Swim briefs

Water polo player wearing swim briefs.

A swim brief, or racing brief, refers to any briefs style male swimsuit such as those worn in competitive swimming and diving. The popularity of the Australian Speedo brand racing brief has led to the use of its name to refer to any racing brief, regardless of the maker. Occasionally, the Speedo genericized trademark also applies to square cut swimsuit, but in general the generic term is used in reference to swim briefs. Swim briefs are also referred to as competition briefs, bathers, racer bathers, posing briefs, racing briefs, and colloquially in Australia as "budgie smugglers".^[1]

Like underwear briefs, swim briefs feature a V-shape front and a solid back providing form-fitting coverage. They typically are worn below the lower waist. They are generally secured by thin banding at the upper thighs and either a drawstring around the waist or an elastic waistband. Swim briefs are most often made of a nylon and spandex (Lycra) composite, while some longer lasting suits are made from polyester and still others from other materials. Most swim briefs have a beige or white front lining made of a similar fabric.

Use and popularity

Swim briefs are worn by professional and recreational athletes in many water sports. They are the standard for competitive diving and water polo, and are preferred in competitive swimming for the reduction of the water's drag on the swimmer, although longer suits made from high-technology swimwear fabric, such as Speedo's LZR Racer, are sometimes worn instead of the swim brief. Participants in sports that require a wetsuit such as waterskiing, scuba diving, surfing, and wakeboarding often wear swim briefs as an undergarment to the wetsuit.

While swim briefs are used worldwide by athletes for water sports, the popularity of swim briefs as casual beachwear and swim wear varies throughout the world. In some European countries, swim briefs are very popular among male casual swimmers and beach goers. In the United States and Britain, the roomier and less revealing trunks or board shorts are the suits preferred for recreation, although swim briefs are always seen to some extent.^[2][3] Reasons swim briefs are chosen for recreation include style, ease of movement in the water, sunshine exposure, quick drying time, and the ability to be worn under pants or shorts.

Styles

Male model wearing racing briefs, 2003.

Briefs worn for competitive and recreational swimming are manufactured in standard sizes and in waist measurements. They are available in a wide variety of solid colors and patterned designs.

Racing suits

Comparison of jammer and swim brief types of swim suits.

The most common racing suit styles are 1.5 inch to 3 inch paneled briefs (as measured by the height of the suit's side panel). The racing suit's main function is to reduce the drag of an athlete in water, thus improving his time. For this reason racing suits are made of materials that hug the body, minimize friction and minimize water retention. Spandex (Lycra) suits generally produce less drag, but are also more vulnerable to prolonged exposure to chlorine than nylon. Therefore, nylon suits are preferred for training and practice, where the increased durability is required for the long periods of usage and the extra resistance brings a training benefit. Lycra suits (and composite hi-tech swimwear fabrics) are preferred for actual racing. In water polo and sometimes in diving, suits may have panels greater than 3 inches.

Water polo players generally wear racing suits. This is to minimize the fabric available to grabbing and pulling by opponents - actions that are illegal yet often happen underwater - while not compromising the strength of the fabric. High-level players wear specialized suits, usually of a very tight fit and made of thicker, tougher and more slippery fabric, intended to thwart pulling and grabbing during rough play; they often wear two suits on top of each other.

Triathlon swimming briefs

A special variety of briefs made for the triathlon features the racing suit's design for the swimming portion of the race but also incorporates light padding in the crotch of the garment for the bicycle portion of the race. This is a lighter version of the chamois leather in cycling shorts, to allow running in to be performed more efficiently and the shorts to dry faster after the swim.

Men's bikinis

Body builder in a posing brief.

Suits less than 1.5 inches wide at the hips, sometimes called bikinis, are less common for sporting purposes and, unlike the racing style, are not designed specifically for drag reduction. Bikinis are most often worn for recreation, fashion, and sun tanning where minimal suit coverage is preferred. An extremely brief version of this style, known as the posing brief, is the standard for competitions in the sport of bodybuilding.

Manufacturers

In addition to the style's namesake company Speedo, competitive briefs-style swimwear are produced by companies including Nike, Tyr, Dolfin, Arena, Kiefer, Adidas and aussieBum. Many of these companies have expanded their merchandise to reflect recent trends in water sports. These include the growing popularity of the jammer style and the development of full body suits for competitive swimming.

On the fashion end, several designer companies including Nautica have begun lines of brief style suits in the United States. Most designer brands of male swimwear in Europe, Asia and Australia produce lines of brief style suits.

References

1. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1796509.htm
2. ^ AskMen.com - Man in Speedo
3. ^ To be brief - no thanks! - 29 Dec 2004 - NZ Herald: Lifestyle News and Reviews from New Zealand and around the World

External links

• OzWords October 2003 A humorous take on swim briefs in Australia