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The body governing the official rules and policies for competitive swimming across the globe sparked outrage after it banned the use of swim caps specifically designed to accommodate Black athletes' thicker hair.
In a new policy, the Federation Internationale de Natation or FINA ruled the swim caps, designed by Black-owned British brand Soul Cap, would not be allowed in the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games because they deviate from "the natural form of the head."
Their reasoning? To their \u2018best knowledge, the athletes competing at the International events never used, neither require to use, caps of such size and configuration\u2019.\n\nThe Committee also deemed them unsuitable as they don't \u2018follow the natural form of the head\u2019.— Metro (@Metro) 1625055164
But critics of the decision have loudly spelled how they feel the policy missed the mark completely.
According to BBC, the larger swim caps protect dreadlocks, afros, weaves, hair extensions, braids, and thick and curly hair from the chlorine found in swimming pools—a chemical that tends to damage Black hair more than others.
Alice Dearing, who will compete in Tokyo as the first ever Black woman to represent Britain in the Olympics, has in the past commended Soul Cap for addressing a serious need for greater inclusivity in the swimming community.
Dearing said:
"I vividly remember a Black girl saying at training that the reason Black girls don't swim is because of their hair."
"I was about 12 or 13 at the time and had never thought of the idea of hair stopping you from swimming. Now that I am older I can fully understand why someone would quit over their hair."
Dearing has not commented on the recent FINA decision.
Soul Cap, in a post on the company's official Instagram page, decried the decision as a step backwards in the fight to make swimming more inclusive and approachable for young Black athletes.
The Black Swimming Association of the UK, however, was crystal clear about its stance on the FINA ruling.
A week after celebrating @alicedearingx becoming the first Black-Brit to qualify for the Olympics we are extremely disappointed to see the @fina1908 decision - one that will discourage many younger athletes from ethnic minority communities from pursuing competitive swimming.https://twitter.com/metrouk/status/1410209642198835203\u00a0\u2026— Black Swimming Association (@Black Swimming Association) 1625068276
We believe this statement confirms the lack of diversity in elite swimming and the lack of urgency for change.— Black Swimming Association (@Black Swimming Association) 1625069310
In addition, people who heard the news on Twitter didn't hesitate to share their outrage.
I thought this was a joke when my wife told me about this story. What message does this send to all budding mixed race and black swimmers who have Olympic ambitions? You need to be white with short hair to be an elite swimmer. @fina1908 take a look at yourselves— jimmyc (@jimmyc) 1625086415
Just soul destroying. This is at best unconscious bias and at worst deliberate discrimination. We expect more from @fina1908 -you have to know better and do better. People are working hard to end discrimination and increase diversity in swimming and you wreck it in one action— SwimWildPodcast \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@SwimWildPodcast \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1625144212
This is disgusting, what can we do to make them change this ?!— \u2728 (@\u2728) 1625068286
If it gave an advantage, that\u2019s one thing, but it will have the opposite effect, #racismnotlogic— Brenda Willis (@Brenda Willis) 1625346704
The natural form of a swimmers head includes the hair attached to it. #smartenup #olympics.— ni-chola (@ni-chola) 1625199978
Oh damn not 'The natural form of the head'?? The committee better get their skull-measuring calipers out of the box in the attic, that's always worked well in the past.— Cleopatra had Asp Urges (@Cleopatra had Asp Urges) 1625064828
@fina1908 so tone deaf and micro-aggressive. Here, blatantly defining what\u2019s norm based on historic M.O. which excluded black people (and our natural hair textures). Of course it wasn\u2019t used in the past, nonblack swimmers didn\u2019t have the same natural hair as these black athletes.— Neen (@Neen) 1625171844
The wave of backlash was apparently loud enough to get the attention of FINA who committed to reviewing the policy, according to a statement posted on the organization's website.
It read:
"FINA is committed to ensuring that all aquatics athletes have access to appropriate swimwear for competition where this swimwear does not confer a competitive advantage."
"FINA is currently reviewing the situation with regards to 'Soul Cap' and similar products, understanding the importance of inclusivity and representation."
Only time will tell if the Soul Cap will be making an appearance at the Tokyo Olympics, which begin only a few weeks from now on July 23.