All swimmers need to have swim suits and goggles. LY Swimming does have a team suit (though you are not required to wear this suit) that is available for purchase at Bikes Unlimited, where you will also find various goggles and fins available. All swimmers, except for those in the Blue Group, will need to have training fins. Some fins are too long and weigh a young swimmer’s feet down too much, but TJ will be happy to remedy that problem with his handy hunting knife. Male swimmers should buy regular bikini style suits. While jammers are preferable to baggy suits, even the jammers impede a swimmer’s ability to learn the proper stroke mechanics. Jammers weigh down young swimmer’s hips and prevent them from having proper body position and a proper feel for the water. Please try to help us encourage your male swimmer to be proud of his body and bikini suit and assure him that this style suit will help him swim the best! In this same vein, NO Gold or Blue swimmers should wear any type of drag suit. All senior swimmers should wear drag suits and some pre-seniors should wear drag suits and some should wear two suits on top of each other and both seniors and pre-seniors should have fins, paddles, snorkels and an old pair of sneakers to wear in the water.  Please speak to Coach Liston to find out what size you should purchase; again, these will be available through Bikes Unlimited.

Meanwhile, all swimmers will receive an LY cap along with a t-shirt when they register. We do not require that our swimmers wear the team suit at meets, but we do ask that swimmers wearing caps at meets wear the LY cap. Wearing the LY cap promotes our team, but more importantly, it makes our competing swimmers visible to our coaches! For any swimmers that prefer a silicone cap, they may be purchased from TJ or Lisa for $10 a piece. Extra latex LY caps can be purchased for $5. All female swimmers should wear caps of some sort at practice as well, unless they have very short hair. Not only will chemicals in the pool damage hair, but hair hanging in the eyes prevents good practicing.