Why do Volleyball Players Wear Spandex?
While seeing the uniform of female volleyball players, you might have wondered what is the purpose of wearing spandex instead of long shorts in the game?
Why do volleyball players wear spandex? Volleyball players wear spandex as they need a flexible body while playing such a fast-paced game. Spandex helps them in making quick dives and stretching their leg muscles immediately, thus giving them an advantage in the game. The moisture-wicking properties of spandex also help them not sweat a lot, which keeps them energized throughout the course of the game.
How Spandex Helps Volleyball Players?
Volleyball is a physically demanding sport and requires a lot of movement. Suppose a ball is coming your way at the speed of 70 miles per hour, and you have a small fraction of a second to react. If you don’t do it quickly, you lose the point. This is where spandex helps.
In volleyball, players have to jump, run, roll, shuffle, and dive quite frequently. So if they do not wear spandex, they are likely not to perform at their best.
Tight spandex helps players in moving around the court freely and fast without worrying about their shorts. For instance, traditional shorts can even fall while playing at such a high speed, but spandex does not fall.
Similarly, longer shorts can expose the parts of the body that players are not comfortable doing by getting folded during the game, not to mention that traditional shorts are also likely to tear frequently compared to spandex. Thus there is no reason why female players should not wear spandex.
I am Not Comfortable in Spandex. Is it Necessary to Wear Them?
Wearing spandex is not mandatory in female volleyball. According to the rules players can choose different styles of bottoms, provided that all the players wear the same color of bottoms.
In the professional sport, females can choose from the following bottoms to participate in the game.
- Spandex (any length)
- Gym style shorts (any length)
- Pants (any length)
- Culottes
But the color of the bottoms of all the team members should remain the same to avoid any penalty.
Is Spandex Introduced to Sexualize Female Sport?
When spandex was introduced in female volleyball, it was thought that it was supposed to sexualize the sport to get more audience. Even many traditional school teams still observe relatively long shorts as part of the female volleyball uniform to bring “modesty” in the game.
Wearing spandex has many scientific benefits for female athletes and even hobbyists. So there is no evidence that this costume is used to sexualize girls. However, in the end, it all comes down to the perception of the player herself. If a player is not mentally prepared to wear spandex, she is not going to perform even with all the proof of the scientific benefits.
You can try the difference in performance between spandex and traditional shorts in a private space. Try to fake the game and the dives by wearing spandex in a private room and then repeat the same exercise using traditional shorts. In no time, you will know that spandex is more useful in diving and jumping.
Still not convinced about the benefits of spandex? I understand; it’s completely okay. So just try to make 50 lunges in both the spandex and traditional shorts, and you will see a visible difference in your legs stretching.
When you do the exercise in traditional shorts, you will see that the clothes will move as well with your movement, but this is not the case in spandex as it is skin tight. So, when you use traditional shorts, it will eventually disturb your play, which is the last thing you want while playing a volleyball game.
How Long Has Spandex Been Used in Volleyball?
Volleyball shorts have come a long way since they were first introduced in the sport.
Like most other games, volleyball was also played by men only initially when it was invented in the 1890s. At the international level, women-only started competing in the 1950s, and in schools and colleges, most girls did not play the game until the 1970s.
The early days of volleyball shorts were not very different from what we see today. They were typically made of wool or cotton and reached just above the knee.
In the early 1900s, male players began to experiment with shorter lengths, but it wasn’t until the 1920s that shorter styles became more popular. By the 1930s, most players were wearing shorts that reached mid-thigh.
Today, volleyball shorts come in a variety of styles and lengths. Some players prefer longer styles that reach down to the knee, while others prefer shorter styles that stop just above the knee. There are also a variety of materials used to make volleyball shorts, including polyester, spandex, and nylon. No matter what style or material you prefer, there’s sure to be a pair of volleyball shorts out there, that’s perfect for you.
Back in the 1970s, the women’s uniform of the game represented the fashion of that time. Due to tradition, women used to wear mid-length shorts and form-fitting shirts. As it was the earlier era, spandex was not even tried by many women, so its efficacy was not established in the first place.
But synthetic spandex got popular soon in the game and was introduced in the late 1970s. One of the major disadvantages of wearing long shorts was that they used to ride up during the game, thus exposing the amount of body which many players were not comfortable doing.
Over the course of time, many teams also debated the length of the spandex. In the 1990s, a relatively longer spandex of almost 4″ length was used by most of the players. However, the longer shorts were moving too much while playing the game, which urged teams to move to shorter length 2 “shorts.
Should you wear spandex during a volleyball game?
Scientifically speaking, wearing spandex is beneficial for your game.
However, it all comes down to one simple question: are you comfortable wearing them? If the answer is yes, you should choose them, hands down. Otherwise, you still have a variety of options including:
- If you are not comfortable wearing spandex, you can wear spandex under the traditional shorts. This is always better than wearing the traditional shorts alone, considering the cloth very next to your body is likely to play a significant role in your movement. When spandex is worn below traditional shorts, it also helps you to move quickly and perform a range of motions. The traditional short wear above the spandex will not intervene much in your movement. But if it is too hot to wear both spandex and shorts together and you are also feeling uncomfortable wearing spandex alone, you have no other choice than to wear long shorts alone.
- Leggings are also a great alternative for spandex, as they are also skin tight. In fact, many players prefer leggins to achieve the function of spandex and avoid any diving injuries at the same time.
Final Thoughts
The game of volleyball has come the long way to become what it is today. And spandex helps you big time in performing stunts which other bottoms cannot do. Thus wearing spandex should always be one of the top most priority of every volleyball player as long as it does not go against the personal beliefs and values of the person. If it does, players always have a variety of options to choose from.
Ahmed is the founder of Ball and Net Sports, a platform where he writes about volleyball.
As a professional volleyball player who has participated in various national and international level volleyball competitions, he loves to teach other volleyball enthusiasts about the game.
He is now a professional volleyball coach who organizes volleyball camps and social events for talent hunting for top volleyball teams.
As a volleyball talent-hunting specialist, he loves to teach people how they can make their game better in the fast-paced volleyball environment where it is extremely difficult to get quality content free of cost.
