Clitheroe Royal Grammar School

If you ever get a chance to go wild swimming take it up. I joined a wild swimming club in the summer of last year and have been on two wild swims with them so far and the benefits I felt far outweigh those I got from a proper swimming pool.

Turner
I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. A couple of series back on I'm a Celeb I think it was Nick Knowles who wore a pair of brief style trunks in the famous shower that they use and there was a lot of ridicule. That is why I agree with Turner that "This type of scene undermines men's confidence in wearing the style they prefer."

The actor Robson Green made a TV series about wild swimming. ln one episode he visited a private swimming club which used the site of a former quarry. Green went into the changing hut and emerged wearing a pair of red brief-style trunks which were of a very modest cut and by no means budgie-smuggler type. After walking a few yards he said "No. Some presents from the wife are best worn in the home" as though it was a mankini or a thong. He returned to the hut and changed into black square-cut trunks. Green has a well-toned body and could carry any type of trunks so why did he, or his producer, decide this would be amusing? This type of scene undermines men's confidence in wearing the style they prefer.

It is not a case that I cannot wear the swim wear of my choice, but more the feeling of being uncomfortable and judged if I wear trunks trunks for example on the beach of public swimming pool, As I have written previously, when I swim in the pool at the gym I attend it is more private and quite a few men wear swimming trunks of the brief type.

The two previous comments asking the same question, not surprising. Where indeed! Has it really come to it that men have now got to watch what swim bottoms they are putting on, seriously? It's not going to be long until men even on the sunny summer beaches of Brighton or Bournemouth in hot July or Augusts are made to feel guilty about showing a bit of chest and finally being made to cover up there too, it's coming one day soon in our hysterical, overly judgemental, dystopian future if we're not careful.

Wear what you like Ivan and be proud. You don't have to answer to the morality police.

Ivan - where in the UK have you not been able to wear your swimwear of choice?

Ivan.

You can wear swim trunks of any kind in the UK, where have you been unable to do so.

When I was going swimming with school around about 45 years ago we all wore the kind of swim briefs you mention, by which I presume you mean old style trunks, or the so named budgie smuggler type as nicknamed. I remember even for boys the age I was then 10 to 13 still in late primary, early secondary, those things could feel a bit revealing as they clung tightly around you.

I swam at school with navy blue, red and white patterned ones which seemed better than plain ones because they disguised things a bit.

I never felt in the least bit self conscious swimming in those things at school, many times in mixed company, but if I was still swimming nowadays I think I'd give them a miss and go for some swim shorts instead which I think I'd feel better with. I cannot believe that anyone would be offended by a grown man wearing the kind of swimwear you describe, although in this day and age there is someone looking to be offended at anything I suppose.

Another aspect from the American educational establishment Phil is that at one point not many years ago graduates had to undertake a swim test in order to graduate and in that time this was when many had the naked swimming rules in place, meaning that to graduate you had to endure a naked swim test to prove you could meet the required swim threshold. This had to be done by every single person in order to graduate even if what you were doing had absolutely nothing to do with sport and physical education in any way whatsoever. If you refused you didn't pass graduation. Quite frankly mad.

Phil
I do find it "a bug" not to be able to wear swimwear of my choice in the UK
or even when on holiday abroad if in the company of Brits.
The only time I can wear swim briefs is when I swim at the pool in the gym where quite a few men do wear that style.

America really contradicts itself doesn't it Ivan. It does seem a strangely prudish country in parts and perhaps always has been, yet it's the place where the widespread use demand of naked swimming in thousands of schools used to take place, irrespective of how prudish or uncomfortable any of those boys might have been about it at the time. Also it is the same place where under some strange 'experiment' around about the 50s to 70s there was a situation where all freshers (undergraduates) on entry to higher education and universities, including some of the top ones in the country, had to submit to being photographed full frontal, profile and rear completely naked under the guise of doing research into posture. How did they ever get away with it in this so called prudish country when you can't even wear the swimwear of your choice now.

In reply to Turner Harry certainly could not wear swim briefs in America.
Many years ago I was over in America with Scouts from UK being hosted by Boy Scouts of America and we went to a lake for swimming (boys and girls ) I wore my speedos and I found straightaway that was considered wrong. so I quickly found a pair of shorts to wear over the top.
The same attitudes pervades in the UK I think it is only in parts of Europe and Scandinavia that Briefs can be worn when swimming.

Today's paper has a photo of Prince Harry being presemted with a pair of budgie-smugglers by the Australian team at the lnvictus Games. They are patterned with the flags of all nations (the budgie-smugglers not the Ozzies) and look rather good. Presumably PH will not be allowed to wear them in the prudish USA.

