Buying swimwear for your child's swimming lessons or for their swim club training sessions is easy with our boys swimwear buying guide!  This guide will help you to understand a bit more about the different types of swimwear you can buy from our competitive swimming shop.  We want you to have the best possible information to make the right choices when selecting a junior sized swimsuit!

Boys Swimwear Styles

In our swimming shop you can find a wide range of boys swimwear for a variety of different uses, everything from wetsuits to swimming trunks!

The majority of our swimwear can be grouped under two sub-headings: Training Swimwear And Racing Swimwear.

Training swimwear is suitable for training sessions, swimming lessons or swimming laps. And Racing swimwear is for...you guessed it, racing!

There are four main styles of boys swimwear on sale at ProSwimwear:

Trunks

Covering from the upper thigh to the waist. These box-like swimsuits have become increasingly popular in recent years for training and leisure swimming. They provide a little more coverage than the traditional “Speedo” style swim briefs. Swimmers report they feel less exposed in swimming trunks compared to swim briefs, giving them more confidence on poolside. Swim trunks also tend to be more fashion-focused and often feature bright colourful prints and designs. Making them a popular choice with younger swimmers.

Jammers

The easiest way to identify boys swim jammers is by the fact that they look a lot like a pair of Lycra cycling shorts. Jammers give the most coverage of all of our swimwear styles. They extend from the waist down to just above the knee and come in a huge range of styles and colours.

Jammers are excellent all-rounders. They can be used for swim training or for racing. They produce very low drag/resistance in the water due to their tight fitting nature. They're also available in a huge range of colours and prints. We've got everything from plain black to fresh and funky colourful prints on our swimming jammers so start browsing now!

If your little one is getting in to racing or perhaps you have an older teenage boy participating in competitions then you'll want to take a look at our FINA Approved Swimwear range. The jammers in this section can all be used in official ASA events and are designed to help young athletes go faster in the pool!

Briefs

The most recognisable form of swimsuit for boys and men. Think of the traditional style “Speedo”. This style is sometimes confusingly called “trunks”. At ProSwimwear we define “Briefs” as boys swimwear with a leg height of less than 9cm. Any leg heights over 9cm are classed as “Trunks”.  Briefs feature a rounded high-cut leg and were the most popular type of male swimwear in the late 20^th century.

Swim briefs have a simple design and generally produce the less drag when compared to jammers and trunks.This makes them an excellent choice for young club swimmers or kids in swimming lessons.

The good thing about swim briefs is that they can be used for more than one purpose. Train in them, race in them, dive in them, play water polo, the list goes on. Briefs are the ultimate all-rounder!

Shorts (Aquashorts)

Boys swim shorts are somewhere between jammers and trunks in their length. Extending to around the mid thigh. They provide a good amount of coverage and are commonly worn for training sessions or fitness swimming. Most of our boys aquashorts are made from chlorine resistant materials so your swimsuit will look and feel great swim after swim!

Materials

There are three main categories that we can group our swimwear in to when it comes to material/fabric.

Our boys swimwear comes in three types of material:

Lycra/Xtra Life Lycra

Lycra (sometimes known as Spandex) is known as the softest and best fitting swimwear material. This material is best suited to leisure swimmers or those who only swim occasionaly. The disadvantage to this material is that it is the fastest to wear out in chlorinated water.

Have you ever had a swimsuit that faded and went saggy after a few weeks of regular swimming? It was probably made from Lycra. Dont let this put you off Lycra, there is a reason they're still making swimwear out of it! As stated before, it's the most comfortable and best fitting swimwear material on the market!

Xtra Life Lycra is Lycra/Spandex that has been treated to withstand the harmful effects of chlorine for longer to give “Xtra Life” to your swimsuit.

PBT/Polyester

PBT or Polyester based materials are incredibly popular with anyone who is in the pool more than once a week. These swimsuits can last for years if looked after properly!

PBT/Polyester resists fading and stretching for far longer then Lycra. Swim brands are constantly developing new blends of fabrics to come up with the most comfortable and durable swimwear that they can. If your child is swimming more than once a week then get them in to some PBT swimwear and they're likely to grow out of their swimsuit before it wears out!

Performance

Boys performance swimwear is designed for racing. These are high-tech performance swimming garments, often designed in specialist labs and with the help of elite swimmers. If you're buying a FINA Approved suit for your child then try to go for the junior specific suits or junior versions. These will be tailored to fit a younger body shape with less muscle tone than an adult would have. Some great examples of junior performance swimwear are:

Competitive swimsuits tend to have a very short lifespan, they're designed to go very fast in the water, but the chlorine in the pool starts to break down the technologies in the suit faster than almost any other type of swimwear. Use your performance swimsuit sparingly and only on your most important races and you will feel the benefits. Never use performance swimwear for training sessions and always rinse it with fresh cold water straight after exiting the pool to get the most out of your competitive swimsuit.

 Tips

Measure The Swimmer!

Measure the swimmer before you start shopping. Get a tape measure and take their waist measurement at around 6cm below the belly button. Not enough people do this before they buy, meaning they then have to exchange their swimsuit for another size, resulting in a longer waiting time. Take the necessary measurements and you should get the right size first time!

Always Check The Size Chart!

All of our product pages feature a size chart. Use the exact size chart for the product you are buying and make sure to use all of the measurements required. Some FINA approved suits require more than just a simple waist measurement. Remember that a size 26 might not actually be 26 inches, it may represent a different sizing scale. That's why its always best to check the size chart on the product page and any sizing information in the product description if you're not sure.