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Sports Clothing Guide; Picking the Gear that's Right for You

Most of the clothing worn to participate in sport essentially has the same component parts, with the exception of some specialized items which are required for certain activities.

The essential items of clothing for participating in sports usually comprises a combination of t-shirts, vests, shorts, tracksuits and footwear. In addition, specialist underwear such as sports bras and jock straps will also need to be worn depending on the sport you are doing.

Almost all sports clothing that is around today is made of lightweight, breathable fabric and has usually been specifically designed to help the wearer to maximise their performance on the sports field, athletics track or in the swimming pool.

For those participating in team sports such as football, rugby and cricket, everyone must wear the same clothes which is what will identify the wearer as a member of that team. In football and rugby this is a combination of shorts and either t-shirts or long sleeved tops. For cricket the `uniform` is long trousers and t-shirts or long sleeved tops. These are usually white, but depending on the tournament and/or type of cricket may be a variety of colours.

There is slightly more flexibility with the clothes that are worn for individual sports such as athletics and tennis. However in athletics if you are competing for your country then you will have to wear a combination of items from your country`s `uniform` and in tennis, depending where you are playing it may be necessary to wear a particular colour, such as white at Wimbledon, although without having to wear the exact same clothes as others.

For certain sports, specialised clothing is involved. Such sports include swimming where the range and type of costumes available is changing all the time to help give improved performance for the wearer. Skiing is another sport which requires particular clothing such as trousers and jackets as well as specialised equipment.

The type of shoes you should be wearing to participate in sport depends on the type of sport. For sports such as football and rugby, special boots need to be worn and athletes on the running track require running spikes. For other sports a pair of good trainers will be sufficient.

If this has inspired you to dust off your trainers and pull on your tracksuit then that is great. If however, you prefer to watch sport from the comfort of your own home or wherever you are, rather than participate, then there are websites such as http://www.livefootball.net">www.livefootball.net which allow you to view live sporting events via the internet so you never have to miss a moment.