High school PE - speedos not allowed!

[electric2010]

My duaghter starts high school tomorrow & we received the following email from the school.

"All students taking PE I will need to have a swim suit for class. A one-piece suit is required for girls and a regular swim suit for boys (not a racing suit or "Speedo")."

Can't image why they would enforce such a policy. The school has very good swimteams & water polo teams, so I found this very surprising. Just another sign of the up tight US society.

[swimdude]

Electric,
I believe you might be exaggerating on this a little bit.
Technically this is P.E. or gym class.
My point still it is not an official swim team or water polo team so racing suits and speedos may not be needed.
But there is a loop pole in their word being "a regular swim suit" thus making it optional.
Because it is one's opinion of what they think is a regular suit is such as; trunks, speedos, boardshorts etc. Another point I'm making is that they never said they where no allowed.
Unless it comes up, then someone would of pointed out their error in wording.
Just trying to help out pal.

[scottishSpeedo]

Sounds like total prudish values (ala some of the US dress codes I've seen printed)

I know a lot of schools here in the UK used to REQUIRE speedos (called trunks here which are speedo briefs style, not the us shorts style trunks...) for school swimming...

[diveguy]

"All students taking PE I will need to have a swim suit for class. A one-piece suit is required for girls and a regular swim suit for boys (not a racing suit or "Speedo")."

If that's a direct quote from the memo, then I have to believe that the school's intention is that the boys in P.E. classes (not swim or water polo teams, just regular P.E.) NOT wear speedos. Which is sad. When I was in P.E. class in high school, they issued to us boys "Dolphin" swim suits, which were speedo-like in that the thighs were fully exposed, but they didn't ride low like speedos and were a lot looser, almost baggy. Thankfully they had drawstrings, and at least they were made of nylon, so baggy didn't equal draggy. I didn't know it at the time, but realized it many years later, that borrowed suit was sort of my first exposure to wearing a speedo at a time when I was really starting to notice and be intrigued by them. You didn't have to wear the school-issue Dolphin suit if you had your own real speedo, as did the boys who were on the swim team of course. The school frowned upon wearing long trunks because the goal was to teach/learn swimming, and long trunks are not good for swimming due to the drag they create. I guess now, the stupid fashion dictates have taken over and the boys are just not going to expose their legs and functional swimming be damned. Sad.

[ffboy357]

So, girls can show off with clingy Lycra suits and boys must wear baggy shorts?
What is a regular suit - according to this high school?

US is a strange place, when it comes to swimming attire.

In most places around the world - the girls/women are the ones who should be shy and protected from the society by excessive clothing. Some decades ago, the modern women clothing would be considered outrageous or even "slutish". I mean it is being like this for centuries in the past - until there was the cry for equality, feminism or whatever you want to name it.

So, as far as I see - women fought for their equality to express and show their bodies - this seems the natural path of evolution, and men in the US (and not only US) are now kinda of "de-volutioning"....

You can see, still preserved, the most extreme way of women clothing in the middle east.
You can check the women clothing during the middle ages - you know the dresses from neck to toe.
And even then - there was the cod piece for men. And now we have baggy shorts.

Why men became so shy of their manhood? Some people blame the gays, but I don't agree with this.
I think the modern man feels insecure somehow and so he searches constantly too show how men and macho he is. Why is that - can't say.

And again - if I am a parent of boy I will protest to such policy due to health consideration and the increased risk of incidents, when you swim with baggy shorts in a pool.

Don't judge me for my thoughts - I don't insists that this is the truth - it just what I was thinking lately.

[electric2010]

I was just so surprised by the policy. What I posted was a direct quote from the school email.

I would have expected the opposite policy. How can you expect guys to do any serious swimming in those big baggy shorts? You know that is what the guys will be wearing. The smaller loose trunks that are coming bag into style would be not as bad...but boardshorts? I really just don't get it...

I gues they're afraid that the boys may spend to much time looking at each other & won't pay attention to instructions.

