Post by lilred on Dec 16, 2006 8:47:52 GMT -5
from Omaha World Herald 12-16-06
Tight, tiny shorts are the baseball cap of the volleyball world.
Volleyball shorts vary in length but have one thing in common - they're tight.
They're the apparel that makes the sport's tall, lean athletes instantly identifiable.
With the sport and its shorts on full display during the 2006 NCAA Volleyball Championship in Omaha, people are noticing.
Fans have been known to ogle the obvious effects of the small shorts. Traditionalists fear they may be demeaning to the athletes. Fashionistas praise their marketing aspect.
Players are bland on the topic, downplaying the buzz surrounding the formfitting polyester-spandex blend shorts - often called "bun-huggers."
"We really don't talk about the shorts too much," said Rachel Schwartz, a defensive specialist for the University of Nebraska, which plays for the national championship Saturday night. "I was never worried about wearing them. I just took what they gave me and put them on. It's not a big deal."
Nebraska's shorts - cut to high thigh - are in the middle range of what's available, Schwartz said. Some teams sport very small briefs. Others opt for those that stretch almost to the knee.
Almost all models are tight.
"That just makes sense," Schwartz said. "When you're low to the ground in a defensive situation, you don't want your clothes to get in the way."
And if clothing touches the net, that player's team loses a point.
Many longtime volleyball followers, though, think the shorts are more about the gams than the games.
Byron Shewman knows volleyball. He played for the U.S. national team in the 1970s, founded the nation's largest volleyball club and authored "Volleyball Centennial: The First 100 Years," one of the few definitive books on the sport's history.
He doesn't believe apparel influences performance.
He's seen - and worn - most uniform fads, including basketball-like jerseys, long-sleeved shirts, shorter shorts and longer shorts.
"It doesn't make much of a difference," Shewman said from his home in San Diego. "It's pretty much all about looks."
He's seen plenty.
In the 1950s, most volleyball players - men or women - wore uniforms similar to basketball getups, Shewman said. Japanese teams in the 1970s introduced tighter outfits with long sleeves. Also during that time, beach volleyball became popular, with its players basically wearing swimsuits.
Shewman first remembers seeing beach-influenced outfits in indoor volleyball in the 1970s. He played in the coed International Volleyball Association, where women made the move from midlength cotton shorts to tighter and shorter options.
By the mid-1980s, Shewman said, the very tight, very short polyester-spandex blend had taken hold.
"Since then, it's just kept going," he said. "Seems like every year they keep getting smaller and tighter."
Alyssa LeGrand played in the era of baggy shorts. The head coach at Bellevue West High School - which has won four straight state championships - hardly ever sees that style anymore.
Her players have been wearing the tight, high-cut shorts since kindergarten. Many of them have as many as 20 pairs in different colors and wear them on and off the court.
"They love them," LeGrand said. "It's like their second skin."
Some players aren't as keen on them. They'll wear baggier shorts in practice. The whole team wears tight-fitting uniforms during games.
LeGrand, who plays adult volleyball, is squeamish about wearing the tight shorts. But they do have one big practical advantage.
"No matter what you're doing - jumping, diving on the floor - no one can ever see up them," she said. "I agree they are very tight, but at least they aren't revealing anything you don't want people seeing."
Still, the curve-catching shorts do grab attention. Volleyball veteran Shewman doesn't think the trend is good or bad, but he admits it's had an impact.
"Volleyball has become a sexy, fashionable sport," he said. "The women are very fit and attractive. It's the American penchant to encourage that. Sex sells."
Putting an athlete's appearance on such prominent display irks Ellen Staurowsky, professor and graduate chairwoman of sports management and media at Ithaca College in New York. Staurowsky is a strong proponent of women's equality in sports, and she sees what she calls objectifying uniforms as a hurdle to that.
"This is evidence that female athletes are still held to narrow standards when it comes to appearance," she said. "There is a cultural imperative for females to look pretty while they're competing."
Athletic apparel companies offer a wide range of shorts that are longer and slightly baggier. Those options, Staurowsky said, would put the emphasis on bumps and sets instead of bodies.
Requiring young women in high school and college to sport the tight shorts could reinforce insecurities.
"The idea of having their derriére on display in such an obvious way certainly is an issue for some females who aren't totally comfortable with their bodies," she said.
But she's afraid those concerns are silenced by style. The popularity of beach volleyball has pushed officials for the indoor game to promote a similar look. That results in marketing the sexual aspect of its athletes, something officials deny. Many volleyball officials instead tout the practical benefits of tight apparel, such as easier movement and warmer muscles.
That argument makes sense in swimming and track - where more clothes mean more drag and slower times - but Staurowsky doesn't buy it for volleyball.
"If you look at it rationally, there doesn't seem to be any real argument or proof that it makes performance any better," she said.
That may be true, but the short shorts are smart, savvy marketing, said Robin Walker, a Chicago-based image consultant.
"When people are watching the game, they're not just looking at people running and jumping around," she said. "They're trying to find a connection with the characters. The more hair color, physique and skin tone they see, the more they feel connected."
And make no mistake, Walker said, sex appeal is a major part of volleyball's look. She is almost certain volleyball movers and shakers have done that intentionally and thoughtfully.
"No one said, 'Oh, let's just put these girls in hot pants,'" Walker said. "But I'm sure this was a calculated, researched move. The uniforms are a kind of branding. It gives the sport a distinct look."
The idea of incorporating sex appeal into sports is nothing new. When women watch football or baseball, Walker said, they routinely check out the tight uniforms.
Incorporating a bit of that into volleyball is savvy, modern and in no way demeaning, Walker said.