Ivan, I lived in Brixworth as a kid in the late 1960s and nearby was a manmade lake, Pitsford, which was an area that was a quick bike ride to get to, out of the way of any adults. We used to go there a lot and hang out doing nothing much after school and before teatime, riding bikes and playing ball games, never actually paying much attention to the water. We could all swim. Generally the same gang of five, all from the village. We did all the things boys did but weren't too silly. I showed up late one afternoon and saw the bikes all laying there near our usual meeting spot and with piles of clothes beside them but couldn't see anyone about immediately as normal. Then I was suddenly confronted with my four mates actually in the water and jumping up and down and noticed they had nothing on at all. I was immediately encouraged to join them and couldn't wait to do so, ripping everything off as quick as I could. It was a hot day and great fun and that was my introduction to going skinny dipping as a kid, we were all 13 years old at the time, 1968. When you do it once and realise it's great fun you want to do it again and again and we did it a few more times with our same gang of five. I don't think there were any no swimming or bathing rules in place at the time like there are at some of these places nowadays by the killjoys.

We had immense freedom to go and do as we pleased and never ever came to any harm or caused harm to others.

My only experience of skinny dipping was at a big Scout campsite in Kent
where apart form normal swimming sessions in the pool there was the option to go to an early morning or later evening session where you could to quote the brochure" swim without the restriction of a costume"

Turner, thank you for the information.

We used to have swimming lessons in school time at the local outdoor lido in the 1960's. There was no such thing as swim shorts, everybody had traditional looking close fitted swimming trunks, which basically offered the same coverage as your normal y-front underwear.

Swimming was not compulsory and there were always about five in class we would leave behind at school because they didn't want to go swimming. I don't think it cost anything and was free.

Martin your comment made me laugh. A comedy of errors there. Hard to disagree with Phil, many boys would probably jump at the chance to just go in the water with nothing on and any that didn't want to would just sit it out I suppose. But even in the 70's that would not have been deemed appropriate, especially without telling parents, and not forgetting that there was a woman on staff there.

I think most boys have a secret skinny dip desire amongst friends. Only some get to give it a go. I never did, but would have given the opportunity, even at school in same sex company.

I remember the horrid wool swimming trunks described by Ivan. They were scratchy when dry and sagged alarmingly when wet. Was there was no alternative until polyester or nylon became available?

on the subject of swimming trunks. I remember as a young boy that the swimming trunks I wore were woollen. They sagged badly and were very uncomfortable and scratchy.
Does any one else remember them? I was much happier when trunks started being made form other material as they are today.

Matthew S
If l recall correctly, swimming trunks in the 1960s had a higher waist, almost to the navel, rather like the Y Fronts of the period, so had much more material than the budgie-smuggler style.

As you were an all boys school why wasn't naked an option, this was the 70s like you said. As long as the pool was private just for your class and nobody else. I'd have stuck my hand up for that rather than miss out.

We had a hilarious swim day back in the 70's at my all boys school where there was a mix up on the day we were booked to go along to the pool with school for our lesson and nobody came to school with anything to go to the pool with. I must have been about 9 at the time. We were upset about this but it wasn't possible for most of us to return home in time and get our stuff.

Some cheeky lad I knew shouted out why can't we go in with our pants on and his suggestion got taken seriously because they didn't want to disappoint us and lose a lesson we'd booked and I think pre-paid for too. The headmaster came to our class to discuss the matter and agreed that we could go swimming in our pants, but only if we wanted to, nobody had to do it. There was a show of hands and most went up, so off we went. I don't think anyone sat the swim out by the pool just watching.

But after all this effort the lesson had to end within 15 minutes and we all had to get out the pool and dress again because a lot of boys had pants that simply would not remain in place and were coming off while swimming. I remember many of us finding it hilarious but a couple of flustered teachers, we had a male and a female one take us swimming, and the lady Mrs Garrett who was a sporty woman herself was the main swim teacher who took nearly all swim lessons and taught nearly everyone at my school how to swim at some stage or gave instruction.

We had to begin shaking and drip dry for a few moments after getting out because no towels. I think some of us used our coats as well as a makeshift drier. But then we didn't have a dry pair of pants to put on and nobody had actually thought about that rather important fact until it was too late so we all wrung our pants out and went back to school commando, nobody in our class wearing our pants back at school but only we all knew that, nobody else and it didn't notice.

That day may not have turned out as expected but despite the obvious problem we still made an effort to do it whereas now there would be no chance and they'd just give up trying and we'd be sitting in class having extra maths or something rather than swim even in those amusing circumstances.

In normal swimming lessons in the 70's we were always told to bring goggles and had to wear them quite a lot, and they always misted up and caused more problems than they solved. I hated them.