[frankjath]

Hi electric2010 did you write back to the school to clarify? When I was in highschool we didn't have swim instruction in our P.E class because we didn't have a pool but we did have a trips to the water park every once and a while for the students who made the deans list. They told us that guys had to wear trunks as well but I showed up in my Speedo Solar and know one cared.

[rockman748]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it says a regular swim suit (not a RACING suit or a SPEEDO) what if you were wearing a pair of aussiebums? It's not a speedo. It is a swim brief, but not speedo. It's also not a racing suit, just a casual pair of swimwear. There you go, system flawed.

[Snowbrief]

My duaghter starts high school tomorrow & we received the following email from the school.

"All students taking PE I will need to have a swim suit for class. A one-piece suit is required for girls and a regular swim suit for boys (not a racing suit or "Speedo")."

Can't image why they would enforce such a policy. The school has very good swimteams & water polo teams, so I found this very surprising. Just another sign of the up tight US society.

I'm more in line with swimdude on this one. I do not read into this statement that either a racing suit or briefs are not allowed; I read the statement as defining what they mean by a regular swim suit.

With the school having a swim team and a water polo team, what I get out of this is that the school wants to let the parent's know that just because the school has these teams doesn't mean that in Physical Education, the student has to wear one of the school's team suit. The objective of Physical Education is much different then being on a team and with the school stating specifically that the girls have to be in a one-piece, they don't want the kids to think this is beach time either, it's to get exercise.

The guys are actually the lucky ones with this policy. There likely will be little time in the pool during class time so the guy's will be able to wear the same shorts in the pool as they will on the court (knowing that what ever shorts they have in their gym bag will stay in their gym bag and by Christmas time, the shorts, and the bag, will be so rancid that both will have to be thrown out, boys will always be boys). The girls are the ones being shorted here, they will have to get a new suit if all they have are bikinis, and can't wear the same thing for every activity.

What I find more noteworthy here is that the school can still support BOTH a swim team AND a water polo team, and you said this in plural. How are the teams doing and do they have enough kids going out for the teams, full roosters? How big is the school?

[karlos]

Sounds like total prudish values (ala some of the US dress codes I've seen printed)

I know a lot of schools here in the UK used to REQUIRE speedos (called trunks here which are speedo briefs style, not the us shorts style trunks...) for school swimming...

from what I've observed at the local pool I go to that most of the local schools use for the compulsory swimming lessons, as it tends to be quieter during the day in-between the school lessons. All the girls wear a full on piece swimsuit and the boys are normally all wearing knee length baggy swim shorts with the odd few wearing aqua shorts.

The only time I've seen anyone wear speedos at the pool have been the very occasional lap swimmer, but even then you find some wearing board shorts. Heck, even the other week during a general swim session I was the ONLY guy in the entire pool wearing a pair of knee length jammers, with all the other kids/guy preferring to stick with less revealing dork shorts. I even got one complaint from one slightly porky female in a bikini (not a good look and one I don't find attractive) that my chosen swimwear was too revealing and should get a 'proper' pair of trunks.

[sweetjackie]

I cant believe this? Im so afraid that this will happen also in Sweden!? What will we do if this rules gets to the local pools? No more swimming, only in shorts? I will rather die (or not swim at all).

[diveguy]

I cant believe this? Im so afraid that this will happen also in Sweden!? What will we do if this rules gets to the local pools? No more swimming, only in shorts? I will rather die (or not swim at all).

Then we'll all have to move to France. Where Speedos are mandatory, and dork shorts are banned. God bless the French!

[electric2010]

Hey snow, gotta tell you that my daughter was not much better at bringing her gym attire home for laundering...

Water polo, swimming, and diving are big in our area. Right now for water polo, there are JV & varsity teams for both the girls & boys. In fact, our schools biggest rival has a huge boys water polo team. I'll be finding out how big the swim teams are in a few months...

Club swimming is big here, too. There are both summer & winter leagues. Some teams have kids as young as 5 on them. So, has HS swim created the interest in club swimming, or has all the club swimming kept the interest up in HS? I guess this is the age old chicken & egg question...

