Underwear Debate Erupts After Skier Finishes Second Place At Major Event

The type of underwear skiiers choose to wear under their clothing has cause quite the stir on the International skiing scene after a Slovene skier finished in second place at a major event this past weekend while wearing specially designed plastic underwear.

An investigation was launched when the Swiss ski federation lodged an official complaint to the sport’s governing body. Eventually the organization ruled that the clothing was allowed while warning female skiiers that while wearing the plastic garments was okay with the federation they don’t allow proper air circulation and may cause other problems.

The same issue was brought up at a World Cup competition in the Central Alps when men’s race director for the sport’s world governing body Gunther Hujara held up a piece of plastic blue material and said:

“If we see something like this, we will not hesitate to disqualify immediately. We do not go through a test, we disqualify. And then you, or somebody who wears it, has to prove that what he wears does not endanger athletes’ health.”

The men’s garment isn’t exactly the same product worn by female skiers , instead it features a full-bodied plastic-neoprene hybrid sheath worn under a traditional speed suit.

Officials in the world of competitive skiing are always on the lookout for products that provide an unfair advantage in a sport where a hundredth of a second often decides a race winner it’s pretty much a necessity. Other traditional attempts at winning races have included new specialized wax for skis, better outer layer clothing and other devices designer to win.

In the sports currently rule guideline they state of acceptable clothing:

“Competition suits and clothing worn underneath, such as underwear, etc. may not be plasticized or treated by any chemical means (gaseous, liquid or solid), and must have a minimum permeability of 30 liters per m2/sec under 10 mm of water pressure.”

In the meantime the debate rages on as more information is gathered about the effects of the plastic material when combined with skiing suits.