# Why do professional swimmers shave their bodies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879 "2006-08-15T21:41:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/21 "2006-08-16T11:11:25Z")
[QUOTE=MilTan] Bikers don’t shave for drag reasons. They shave because treating the inevitable scrapes and wounds is easier if there isn’t hair in the way. [/QUOTE] Nope. Drag is significant when riding at speed. It is like 80% of your energy, so yah, leg hair introduces turbulence into the laminar flow of air around the legs. Since the legs present verticaly across the airstream, they are a major contributor to the frontal area. Also shaving keeps the legs cool. Tried it, but since I was not cycling competitively decided it wasn’t worth the hassle and irritation. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/22 "2006-08-16T12:55:45Z")
[QUOTE=Cartooniverse] Assuming you are dead serious, I’d be surprised if women’s swimming records have been set by women swimming naked. The most streamlined body making the least resistance using the same caloric output tends to win. Women have those boobies things. Untethered by Speedo fabric, I suspect that a given woman would not be as hydrodynamic as the same given woman who was clothed in her swimsuit. [/QUOTE] Competitive women swimmers tend to be a bit more hydrodynamic in that regard than other women, since they’re literally swimming those off… [QUOTE=Noel Prosequi] Oh, and professional swimmers? they may not get paid piece rates per meet or per race, but Thorpe is a multimillionaire with no other saleable talent that justifies that level of wealth. [/QUOTE] Well, he makes [pearl necklaces](http://www.pearlautore.com.au/thorpe_ad/main.htm) ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/23 "2006-08-16T15:03:59Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Wanderer] Nope. Drag is significant when riding at speed. It is like 80% of your energy, so yah, leg hair introduces turbulence into the laminar flow of air around the legs. [/QUOTE] You’re presuming that turbulent flow is a bad thing in this case. But a human calf in a 25-mph crossflow has a Reynolds number very similar to that of a golf ball coming off a club. Golf balls have dimples to reduce drag by _increasing_ turbulence. Leg hair should help in a similar way, by promoting a turbulent boundary layer that fills in the wake. So if drag reduction were the only concern, hairy legs ought to be better. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/24 "2006-08-16T15:07:10Z")
[QUOTE=Lightray] Well, he makes [pearl necklaces](http://www.pearlautore.com.au/thorpe_ad/main.htm) [/QUOTE] 'nuff said, really. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/25 "2006-08-16T15:23:43Z")
I remember that at one Olympics some women did a late-night naked timed test to see if they were faster without their suits. They reported that they _felt_ like they swam faster, but the times were universally slower. No cite (nor pictures), sorry. We shaved right before the end of year meets, and I remember it feeling slightly different in the water. We thought it reduced drag somewhat but it also made your legs feel a bit tingly and helped reduce fatige. Or so we thought. I suspect a lot of it was ritual and physchology, both of which contribute to better times. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/26 "2006-08-16T16:23:12Z")
[QUOTE=Lightray] Competitive women swimmers tend to be a bit more hydrodynamic in that regard than other women, since they’re literally swimming those off… [/QUOTE] A perusal of broadcasts from say, the last two summer Olympics roundly disputes this statement. One can assume that if a woman can make the Olympic team, she’s just about as good as it gets in her country. Plenty of average sized gals, boob-wise and sometimes a larger-endowed gal as well. I was madly in love with a gal who swam quite seriously in high school. No idea if she continued into college. She was very large up top. I never asked her if it was a drag. 🆒 I also would love some cites proving that 30-40 years ago men and boys swam naked when no women were present. God I feel old. I’m capable of disputing a 30 year old assertion by dint of having lived through that time. I’m 44. I swam at the local Y, at people’s house parties, at the high school pool and in various ponds. I went swimming during Cub Scout trips. Not once did I witness nude swimming. Ever. Methinks you are passing along an Urban Legend… ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/27 "2006-08-16T16:33:40Z")
Suppose that somebody invented a coating, that when appliet to the skin, would reduce drag…such that a swimmer using this would have a subtantial advantage. Would this be legal to use? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/28 "2006-08-16T16:49:08Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal] I would love to hear a cite for HS swim teams swimming naked in 1966. My dad was out of college before that even, and he says he’s never heard of it. I just can’t imagine it, for legal reasons, really. This wasn’t the swimming hole in “The Great Brain.” [/QUOTE] My stepdad, who attended both Steinmetz and Lane Tech here in Chicago in the 50’s said that the boys swimming classes were done in the nude. He’s also mentioned that he hated going to swim class. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/29 "2006-08-16T17:41:04Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Suppose that somebody invented a coating, that when appliet to the skin, would reduce drag..such that a swimmer using this would have a subtantial advantage. Would this be legal to use? 😕 [/QUOTE] I don’t know for sure and FINA rules don’t say anything about it that I have found. They do say: > [@](#): > > In swimming competitions the competitor must wear swimsuit in one or two pieces which shall not extend beyond the ankles, the wrists and the neck. No additional items, like arm bands or leg bands shall be regarded as parts of a swimsuit. > The swimwear (swimsuit, cap and goggles) of all competitors shall be in good moral taste and suitable for the individual sports disciplines and not to carry any symbol which may be considered offensive. I do remember in high school someone had some sort of cream like that, tried it once, don’t know that it helped at all though. I would say probably not legal though. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/30 "2006-08-16T17:41:46Z")