[DrD]

Bloody stupid! Yeah most boys won't wear them (unless they swim for a club or are serious) so what's the problem if some do? Nothing?

It's not as if they were naked...

[Norfcountryboy]

Ah well, if schools ban 'em it'll just make Speedo's more popular...

[guitarzan]

Is this a public school? The reason I'm asking is that while private entities have more freedom to discriminate (like say Alton Towers) public ones are held to a higher standard. A few years ago, here in Utah, the town of Kanab tried banning bikinis for women and swim briefs for men at their public pool. It didn't last long. In addition to the shaming it got from national media, I understand the town council was also informed that if this were challenged in court, the town would likely loose. So if you're ever passing through Kanab don't forget to hit the public pool in your speedo. Yep, every once in a while we win one.

[Snowbrief]

Hey snow, gotta tell you that my daughter was not much better at bringing her gym attire home for laundering...

Water polo, swimming, and diving are big in our area. Right now for water polo, there are JV & varsity teams for both the girls & boys. In fact, our schools biggest rival has a huge boys water polo team. I'll be finding out how big the swim teams are in a few months...

Club swimming is big here, too. There are both summer & winter leagues. Some teams have kids as young as 5 on them. So, has HS swim created the interest in club swimming, or has all the club swimming kept the interest up in HS? I guess this is the age old chicken & egg question...

I personally find this refreshing that in southern Pennsylvania, there are kids growing up not being shamed for wearing speedo style suits, even if only for their sport. And for the school to have a JV team, there are kids starting young at school, just not out in a club, but being comfortable in their smaller suits.

Knowing this, it makes more sense for the school to make the statement on PE attire. Their is already enough ridicule and shame in USA's middle school/high school PE classes, they are trying to keep everyone on an even playing field....which is hard enough for the PE teachers as it is.

[hispeedofan]

Hi electric2010 did you write back to the school to clarify? When I was in highschool we didn't have swim instruction in our P.E class because we didn't have a pool but we did have a trips to the water park every once and a while for the students who made the deans list. They told us that guys had to wear trunks as well but I showed up in my Speedo Solar and know one cared.

It might be a little odd if he writes to the school about the boys' swimsuit policy when he has a daughter enrolled there.

[nmspeedoboi]

Brings back memories of my HS gym swim classes - none of them particularly good. First of all I had PE first period, so it was usually cold and the pool, while heated of course, was outdoors. Secondly, the school supplied the only "swim suits" allowed for PE swim class. They were a faded yellow sort of "semi brief" style suit made of the same material that sweat pants are made of. They were sloppy and baggy and if it weren't for the draw string, mine wouldn't even stay up when it was totally dry. When they got wet and you climbed out of the pool, it felt like you were wearing a sopping wet bath towel rather than a swim suit. Awful! I finally connived my way out of having to finish the miserable class, using a rash I developed as my excuse, and later took swim lessons at the local YMCA. MUCH better! First of all the instructor, rather than being a pot bellied middle aged duffer who stood at the edge of the pool wearing slacks and a jacket and barking orders, was a cute young college girl - probably in about her senior year - who wore a swimsuit and actually got into the water to demonstrate what she was teaching and to assist the students in learning what she was teaching. She was an excellent teacher. And she advised the boys in the class (it was co-ed) that they should wear speedo style suits if they wanted to really learn to swim well and get the most out of the class, particularly the advanced racing maneuvers and strokes. Most of the boys took her advise, though in my case it wasn't necessary since I showed up wearing a speedo on the first day. Thanks to her outstanding instruction and my strong desire to learn and practice, I became an excellent swimmer.

[frankjath]

Hi electric2010 did you write back to the school to clarify? When I was in highschool we didn't have swim instruction in our P.E class because we didn't have a pool but we did have a trips to the water park every once and a while for the students who made the deans list. They told us that guys had to wear trunks as well but I showed up in my Speedo Solar and know one cared.

It might be a little odd if he writes to the school about the boys' swimsuit policy when he has a daughter enrolled there.

You have a point didn't think about that.