin Carbon-Pro after FINA discovered a compliance issue with one of those versions in February 2013, according to information received by Swimming World this morning.

In February 2013, FINA queried Arena regarding a Powerskin Carbon-Pro racing suit, the women's full body open back -- FINA approval code AR220993, that FINA purchased in the open market during routine testing. FINA had a question regarding the suit's permeability.

Arena then launched a quality control investigation into its entire process, and found that two other variants of the Carbon-Pro were also impacted stemming back to December 2012. These two other variants are the women's full body closed back (FINA approval code AR220994) and men's jammer (FINA approval code AR141364).

With this in mind, Arena has waived its FINA approval on the three mentioned variants effective today.

Arena told Swimming World today that the full quality control investigation discovered a change in the manufacturing process in December 2012 following what it calls "a significant surge of market demand." This change, which Arena states has to do with the heating process that bonds the seams and adds logos to the suit, caused a "reduction of the consistency of permeability" for suits from December 2012 through the initial part of 2013.

Arena North America's general manager Tim McCool stated to Swimming World this morning that the part of the production that was affected by the anomaly had no impact on performance of the products. He also said that FINA has been working with Arena throughout this process and that all times swum in the suits, up until today, still count.

Swimming World has requested comment from FINA verifying this claim, but has yet to receive a response to this breaking news.

This morning, Arena addressed several issues regarding how it would rectify issues with the no-longer legal suits.

- A recall and replacement program has been instituted. "Consumers in possession of a current model POWERSKIN Carbon Pro with proof of purchase may receive, at no cost, the new generation POWERSKIN Carbon Pro Mark 2." Full details regarding this program can be found at support.arenapowerskin.com.

- Last summer, Arena already received FINA approval of its Powerskin Carbon-Pro Mark 2 suits. These suits are now quickly being distributed in anticipation of its three original versions no longer being available. In fact, Arena will be sending a shipment to the Arena Grand Prix in Charlotte to make sure that all athletes will be competing in legal suits.

These three suits are: AR221039 -- woman full body open back; AR221028 -- woman full body closed back; AR141028 -- man jammer

"Arena apologizes for any inconvenience," Arena CEO Cristiano Portas said. "But its commitment to fully comply with FINA rules and, more broadly, its commitment to fair competition in the world of swimming must be given the highest priority."

Arena will also have representatives at U.S. Masters Nationals and the Arena Grand Prix in Charlotte to help with on-site servicing for the recall and replacement program.

Nelson Diebel and Jenna Johnson will be in Charlotte for Arena to handle all questions regarding the recall/replacement program. Anyone with questions in Charlotte can head to the Arena booth to be found in the Fan Experience Area this weekend.

Meanwhile, an Arena representative will be on hand at the All-American booth (the meet vendor) at U.S. Masters Nationals to help all swimmers with their recall/replacement questions and needs.

USA Swimming also responded to a request for comment by Swimming World regarding how it would handle the no-longer legal suits this weekend in Charlotte.

"USA Swimming has notified John Wilson, the head meet referee for the Arena Grand Prix at Charlotte, that three versions of the Arena POWERSKIN Carbon-Pro will no longer be allowed in competition," USA Swimming spokesperson Karen Linhart responded. "The topic will be addressed at the both the coaches' meeting and officials' meeting prior to the start of the meet and a note will be sent to the coaches of all meet entrants. Arena has also offered its support to check for the suit on-site at the start-end of the pool during prelims and in the ready room during finals."