in their
swimsuits, 1996 ;
Swimsuit: Competitive swimwear seeks to improve upon bare skin for a speed advantage and coverage. In 2009, FINA rules and regulations were altered and suits made with polyurethane were banned because they made athletes more buoyant. These rules also banned suits which go above the
navel or below the knee for men and suits which extend past the shoulders or cover the neck for women. ;
Swim cap: A swim cap (a.k.a. cap) keeps the swimmer's hair out of the way to reduce drag. Caps may be made of latex, silicone, spandex or lycra. ;
Goggles: Goggles keep water and
chlorine out of swimmers' eyes. Goggles may be tinted to counteract glare at outdoor pools. Prescription goggles may be used by swimmers who wear corrective lenses. ;
Swim fins: Rubber fins are used to help kick faster and build strength and technique, but are illegal in a race. They also improve technique by keeping the feet in the proper position while kicking. ;
Drag suit:Swimmers use drag suits in training to increase resistance. This allows a swimmer to be challenged even more when practicing and let the swimmer feel less resistance when racing. Drag suits are not used in competitive races. ;
Hand paddles: Swimmers use these plastic devices to build arm and shoulder strength while refining hand-pulling technique.
Hand paddles attach to the hand with rubber tubing or elastic material. They come in many different shapes and sizes, depending on swimmer preference and hand size. ;
Kickboard: A kickboard is a foam board that swimmers use to support the weight of the upper body while they focus on kicking. Kicking is the movement of the legs only which helps to increase leg muscle for future strength. ;
Pull buoy: Often used at the same time as hand paddles, pull buoys support swimmers' legs (and prevent them from kicking) while they focus on pulling. Pull buoys are made of foam so they float in the water. Swimmers hold them in between the thighs. They can also be used as a kickboard to make kicking a little harder. ;Ankle bands: Improving balance will minimize the need for this kick to provide an upward, instead of a forward vector, and in some cases completely corrects the kick. Using an ankle band will have the immediate effect of turning off your kick, which then forces you to make efforts to correct your balance. If you are successful in discovering these, then the ankle band has done part of its job. ;
Snorkel: A snorkel is a plastic device that helps swimmers breathe while swimming. This piece of equipment helps the swimmer practice keeping their head in one position, along with training them for the proper breathing technique of breathing in through the mouth and out the nose. This technique is the opposite of a common runner's breathing pattern, which is in the nose and out the mouth.
Common swimwear Brands such as
Arena,
Speedo, and
TYR, are popular regular swimwear brands. The most durable material for regular swimming is Polyester. The main difference between competition and regular swimwear is that competition swimwear is tighter and compresses the muscles of the swimmers. Regular swimwear is easier to put on and more comfortable for leisure activities.
Men of U.S. walks wearing men's
swim briefs, while
Hayley Palmer sports a
racerback one-piece swimsuit, 2012 The most used practice swimwear for men includes
briefs and
jammers. Males generally swim
barechested. There was controversy after the
Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 when many Olympic swimmers broke records an unprecedented number of times using revolutionary swimsuits that covered their entire legs. To highlight the issue, in 2008, 70 world records were broken in one year, and 66 Olympic records were broken in one Olympic Games (there were races in Beijing where the first five finishers were swimming faster than the old world record). As of 1 January 2010, men are only allowed to wear suits from the waist to the knees. They are also only permitted to wear one piece of swimwear; they cannot wear briefs underneath jammers. This rule was enacted after the controversy in the Beijing Olympics and Rome World Championships.
Women Women wear one-piece suits with thicker and higher backs for competition, though two-piece suits can also be worn during practice. Backs vary mainly in strap thickness and geometric design. Most common styles include: racerback, axel back, corset, diamondback, and butterfly-back/fly-back. There are also different style lengths: three-quarter length (reaches the knees), regular length (shoulders to hips), and
bikini style (two-piece). As of 1 January 2010, in competition, women must wear suits that do not go past the shoulders or knees.
Use of drag wear Drag suits are used to increase water resistance against the swimmer to help them train for competitions. Other forms of drag wear include nylons, old suits, and T-shirts: articles that increase friction in the water to build strength during training, and thus increase speed once drag items are removed for competition. Some swimmers practice in basketball shorts over their bathing suit, wearing two bathing suits, or wearing an extra bathing suit with holes cut in the material. Many swimmers also shave areas of exposed skin before end-of-season competitions to reduce friction in the water. The practice gained popularity after the 1956 Olympics, when Murray Rose and Jon Henricks came shaved and won gold medals for Australia. The disadvantages of using a drag suit include the depletion of proper stroke. This is caused by the swimmer's own fatigue. When the swimmer becomes more fatigued, different muscle groups become more tired. Consequently, the swimmer will try to engage another group of muscle to do the same thing, which can cause the stroke efficiency to drop.
Starting blocks Starting blocks may be used at the beginning of a race. They are positioned so that a swimmer will start in a crouched over posture with one foot positioned further forwards than the other, and with both feet set at an angle. The swimmer pushes off the blocks as part of their initial dive in an asymmetric manner, with the rear foot leaving its block first and the front foot after. Typically, the front foot pushes off with a greater amount of overall force. Starting blocks allow for a swimmer to dive with greater force and start faster. == Elite and international swimming ==