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Essential Kit
What equipment does my swimmer need to start training with a club? Our website has more in-depth information on a lot of the equipment; however, we recommend the following:
A swim hat
A “named” swim hat is particularly helpful for the coaches and to have a chance of return when it is lost
Short fins – Expect to pay around £20 – a good example would be Maru training short fins. Avoid anything described as “long”. Avoid the Speedo Biofuse Fins as these are heavy and have little flex. More specialised fins are available. Please research or ask the Head coach if you are uncertain what to buy.
A pull buoy – Expect to pay around £10 – for younger swimmers, we recommend a junior pull buoy such as the Maru Junior or Tyr Junior
Kick board – the Finis Alignment kickboard is recommended £19. This allows much better body alignment than the traditional large type which should be avoided for squad swimmers.
Hand paddles – Expect to pay between £10 and £20. There are two reasons for using hand paddles: 1 – increasing feel of what the hand is doing during the stroke; 2 – building strength. The smaller technical paddles are recommended such as the Speedo Tech paddle or Finis Agility paddle. –– a good size guide can be found here
Finger Paddles These are not a necessity but are very useful in providing feedback in all strokes and can be used effectively in Breaststroke where full hand paddles are difficult to use. Expect to pay £9 – £13
Goggles – this is the hardest area to advise on, because the fit of goggles depends on the face shape of the swimmer. We recommend you look at our guide here.
A mesh bag, to put your swimming kit (or “toys”) in – some websites throw these in for free with any order. Otherwise expect to pay around £5 for something basic. The bag must be bigger than the kickboard.
A costume – avoid frills and loose bits, because they cause additional drag through the water. Most boys opt for jammers. Girls should be swimming in a one-piece swim suit. Racing costumes are much more expensive than training costumes. Please be careful and seek advise if your are at all uncertain in what to purchase.
A water bottle – min capacity 500ml and something that is closed when not in use, but quick to open – clear bottles have the advantage that you can see how clean they are inside, such as the Arena Clear water bottle
A black marker, to put the swimmer’s name or initials on everything
As your swimmer develops they are likely to need the following additional kit:
A snorkel – expect to pay around £25 – we recommend the Arena Swim Snorkel II
There are many other training aids available from tempo trainers to resistance equipment. All of these have there use but please speak to the Head coach to ensure equipment is suitable and usable in the club training environment.
Crusaders Branded Kit
T-Shirts
Child : £21.00
Adult : £26.00
How to order
Please use the order item link to email your orders to kit officer Dominique Luke. Dominique will reply as soon as possible to the orders placed. Please be aware, some items such as personalised hats are ordered every few months due to bulk order requirements. This may mean your personalised order is put on a waiting list until the next available order.
Dominique will post on spond when orders have arrived or reply to email orders directly to organise collection. Orders requested on spond may be missed and will still need to go through the order item links. Orders will be brought to Tiddenfoot pool and a few of the other pools used by Crusaders at training times. Exact collection times to be confirmed via email or spond.
Please be patient with order requests as not all sizes or requests will always be available immediately due to limited stock and storage availability.