"They have put so much time into making their body the best it can be," she said. "They take pride in their body like they take pride in their game."
Tight, tiny shorts are the baseball cap of the volleyball world.
Volleyball shorts vary in length but have one thing in common - they're tight.
They're the apparel that makes the sport's tall, lean athletes instantly identifiable.
With the sport and its shorts on full display during the 2006 NCAA Volleyball Championship in Omaha, people are noticing.
Fans have been known to ogle the obvious effects of the small shorts. Traditionalists fear they may be demeaning to the athletes. Fashionistas praise their marketing aspect.
Players are bland on the topic, downplaying the buzz surrounding the formfitting polyester-spandex blend shorts - often called "bun-huggers."
"We really don't talk about the shorts too much," said Rachel Schwartz, a defensive specialist for the University of Nebraska, which plays for the national championship Saturday night. "I was never worried about wearing them. I just took what they gave me and put them on. It's not a big deal."
Nebraska's shorts - cut to high thigh - are in the middle range of what's available, Schwartz said. Some teams sport very small briefs. Others opt for those that stretch almost to the knee.
Almost all models are tight.
"That just makes sense," Schwartz said. "When you're low to the ground in a defensive situation, you don't want your clothes to get in the way."
And if clothing touches the net, that player's team loses a point.
Many longtime volleyball followers, though, think the shorts are more about the gams than the games.
Byron Shewman knows volleyball. He played for the U.S. national team in the 1970s, founded the nation's largest volleyball club and authored "Volleyball Centennial: The First 100 Years," one of the few definitive books on the sport's history.
He doesn't believe apparel influences performance.
He's seen - and worn - most uniform fads, including basketball-like jerseys, long-sleeved shirts, shorter shorts and longer shorts.
"It doesn't make much of a difference," Shewman said from his home in San Diego. "It's pretty much all about looks."
He's seen plenty.
In the 1950s, most volleyball players - men or women - wore uniforms similar to basketball getups, Shewman said. Japanese teams in the 1970s introduced tighter outfits with long sleeves. Also during that time, beach volleyball became popular, with its players basically wearing swimsuits.
Shewman first remembers seeing beach-influenced outfits in indoor volleyball in the 1970s. He played in the coed International Volleyball Association, where women made the move from midlength cotton shorts to tighter and shorter options.
By the mid-1980s, Shewman said, the very tight, very short polyester-spandex blend had taken hold.
"Since then, it's just kept going," he said. "Seems like every year they keep getting smaller and tighter."
Alyssa LeGrand played in the era of baggy shorts. The head coach at Bellevue West High School - which has won four straight state championships - hardly ever sees that style anymore.
Her players have been wearing the tight, high-cut shorts since kindergarten. Many of them have as many as 20 pairs in different colors and wear them on and off the court.
"They love them," LeGrand said. "It's like their second skin."
Some players aren't as keen on them. They'll wear baggier shorts in practice. The whole team wears tight-fitting uniforms during games.
LeGrand, who plays adult volleyball, is squeamish about wearing the tight shorts. But they do have one big practical advantage.
"No matter what you're doing - jumping, diving on the floor - no one can ever see up them," she said. "I agree they are very tight, but at least they aren't revealing anything you don't want people seeing."
Still, the curve-catching shorts do grab attention. Volleyball veteran Shewman doesn't think the trend is good or bad, but he admits it's had an impact.
"Volleyball has become a sexy, fashionable sport," he said. "The women are very fit and attractive. It's the American penchant to encourage that. Sex sells."
Putting an athlete's appearance on such prominent display irks Ellen Staurowsky, professor and graduate chairwoman of sports management and media at Ithaca College in New York. Staurowsky is a strong proponent of women's equality in sports, and she sees what she calls objectifying uniforms as a hurdle to that.
"This is evidence that female athletes are still held to narrow standards when it comes to appearance," she said. "There is a cultural imperative for females to look pretty while they're competing."
Athletic apparel companies offer a wide range of shorts that are longer and slightly baggier. Those options, Staurowsky said, would put the emphasis on bumps and sets instead of bodies.
Requiring young women in high school and college to sport the tight shorts could reinforce insecurities.
"The idea of having their derriére on display in such an obvious way certainly is an issue for some females who aren't totally comfortable with their bodies," she said.
But she's afraid those concerns are silenced by style. The popularity of beach volleyball has pushed officials for the indoor game to promote a similar look. That results in marketing the sexual aspect of its athletes, something officials deny. Many volleyball officials instead tout the practical benefits of tight apparel, such as easier movement and warmer muscles.
That argument makes sense in swimming and track - where more clothes mean more drag and slower times - but Staurowsky doesn't buy it for volleyball.
"If you look at it rationally, there doesn't seem to be any real argument or proof that it makes performance any better," she said.
That may be true, but the short shorts are smart, savvy marketing, said Robin Walker, a Chicago-based image consultant.
"When people are watching the game, they're not just looking at people running and jumping around," she said. "They're trying to find a connection with the characters. The more hair color, physique and skin tone they see, the more they feel connected."
And make no mistake, Walker said, sex appeal is a major part of volleyball's look. She is almost certain volleyball movers and shakers have done that intentionally and thoughtfully.
"No one said, 'Oh, let's just put these girls in hot pants,'" Walker said. "But I'm sure this was a calculated, researched move. The uniforms are a kind of branding. It gives the sport a distinct look."
The idea of incorporating sex appeal into sports is nothing new. When women watch football or baseball, Walker said, they routinely check out the tight uniforms.
Incorporating a bit of that into volleyball is savvy, modern and in no way demeaning, Walker said.
"They have put so much time into making their body the best it can be," she said. "They take pride in their body like they take pride in their game."
