Skater Fashion Faux Pas

I went to our home track late in the afternoon for my delayed interval sessions. I've heard often how skaters work so hard in training that they had to vomit though I have never come anywhere near that...until today. Those ten minutes of intervals was probably one of the most physically demanding ten minutes I've endured so far. When I came to my last two reps, I slowed down considerably for the simple reason that I was trying hard to hold it in. Yuck.

Skinsuit is one of those rite of passage thing for anyone first taking up speedskating. In my club, a skater typically start off with baggy shirts and baggy shorts before progressing to more slim-cut clothing made of technical fabric. For some, the transition to skinsuit is pretty quick but for others, they may never feel comfortable with a one-piece skin tight garment. That's all fine and dandy but recently I come to the realization that there is also a time and place for skinsuit. If you are one of the skinsuit advocates, have you ever show up in a social skate decked out in all your Bont/Luigino/club suit glory only to discover everyone around you are in T-shirt and shorts? I have, far too many times, and frankly feel stupid every time.

Your choice of skating attire can say so much without you even uttering a single word. A few weeks ago, I showed up at practice unprepared so I ended up skating in my T-shirt and low-rise jeans (very very bad idea). I thought it would be amusing if in lieu of matching skinsuits, our relay team come dressed in matching T-shirt and jeans. Coach AH immediately responded "Only if you win the race". I suppose there is the notion that showing up at the race with "inappropriate" clothing is a sign of disrespect for your competitors. So if you end up getting your butt kicked, it's a double whammy that you can't live up to your arrogance.

I'm not sure I like this whole idea of conformance though it is something amusing to think about.

Comments

[Mike]

It's called having civvies in your car. Or go with this:

http://www.primalwear.com/p-316-leisure-ride-mens-cycling-jersey.aspx

But sometimes you're underdressed and you need this too:

http://www.primalwear.com/p-321-the-ritz-blue-mens-cycling-jersey.aspx