Last summer brought with it the news that British swimmer Alice Dearing — co-founder of the Black Swimming Association — had partnered with Soul Cap. Soul Cap makes, as per their website, “an extra-large swimming cap created for swimmers who struggle with their hair.” The company’s founders describe meeting “a woman with afro hair who struggled with the size of her swimming cap,” and being inspired to create a product to address this. Seems pretty uncontroversial, right? You’d certainly think so.
Unfortunately, The Guardian reports that the International Swimming Federation (aka FINA) disagrees. In a statement, FINA refused to approve the use of Soul Cap’s caps in competition. Why? “[T]he athletes competing at the international events never used, neither require … caps of such size and configuration,” the organization stated.
Soul Cap responded with a post on Instagram. “FINA’s recent dismissal could discourage many younger athletes from pursuing the sport as they progress through local, county and national competitive swimming,” they wrote.
FINA’s remarks on “the athletes competing at the international events” raises more questions than it answers. One of Soul Cap’s stated goals is to make swimming more inclusive, a subject that Dearing has also spoken about. If FINA is truly evaluating this based on previous winners, that raises a lot of questions about their methodology — Dearing, for instance, is the first Black female swimmer to compete for Great Britain at the Olympic level.
Also prompting plenty of questions? FINA’s comments that Soul Cap’s caps don’t fit “the natural form of the head.” In recent years, it’s become increasingly clear that a number of laws and regulations have never taken natural Black hair into account. In light of that, FINA’s ruling sounds all too familiar.
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