Speedos getting harder to buy
 

Has anyone noticed the decline in shops selling speedos and swim briefs? Years back you would be spoilt for choice of stores to buy them but even a lot of sports stores dont sell them. Theres barely a few shops now i can pick up a pair

but there has been a huge increase in on line outlets. Some guys would find buying a garment as skimpy as a Speedo to be a bit embarrassing to purchase. The idea of making the purchase on line solves the problem.

I assume your commenting on their reduced popularity rather than availability.
I think in the Anglosphere (mainly North America, Britain and Australia) wearing a brief in public has been slowly evolving into an exclusively female activity since the turn of the century.

speedos on the rise
 

I've actually noticed that speedos are becoming more popular than jammers for boys high school swim teams.

That's good to hear. Jammers look and feel just plain weird and they are especially annoying for swimming and not any better for dry land athletics.

Interestingly, 1980s vintage short shorts are still the norm for cross country running. :D

One of the pools I go to also has high school swimmers and this year they are more into briefs than jammers I would say. Especially the older boys in the 14+ category where they are pretty much 100% briefs now and last year it was closer to 50/50.

Briefs are cheaper and much more comfortable.

Not scientific by any means but that is what I noticed.
Anyway I am happy they are doing sports.

The other pool I go to is more of the jammer type.

I remember reading last year about a declining rate of young people getting into competitive swimming. (Article referred to the United States but I suspect a similar trend, at least in what was referred to above as the anglosphere.

The article was non-scientific but the writer theorized that it was due to issues with body-consciousness. The writer discussed alot of ways the body issues young women face make them disinclined to wear a swimsuit. Didnt go into depth with young men; is a funny omission given that I expect the average young man is more nervous about wearing a speedo than a woman would be wearing a one-piece suit.

Some teams the guys wear tights for cross country as well.

Unfortunately, true.
Go into a big box sporting goods store and consider yourself lucky if they sell any briefs. If they do, you get a choice of navy blue or black.

Contrast that with the 1980s, when Speedo had stores in most major shopping malls. You could easily max out a credit card without making a dent in their inventory.

Speedos need to fit perfectly, so online shopping isn’t a viable alternative to hitting a local store. Fortunately my city has a wonderful swim shop with a good selection.

Ever tried running in longer shorts? Friction from chafing can be a major concern, so runners never adopted the long shorts popularized by basketball players. The only long shorts runners like are the jammer-length spandex ones or - in cold weather - full length tights.