Actually, there's not really such a thing as "cheating" in the context of using something that will enhance your safety. So buoyancy aids are absolutely fine for use on the FGR, by that I mean water wings, a Donald Duck rubber ring, pull buoys, foam tubes, kickboards, wetsuits (some have extra buoyancy built in for sinky-legged swimmers), float-bags etc. About the only thing it's been agreed are not in the spirit of the FGR are performance-enhancing tools such as paddles and/or fins.