The Soul Cap has gotten the green light from swimming’s top governing body, which figures to be a huge step toward bringing more diversity to a largely white sport.
You’ll have to look beyond the Olympics and world championships to spot its biggest impact.
The oversized, silicone cap, which is designed especially for Black swimmers with voluminous natural hair, already is making the pool deck feel more welcoming at the grassroots level.
The hope is that will lead to more swimmers of color reaching the sport’s highest echelons in the generations to come.
Seren Jones, co-founder of the British-based Black Swimming Association, is seeing signs of progress in her role as an instructor.
“I teach water safety to nonswimmers and beginners,” she said in a phone interview. “It’s absolutely incredible to see so many, really the majority of women across London, using the Soul Cap. I’m talking about women from the 20s to their 70s. It’s phenomenal. They feel empowered to learn and be safe in the water without worrying about their hair, which previously was a major issue.”
The Soul Cap initially was banned from competition by FINA, now known as World Aquatics, leading to harsh criticism during the Tokyo Olympics from supporters of more inclusive policies.
Most notably, open water competitor Alice Dearing — the first Black female swimmer to make the British team — thought FINA was out of touch for barring the Soul Cap on the grounds that it didn’t follow “the natural form of the head.”
Dearing had wanted to try the larger cap to cover her Afro.
Reversing course last September, the governing body added the Soul Cap to the list of approved equipment, with executive director Brent Nowicki saying “diversity and inclusivity is at the heart of FINA’s work.”
Ashley Oakey, head of brand for Soul Cap, said the company’s product has filled a huge void in the…
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