IU Purdue Swimming and Diving Meet

[Byron]

Good to read your post - especially as I too have encountered that modesty-with-towel routine in the changing room, performed by a very competent swimmer with really neat swimbriefs.
The psychoanalysis of it fascinates me - but I will say no more as I am bound to see an immediate riposte from somewhere, accusing me of trying to be superior* and rule the world - or other assorted nonsense.


* I will take a risk and ask did you know the loco. print represents the Ironworks?

[Swimmboy]

Yes, the infamous 'towel dance'. I swim at a pool that has hosted many top-level meets of high school and college swimmers - and the majority of them change under a towel in the locker room! Now, part of that may be because lots of male swimmers used to change on the pool deck - they'd wrap a towel around the waist, reach under it and pull down their swimsuit, pull on some boxers (usually) or briefs, then remove the towel and pull shorts or pants on. US Swimming banned deck changing maybe a year or two ago at big meets, though college teams may still allow it? So maybe the guys just got accustomed to doing the 'towel dance', but once you are inside a locker room, why not just strip down, dry off, and pull on your underwear and clothes? I am sure shyness is still a major factor. A few years ago, I was swimming at a college outdoor pool when I spied a guy from the college team swimming in a nearby lane - in his team Speedo! BUT, at the conclusion of his swim, he stopped at the end of his lane and grabbed something I hadn't noticed - some board shorts he had left on the deck! He pulled those on while still in the water, then, once properly covered, he hopped out of the pool! I was stunned - a varsity college swimmer who swims in a brief Speedo was embarrassed to be seen at his college outdoor pool in the same Speedo that has his school's name across the butt? Everyone would have seen the team logo and thought, "Oh, cool, he's on the college team here so he's wearing his team Speedo," but he was too shy to be seen in it except in the indoor competition pool???

[Dooley67]

Since I started swimming at the Y, I've noticed that guys who are in their 30's through 60's walk to and from the shower and then in the locker area naked just holding their towel. There isn't the towel dance that Swimmboy described among this age group. But younger guys are the ones who do the towel dance so maybe it's related to age and the incomplete development of self confidence among late adolescents and younger adults. Maybe the modesty of these guys is a reflection of their unsure sense of their body image, a big issue for all adolescents.

Specifically in the example given by Swimmboy, maybe that young man was out of his comfort zone. It's comfortable to be wearing his brief suit along with his teammates at the indoor pool during practices and meets, but at the outdoor pool by himself, he was no longer in his comfort zone. Just a hypothesis.

[California Dolphin]

I've Googled the phrase "College Swim Teams 2014" and there are a lot of recent photos of guys in speedos.

For example:
http://thekenyonthrill.com/2014/03/2...made-buzzfeed/

[shaulis]

I haven't seen the towel dance at the pool I swim at since I joined. There must have been a problem at one time because now there is a sign advising to change in locker area only.

[Bede735]

Conversely, I find it really strange how some guys have worn board shorts to swim in, but then shower and walk around the changing room (men's of course) naked.

Would that mean if there was such a thing as a male only swimming session, they would wear briefs?

[miloandtock1]

Today got treated to a nice treat at the aquatic center at Purdue - the men's team had a self-imposed practice starting right after the pool opened to the public. They ended up using the lanes in the diving well though, however they were all coming out in ones and twos from the locker room into the pool area in their speedos. Most guys wore a standard black speedo (not the team speedo with the Purdue P on it), two wore the shades of pink breast cancer speedo and two others had multi colored suits on.
My gaydar went off several times, not because of the speedos...some of these guys...are definitely family..take a look at some of the handsomeness that pervades Boilermaker swimming and diving.
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/...sterRoster.pdf