Scorecard

BIKINI BLITZ

The trend in women's competitive swim-wear in recent years has been toward ever thinner, ever tighter, ever more revealing suits. One lingering concession to modesty is the requirement at most levels of the sport that, thin or not, only one-piece suits may be worn. Now Hind-Wells, Inc., a swimwear manufacturer in San Luis Obispo , Calif. , is trying to change that with introduction of a conservatively cut two-piece racing suit that wouldn't draw a second look at the beach but has the swimming world in a spin.

Hind-Wells was sneaky about unveiling its new suit, secretly persuading Stanford 's women's team to wear it at last month's AIAW championships in Pittsburgh . The AIAW is one of the few organizations that have no rules governing swimwear but, just to be safe, Hind-Wells sewed a strip of fabric to connect the bottom and top of each suit, reasoning that this made it a one-piece garment.

Before the start of the 200-yard medley relay, Stanford swimmers in the stands mysteriously began chanting, "Take it off, Stanford , take it off...." The four members of the school's relay team removed their sweats and the crowd gasped and screamed. The Stanford swimmers stroked to an American record of 1:44.87 and soon members of other teams were competing in the two-piece suits, too.

Fanciers of the racing bikini say it offers more freedom of movement than a one-piece suit and has the psychological advantage of letting the swimmer feel water over more of the body. Some coaches also feel that appearing in public in bare midriffs might encourage swimmers to keep their stomachs trim. But others contend that the two-piece suit increases drag because it creates three surfaces—fabric, bare stomach, fabric again—for water to roll across.

These arguments will continue at next week's AAU short course (25-yard pool) championships in Los Angeles . Unlike the AIAW, the AAU prohibits two-piece suits, but its 27-member rules subcommittee could change that regulation in Los Angeles . If it doesn't, Dr. Stan Brown, AAU chairman of senior swimming, will have to rule in his capacity as meet referee on whether the sewn-on strip qualifies the garment as a one-piece suit. Last week Brown said, "From the way it's been described to me, it sounds like a two-piece suit."

Approval of the suit would put the AAU on a collision course with FINA, the world swimming federation, which requires women competing in international competition or those setting world records to swim in one-piece suits "devoid of openwork except at the back." U.S. swim officials could try to lobby to change the rule. The alternative would be to confine the use of two-piece suits to 25-yard pools, which are found mainly in the U.S.

THE STARTING LINE
The 83rd Boston Marathon will be run next week and for the first time a line on the race is available in Las Vegas . Two-time champion Bill Rodgers is a 2-to-1 favorite, followed by Ian Thompson and Esa Tikkanen (both 3 to 1), Jeff Wells (5 to 1) and Hideki Kita (6 to 1). Frank Shorter , at 10 to 1, is said to be attracting a lot of action. The odds on any woman to finish first are 1,000 to 1.

BIG BIRD, LITTLE BYRD

Bird may have been the word in college basketball this past season, but so was Byrd. While Indiana State 's 6'9�" Larry Bird was being named the best college player of the year, Columbia 's 5'8�" Alton Byrd was also earning a bit of recognition. Something called the Frances Pomeroy Naismith-Hall of Fame Award—Frances Pomeroy Naismith was the daughter-in-law of the inventor of basketball—is bestowed annually on the best college senior under six feet tall, and Byrd has been selected as its recipient. A product of San Francisco 's playgrounds, where he was known as A. B. Slick, the speedy Byrd averaged 15 points and 7.4 assists while leading Columbia to a 17-9 record and the runner-up spot in the Ivy League behind Penn.