After two friends named Michael Chapman and Toks Ahmed had crossed the paths of a woman who was “struggling with the size of her swimming cap,” the entrepreneurs designed a larger cap that contained more voluminous hair types such as curly textures or Afro hair was able to include information on the company’s website.
The creators of SOUL CAP decided to submit permission to carry Olympic athletes, but the application was rejected by FINA (the association for international competitions in water sports), according to METROUK report.
Banned swimming caps for Afro hair that are unsuitable for the Olympics because they do not « follow the natural shape of the head »
Who thought white hair / white hair was the natural shape? White Supremacy defines everything by Whiteness to the exclusion of other
SOUL CAPs have been « banned by FINA on the grounds that the athletes taking part in the international events have never, to the best of their knowledge, used caps of this size and configuration Don’t have to use, « the news article reads.
To keep the context of the matter clear, the Tokyo 2020 International Olympic Committee rules state that my swimmers can even wear two swim caps, if the maximum size “When worn and attached to the front of the cap” does not exceed 20 cm2.
“We hoped to continue our work for diversity in swimming by certifying our swimming caps for competition so that swimmers of all levels would perform well don’t have to choose between their favorite sport and their hairstyle. For younger swimmers, it is crucial to feel included at a young age and see yourself in a sport. FINA’s recent layoff could deter many younger athletes from following the sport as they advance in local, regional, and national competitive swimming. We believe there is always room for improvement, but there is only a limited amount of base and small brands – we need the top to be receptive to positive change. A big thank you to everyone who has supported us and our work so far. We don’t see this as a setback, but as an opportunity to open a dialogue to make a bigger difference, « said Chapman and Ahmed.
If the larger swim caps don’t meet FINA requirements, the question of inclusion becomes all hair types bound. Could all participating swimmers be accommodated fairly according to the FINA rules?
The METROUK report also states that the FINA committee describes the SOUL CAP as « unsuitable because it does not follow ‘the natural shape of the head' » .
Ahmed and Champan told METROUK that they « felt disappointed with this ‘failure to recognize the diversity of competitive swimmers’, especially in a year when more and more ethnic minority swimmers are qualifying for the Olympics » , it says in the article.
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