I favour swim shorts and they are what I wear to swim nowadays or when I've been on holidays down the years. Admittedly on holiday it can be hard not to be judgemental if you see someone else wearing something that looks hideous on the swimwear front. I'm thinking of those thong type swim things that are no more than a pouch at the front and a thin piece of fabric that vanishes up the behind more or less leaving you being mooned at after they've passed you by. That was a more common sight a few years ago now.


I think a large number that day would have happily just got rid of the pants and carried on but that was not going to be allowed so we had to get out.

The class walked two by two filing along to the pool, a ten minute walk from our school and we changed like normal and just left our pants on and went to the pool.

Turner, excuse my ignorance, but I thought brief-style trunks, which I remember wearing in school swimming lessons in the early '90s, and "budgie-smugglers" were the same thing. Please, what is the difference?

A programme on TV about the 1976 heatwave included clips of beach scenes where all the men wore close-fitting trunks as described by David or briefs-style trunks but there were no budgie smugglers or Speedo-type which are best left to professional divers. Marks & Spencer offer only loose-fitting shorts which l believe are not allowed in public swimming baths in France.

The term budgie smugglers never fails to make me smile when I see it used.

I agree with you, avoid them, not a great look for most of us.

I think that excessively tight "budgie smugglers" don't really suit a lot of people very well. Likewise I don't think overly long baggy swim shorts are that great either. I think the best look is a pair of fairly firm fitting trunk style shorts a bit like boxers. Certainly do not wear anything else underneath swim attire.

A few years ago when I hadn't been swimming for a number of years a friend asked me to join him at the local swimming pool for an evening swim and encouraged me to start doing that again more generally. I went along to a store and tried on some traditional old style swimming trunks, or budgie smugglers, and was horrified how bad they looked on me even though I'd worn such style years earlier not caring what they looked like and my body shape was not much different, no fat hanging over or any of that.

I thin that excessively tight "budgie smugglers" don't really suit a lot of people very well. Likewise I don't think overly long baggy swim shorts are that great either. I think the best look is a pair of fairly firm fitting trunk style shorts a bit like boxers. Certainly do not wear anything else underneath swim attire.

A few years ago when I hadn't been swimming for a number of years a friend asked me to join him at the local swimming pool for an evening swim and encouraged me to start doing that again more generally. I went along to a store and tried on some traditional old style swimming trunks, or budgie smugglers, and was horrified how bad they looked on me even though I'd worn such style years earlier not caring what they looked like and my body shape was not much different, no fat hanging over or any of that.

In reply to Turner. I agree that for some reason as he said " Men and boys would be terrified to show so much skin nowadays!" I always find it interesting that whereas as he says some men are not suited to the briefer type swim wear, how many mature ladies wear bikinis that are also not flattering but that seems to be okay.
However, I find that when on holiday in places like Turkey or Greece the majority of males wear swim briefs.

Like lvan and his family my Dad, my uncle, cousins and l wore briefs-style swimming trunks. l seem to remember they had a higher waist than modern Speedos but also high leg openings. Men and boys would be terrified to show so much skin nowadays! ln the current heatwave newspapers have had photos of crowded beaches at Bournemouth, Brighton etc and without exception the men are wearing voluminous shorts. By the size of their bodies they are right to keep them covered!

It is interesting making comparisons between style and fashions now and of our parents.
the only time I saw my dad in a pair of shorts was in an old wold war 2 army photo when he was serving with the RAMC in Egypt.
apart from that I reamer him always wearing long trousers except for when we were on the beach for our summer holidays.
then he m7yself and elder brother wore shorts but swimming trunks( the briefs style ) to go into the sea. Remember changing on the beach behind a towel?
In time swimming shorts came into fashion and were worn to the beach and in the sea and when they dried out we had no need to change.
And nowadays I still wear swimming shorts for that convenience factor but revert to swim trunks when swimming in the pool at the gym I attend.

Turner 'lt's bizarre how boys are dressed in long trousers almost as soon as they are out of nappies nowadays. Children are dressed like adults while the adults dress like children. l don't think my Dad possessed a pair of shorts in his life but they seem to be de rigueur for everyone now, not just postmen.'


What a brilliantly perceptive comment this is. You're bang on the money with it.

I wore shorts to school if I wanted to until I was eleven. I didn't have to, I chose to on nice days.

When it came to cross country later I seem to remember a ragtag of vests, tea shirts and a handful of shirtless boys all in the mix. We kind of decided for ourselves and that seemed okay for the most part.

Proper gym was a bit stricter, much of the time we were told not to put any kind of top on and just show our upper bodies off.