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Sportswear (activewear)

Protective Wear
Sportswear also includes the variety of protective gear required for contact sports such as lacrosse, boxing and ice hockey. Different types of protective equipment are needed depending on the type of sport and position. The types of gears include the following: head gear, gum shields, shin pads, shoulder pads, and joint supports.

Head Gear
Head gear is required for most sports with high risk of head injuries such as American football, bobsledding and cycling. Injuries related to the head have the potential to cause serious damage to the spine and may be life threatening. Although sports like rugby and boxing do not require participants to wear head protection, trainers or referees may choose to depending on the player’s history of head related injuries. Certain positions of some sports may require different type of protections. For example, goaltenders for ice hockey wear different types of face masks compared to other positions. They also have thick gloves with arm pads and shin guards to protect them from the high impact of pucks. In baseball, catchers and batters wear head gear for protection against the high velocity pitches. Head gear of different kinds must meet the standards of protection set by various organizations. Helmets for American football must be regulated by the National Football League or the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Although new rules of safe play have been in effect, players are still in danger of brain damage due to repeated blows to the head. Football players are more likely to develop brain related disorders during or after their careers compared to other sports.

Eye and Face Shields
Sports of all types may require eye or face protection depending on the players’ need. Face masks come in different forms for different types of sports. In lacrosse and American football, the masks are metal rods attached to the helmet to cover the face. While optional face masks that might be seen in basketball or rugby are plastic masks that are usually molded to fit the players’ face. Such masks are worn to minimize additional damage to an already injured part of the face. Eye protection is an additional support provided by sports goggles. Goggles may be worn in lieu of glasses or contacts. Goggles are reliable in the fact that they do not move around while the player is in motion and they protect the eye from foreign objects.

Mouth Guards
Mouth guards are used in many sports including but not limited to: rugby, lacrosse, boxing, water polo, ice hockey, American football, basketball, field hockey, and various martial arts. Mouth guards reduce the risk of sport related dental injuries. Contact or some team sports have a risk of causing injuries related with the mouth, jaw, teeth and oral soft tissues. Wearing mouth guards are not required in any sports but the players are recommended to.

Snow Gear
Different types of attire are needed for extreme weather conditions like snow. Thicker coats or jackets, gloves and boots are necessities in the cold. Winter sports such as snowboarding and skiing require the riders and skiers to be properly geared in the snow. Snow jackets differ from casual coats such that they may be packed with extra insulation and thicker coating materials. The insulation is usually made with down, which is the layer of fine feathers from geese or ducks. These feathers are naturally insulated to keep the birds warm in the harsh winter weathers. The feathers trap air inside and keep the body heat from flowing out. Down is also considered to be the highest quality of insulation for jackets. It is light and compressible. Alternative types of insulation are being invented including: synthetic microfibers and polyester-based insulation. These materials perform as well as down if not better and are becoming popular in the markets with the help of major brands using such materials for their equipment.

Winter gear must also be flexible so that it may offer a wide range of movement. An ideal jacket would have enough insulation to be warm but light, it should be made with material that are not restricting. Jackets with down will be light and warm but they tend to be more expensive. Also down jackets usually are not water-resistant. Synthetic insulated jackets, however, are water-resistant and cheaper than down but lose their insulating factors and are heavier.

In the Olympics, the variety of equipment used contain materials such as aluminum, fiberglass, mineral-based fibers and specialty steel alloys. Skis and snowboards are made up of carbon-fiber, aluminum, titanium and boron-fiber with tungsten alloys. Boots are made with ceramic fibers and steel. The article is very well put together. All information that needs a source, has one and the inline citations are properly placed and put into the article. You have 8 sources that are all .org or .gov which are very credible sources and have many good statistics and information on injuries and new protective gear. There are a couple grammar and spelling errors but nothing to serious. To get a little more in depth with the protective gear maybe you can talk about the consequences if you do not wear the correct protective gear and give some statistics on injury's that happen because of a lack of protective wear. Maybe to add a little to the page you can put up a picture of a mouth guard or different types of helmets for the different type of sport being played. Also explain why maybe they are different for each sport. Some companies that could be funding this website could be Helmet brands such as Schutt, Riddel, and companies in the mouth guard industry such as shock doctor.