Fair and functional: how rowing uniforms promote equality

At the Tokyo Olympic Games, Holly Bradshaw made history by claiming bronze, Great Britain’s first ever pole vault medal. She stood out, not just for her incredible performance, but for her choice of uniform – a rowing unisuit. Rather than compete in a cropped top and briefs – the standard kit for athletics – Bradshaw negotiated permission to deviate. The one-piece uniform allowed her to focus on competing rather than her intense discomfort in skin-baring designs, and to reduce the risk of online body-shaming which she faced in the past. 

The rowing unisuit has been largely unchanged for both genders since the 1900 Olympics inclusion of men’s rowing and the 1976 inclusion of women’s rowing. The overall tightness and the length of shorts has varied with fashion trends and fabric technology, but generally rowing uniforms have always been moderate-coverage and highly functional. Rowing unisuits also have minimal decoration and no figure-highlighting features – similar to wrestling, weightlifting, and canoe-sprint – allowing viewers to focus on the race rather than the appearance of the athletes. 

In my years as a competitive cheerleader, I was deeply frustrated by the requirement to wear a crop top, tiny shorts,and a massive hair bow while the men wore full-length shirts and baggy pants. While it made sense for the flyers (at the top of the pyramids) to have bare ankles and midriffs for better grip, my role placed me firmly on the ground holding up said pyramids…a role indistinguishable from the men. The uniforms sent a clear message that conforming to sexist appearance standards was more important than tailoring the uniform to the role of each athlete.

Gymnastics is another example of this contrast. Although the men’s uniforms (sleeveless tops with pants or shorts) have similar overall coverage to the women’s uniforms (long sleeved leotards), there is a clear emphasis on decoration in the women’s uniforms. One of Team USA’s women’s leotards was proudly touted as featuring 47,000 crystals; the men’s uniforms have no crystals.

Beach volleyball shows a stark difference between the men’s and women’s uniforms – most women compete in bikinis, while men wear long baggy shorts and tank tops. Field hockey, tennis, badminton, golf, and table tennis frequently feature skirts for the women’s uniforms, which is especially noticeable during mixed doubles play when the male players are in pants or shorts. The official uniform rules do not require women to wear skirts in these cases, or to wear extremely high-cut athletics bottoms (a big controversy in the leadup to Paris 2024) – but there is entrenched social and historical pressure to conform, as well as advantages in courting sponsorships by presenting as attractive and traditionally feminine. 

At the elite level, all athletes and coaches are striving to be the best in the world – if bikinis and skirts and crystals were beneficial to performance, men would wear them and, if baggy shorts were beneficial to performance, women would wear them. Clearly, the uniforms are rooted in heteronormative stereotypes rather than any performance basis. Uniforms that are arbitrarily different between men and women playing the same sport may reinforce sexist views of the value and purpose of each gender. In contrast, many sports such as judo, taekwondo, karate, fencing, and canoe slalom feature sport-specific uniforms that completely erase gender differences, which can put the focus where it belongs – on the incredible feats of the athletes. 

Mixed-gender events already exist in rowing, with three mixed para events and two eights events. In the future, we may see even more mixed events as the IOC continues to look for opportunities for gender balance. When men and women row together wearing identical uniforms, it sends a visual message that their roles and contributions are equal.

While elite rowing gets top marks for uniforms, there are a few potential improvements to be made at the development level.

Studies have shown that more than 70% of teen girls who dropped out of sports cited clothing-related concerns. Allowing options such as baggier tank tops with athlete-chosen shorts could help remove barriers for young women in particular, and athletes of all ages and genders can benefit from a less body-hugging fit. Designing club uniforms with dark bottoms reduces anxiety for people who menstruate (Wimbledon and NWSL are two recent examples of allowing black bottoms). Unisex options also allow LGBTQ+ athletes to fit into a group without having to choose to wear the men’s or women’s kit. Some competition rules already allow for athletes in the same crew to wear different styles (eg. Royal Canadian Henley Regatta rules allow racing in a variety of uniform options as long as they are visually similar) which supports individual choice without sacrificing overall gender equality in uniforms. 

As rowing stakeholders, we can take positive action by continuing to reinforce the established gender equality in rowing uniforms, and to add support for various options and uniform designs to promote athlete comfort. 

About The Author

Olivia McMurray

Olivia joined the JRN team in September 2024 and writes about international rowing and Canadian crews. She is a Pan American Games Champion in the Women’s Eight and silver medalist in the Women’s Pair.

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