Sportswear

U.S. Navy sailors exercising in the presence of a fitness instructor. All of them are wearing sportswear appropriate for doing exercise.
100 m race record holder Usain Bolt (in yellow) and other runners in sportswear.

Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.

Typical sport-specific garments include tracksuits, shorts, football or basketball jerseys, t-shirts and polo shirts. Specialized garments include swimsuits (for swimming), wet suits (for diving or surfing), ski suits (for skiing) and leotards and tights (for gymnastics or aerobics). Sports footwear includes football boots (also referred to as cletes), trainers, riding boots, tennis shoes (or running shoes), or ice skates. Sportswear also includes sports bras for running, crop tops, or a bikini top. Sportswear is often worn as casual fashion clothing.

For most sports the athletes wear a combination of different items of clothing, e.g. sport shoes, pants and shirts. In some sports, protective gear may need to be worn, such as helmets or American football body armour. Especially in team sports which involved blocking, intercepting, or pursuing small, hard projectiles such as cricket, baseball, and hockey (where balls or pucks are struck to speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour (45 m/s)) jockstraps (or jillstraps) are standard equipment at higher levels of play. Other undergarments, such as the sports bra, furnish a mixture of protection, support and comfort. Some protective or supportive orthotics resemble and function as undergarments (especially flexible harnesses and braces); though intended to be worn for sports, these are not generally conceived of as sportswear per se.

Sports fabrics are technical materials which help to keep the wearer comfortable during exercise. The type of fabric required will depend upon the intensity of the exercise and the activity. Gym or Yoga clothing uses fabrics with exceptional stretch ability for easy movement which will likely require the fabric to be cotton, nylon or lycra. Apparel for long-distance running will keep the wearer in good comfort if it has excellent moisture wicking properties to enable sweat to transfer from the inside to the outside for the garment. Performance clothing for outdoor sports in the winter or snow sports should use breathable fabrics with very good insulating properties.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · View on Wikipedia

Developed by Nelliwinne