Hey Prof......

[louis]

what is the difference between a thong and a jock
why do water polo players wear speedos instead of squarecuts and why so low
why do springboard divers wear speedos instead of suuarecutsI WANNA LEARN.....

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Not sure on the jock v. thong.

Water polo players like brief style cut for a couple reasons. First less suit to get grabbed and because the fit around the legs on a brief is a much tighter grip than on a square cut, briefs are harder to grab. Second is that briefs do not bunch, but with all the kicking and flipping, square cuts can bunch a bit on the legs, again easier to grab and more restrictive.

For divers, it is alot of the same. Less constriction in a brief and a brief shows off your form better. Diving is skill, but watching a dive is grace. When you come out of a dive, a brief is still tight and smooth on the body, but a square cut might have bunching or creases. Plus the fit of a brief just feels more secure. Having said that Diver Matthew Mitchem does some of his dives in Funky Trunks, which are both brief and more square.

I am sure there are other reasons, too.

Finally, as a swimmer, race briefs just look so hot

[Byron]

any other professeurs on the subject?

[sebbie]

Generally, a jock has two leg straps that go no where's near the butt crease and a completely bare rear.

Usually a thong has a single strap in the rear that goes over or perhaps right into the butt crack, depending on exactly how long and wide the strap is and the size of the thong relative to the size of the thong wearer..

Also, Most jocks have wider (often one inch or more) elastic waist bands attached to a pouch with the pouch made of a textured rubber/cotton. I have seen a few jocks designed like this with a single rear strap like a thong, tho they are rare. Thongs can be found in any number of materials, all cotton, cotton/lycra, nylon/lycra etc.

The right (or perhaps wrong LOL) thong can put a lot of tension on the perineum area, which some guys are quite unaccustomed to, at least until they figure it out. There are a lot of nerve endings at the exact point where the thong strap attaches to the pouch of the thong, and the sensations can be, well, interesting to say the least. There is a little of that going on with the typical jock as well where the leg straps are attached to the pouch, but not to the degree it ordinarily happens with a thong.

Unless they are brain-dead most guys seem to get more than a little aroused when they put on a thong or jock strap for the first time. This has basically nothing to do with sexual orientation, but merely a natural body and mind reaction to the entire situation and having straps and elastic tugging at places where straps have never touched or tugged before.

Any guy who played a sport as a youth that required wearing a jock strap for the first time no doubt knows what I am talking about, not unlike a swimmer who puts on a Speedo for the first time. Most guys look back on this with mixed feelings involving a combination of wonder, amazement and apprehension. Something surely interesting is clearly happening but what it is could be really embarrassing as well. These mixed feelings are quite normal and a normal part of growing up.

Sebbie

[allniter]

Diving is skill, but watching a dive is grace.

Watching a dive is heaven!!!, especially as they pull themselves out of the water.

[Swimmboy]

I agree that polo players prefer the briefer suits because there is less fabric for a nefarious opponent to grab - but I honestly think many water polo guys wear EXTREMELY brief suits (I've seen many that reveal pubes and lots of butt crack) because they are such cocky, macho studs, and they absolutely LOVE flaunting their hot, muscled bodies.

[California Dolphin]

As far as swimming is concerned, "The less, the better" and briefs and square cuts don't have the "Swimming with your clothes on" sensation like suits with more coverage.

I wear briefs because I like the feel of more nudity when in the water. However the choice between briefs and a square cut is how much of an "athletic supporter" you need.

CD

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

I posted this topic before, but it is interes\ting that there is an emerging shift back to briefs among swimmers. I am starting to see more HS and college guys shedding the jammers and getting back into briefs. The same is slowly happening in running, as runners are starting to return to shorter cut shorts with open split side seams. Beyond the aesthetic qualities, there is a clear performance value to both.

[Swimmboy]

I have been a collegiate swimming official since the mid-1990s. Among college males, there has always been a preference for the brief suits during regular meets. Only during year-end/conference championships is there a move to jammers (and briefly the leggings and full-body suits until they were thankfully banned), because scientific tests have proven the more skin covered by these 'super' fabrics, swimmers do indeed go slightly faster. But for 90% of collegiate meets, the brief suits never went away. Visit any local college or university and watch a swim meet over the next 3-4 weeks and you will see all the briefs you can handle. But the championship season begins in mid-February - THAT'S when the jammers will appear!

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Agree swimmboy, but as a past collegiate swimmer and a follower of the sport I have to say that I am seeing more briefs than the past few years. I do see the shift more at HS level than college for sure, where briefs were always common. I agree with your assessment, at the finals we all do whatever it takes, and the legal tech jammers will come back on the swimmers (and probably should). Ironically when I was swimming, the less is more concept was the prevailing thought, hence the paper suits and the radical downsizing.