Ahhh. Chicago. Why didn’t you say so before ? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/31 "2006-08-16T18:24:28Z")
[QUOTE=Cartooniverse] Ahhh. Chicago. Why didn’t you say so before ? 😃 [/QUOTE] I was busy viciously overfeeding there here ducks and geese so I can have some brutally tasty foie gras. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/32 "2006-08-16T18:42:06Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal] I would love to hear a cite for HS swim teams swimming naked in 1966. My dad was out of college before that even, and he says he’s never heard of it. I just can’t imagine it, for legal reasons, really. [/QUOTE] Not too many high schools have swimming pools, but this was a common practice at colleges and YMCAs. For instance, the [Seattle YMCA](http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3100) had nude swimming from the 1890s to the 1970s. A handbook from the 1920s said, “The wearing of swimming suits or supporters will not be allowed except by permission from the director.” ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/33 "2006-08-16T19:02:33Z")
[Nude swimming in high school in the 1960s](http://www.doctoryourself.com/exercise_avoid.html). [Nude swimming in high school in Chicago in the 1970s.](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5597441) Public schools in Duluth, Minnesota, also did it into the 1970s. [Swimming nude at the YMCA in Ohio in the 1960s.](http://www.sensations4women.com/board/messages/5178.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/34 "2006-08-16T20:12:00Z")
Perhaps the next time you eagerly leap to the fore to prove me wrong, you might take the time I just took and read the cites you linked into SDMB. The second link and third link are identical pages. The fact that you have titled them differently is irrelevant. So, what we have here are two cites, not three. The first and second cites are anecdotal, not cites showing written policy by a YMCA or by a municipality or school district. The second cite is also so far beyond believable as to almost qualify as some sick flavor of pornography. Dozens of female classmates laughing and pointing at their 12 year old schoolmate who is stark naked- with a female swim instructor instructing an entire pool full of naked boys and young men ? Please. :rolleyes: The third cite is identical to the second cite, and therefore is irrelevant. So. I ask again. Cite ? Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/35 "2006-08-16T20:14:19Z")
Holy moley. Well, that’s interesting. I just went back to re-read the cites, and indeed they **are** three distinct cites. I do apologize for that portion of my last post, however the third cite is the one I had linked as the second- and basically, it’s bad porn. Ok? The second one is a sentence or two that imparts no hard facts. The first one sounds real. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/36 "2006-08-16T20:19:22Z")
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/37 "2006-08-16T20:34:05Z")
[Numerous other recollections of nude swimming in high school in 1950s-1970s.](http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/23714) Photo from _Life_ magazine in 1950 of New Trier Township High School in the Chicago suburbs (rear nudity): [flickr.com/photos/dcwooten/64765758/in/set-971245/](http://flickr.com/photos/dcwooten/64765758/in/set-971245/) ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/38 "2006-08-16T20:52:13Z")
While men and boys often swam naked in all-male enviroments I’ve never hear any credible stories of female instructors/life guards and nude male swimmers, except for for very young boys. My own father learned to swim at a YMCA, but doesn’t remember women ever being present except on family nights when the boys wore suits. Remember society has gotten really restrictive regarding male nudity since the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/39 "2006-08-16T23:08:42Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] While men and boys often swam naked in all-male enviroments I’ve never hear any credible stories of female instructors/life guards and nude male swimmers, except for for very young boys. My own father learned to swim at a YMCA, but doesn’t remember women ever being present except on family nights when the boys wore suits. Remember society has gotten really restrictive regarding male nudity since the 70s. [/QUOTE] I readily agree, and might suggest that the idea of a young teenage girl stepping into a swimming pool and placing her palms under the buttocks of a naked 12 year old young man is not a credible cite. The photo from Life? Assuming it is a real link, I can’t argue with Life Magazine. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879/40 "2006-08-17T00:15:58Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Suppose that somebody invented a coating, that when appliet to the skin, would reduce drag..such that a swimmer using this would have a subtantial advantage. Would this be legal to use? 😕 [/QUOTE] When I was in high school 20 or so years ago, there was some stuff you could apply called “Motion Lotion.” There was also a spray called “Time-Off.” I used them, like everyone else, in the final championship meets. They had no discernable effect whatsoever, beyond the psychological. I do recall that we were cautioned not to get them on our hands, inner arms, or lower legs. The idea was that you wanted drag there, since these parts of the body produced your motive force. Since virtually everyone at the meet was competing, and you didn’t want to get them on your hands, our swim trainer (a cute senior girl) applied them. 😃 Personally, I also rubbed [Sportcreme](http://www.chattem.com/products/sprt.asp) on my arms in meets following my warm-up. The smell alone would psych me up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-professional-swimmers-shave-their-bodies/368879.md?page=3)