I absolutely hate the look and feel of compression shorts.

A large department store had a 50% off men's underwear and I
inadvertently picked up a package of jammer style cotton underwear. I've worn them on several occasions and find them rather uncomfortable. So I can imagine how bad lycra and spandex jammers feel.

My opinion is that compression shorts and jammers are just a streamlined version of the "half pants" or "leg veils" that are passed off as men's "shorts".

But sometimes an article of clothing is designed to actually help a person perform well in his sport. Not so much as a fashion statement. Jammers are believed to be the fastest LEGAL men's wear in the sport of swimming, competitive swimming that is, which has rules about what to wear. Now pretty obviously most serious swimmers would prefer a brief for practice and workout but there must be a reason they wear a jammer to a world record performance. The sport has come a long way since Mark Spitz posed for his portrait wearing seven gold medals. And a patriotic speedo.

Somehow I regard choosing clothing that gives you an advantage, over performing naked, unless the clothing is there for protection from the environment or the sport to be cheating.
We had this over the hydrodynamic properties of full body swim suit fabrics which were eventually banned.

Speedos, (split sided) running shorts and cycle shorts all provide appropriate modesty for public viewing and total freedom of movement. Cycle shorts also provide padding for the riders comfort and protection.

Compression shorts offer muscle performance advantage, maybe useful in training but not in competition.

I guess at some point we have to determine whether we're in it for the sport or to put on a show. Looks like to try to do both either alarms or disappoints. LOL
Overhearing some swim moms at practice the other day it sounds like they wish their boys would wear speedos. They sat there and named off all those who had, over the years. They determined that it was only the oldest, those in high school. And that the younger ones were too self conscious, or afraid of being ridiculed. I don't recall having that problem as a young team member in a speedo, we didn't have a choice. That made it unnecessary to worry about, and there wasn't any reason to pick on one who wore a brief racing suit.

If "jammers" were around in my high school days in the 1960s and 70s, everyone would have ridiculed them as being absolutely weird.

Despite their present acceptance, I still believe that jammers are the weirdest looking clothing ever devised. As a swim suit, jammers give the impression of a guy wearing pants with out a shirt.

Those basketball "shorts" and "Half Pants" are the next worse. They distort the shape and form of the human body and they give the impression of Downs Syndrome (a deformity with short legs and a long torso).

Thankfully, a lot of guys are finally rejecting the status quo and the 1980s shorts are making a come back.

Good...
 

....but I'm even more confused - has Torchwatch got competition and training the wrong way round?

No confusion, compression shorts may be permitted in training but give an unfair advantage in competition and should be banned.

thanks
 

Using the word permitted makes the post much clearer.....

While learning this drill today I noticed that maybe a third of the boys on this team like their briefs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEQei...ature=youtu.be