Swimsuit to a non-swimmer is simple, it’s what you wear in the pool, but to an experienced swimmer it takes on many variations. Swimmers who race competitively generally have different swimsuits for every occasion including training, beach, outdoor pools, open water area. What’s difference between competitive and regular swimsuit? Here are some difference from some aspects.

Swimsuit material difference

Competitive swimsuit are often made from high-performance materials such as polyester, nylon and neoprene, and high-tech fabrics which are used to improve the swimming speed, durability and wearing comfort of the swimsuit. These materials effectively reduce water resistance, improve water glide, to make swimmers to swim with less effort.

Regular swimsuit are made of different kinds of materials and have many patterns, so we often see regular swimwear in our daily life with different materials, like some are made of polyamide or some are made of polyester. So the price is cheaper, and there are many options of styles and materials to choose from too.

Wearing comfort difference

Competitive swimsuit need tight swimming fitting. In fact, for professional athletes, they need enveloping swimsuit to restrain themselves, to stop their muscles from slackening and to give their bodies a streamlined shape, which in turn improves their speed in the water. However, competitive swimwear cannot be worn for long time because they are made of rubber, so breathability is inevitably reduced and they are also tighter, which slows down the flow of blood to the body. Therefore, competitive swimsuits are usually worn only for short swimming competitions. While regular swimsuit which are more comfortable wearing and more breathable, making them suitable for long time of swimming in the pool, and basically satisfy long time of wearing in water.

 Style design difference

Competitive swimsuit and regular swimsuit have great difference in style designs. Regular swimsuit usually loose fitting and suitable for daily fun and leisure activities in the water, competitive swimsuit are designed to enhance a swimmer's performance. Competitive swimsuits are usually very snug and compact in design to reduce water resistance and help swimmers move at a faster speed. In addition, competitive swimsuit are usually more high neck, high waist and high leg than regular swimsuit to reduce water resistance and provide better freedom of movement in water.

Construction difference

Competitive swimsuits do not have bra pads, because bra pads are made of sponge material, which will absorb water and increase the weight. Competitive swimsuit usually no skirt, most of them are triangular or one-piece backless models, and less fabric.

Regular swimsuits have many types, like bikini top and bottom, tankini, one piece, skirt styles, with removable cup or wired molded cup to support boobs up, regular swimsuit mainly to show beauty of female body and comfortable fit.

Price difference

There some big price difference between competitive and regular swimsuit. Since competitive swimsuits are designed and made of materials that to improve a swimmer's performance, they are usually more expensive than regular swimsuit. Nonetheless, many swimmers prefer to choose competitive swimsuits to improve their swimming performance and enjoy pleasure of swimming.