Garment for surfing

Abstract

A garment for the lower torso of the body, and in particular a sport skirt that hangs from the hips or waist of the user which comprises a skirt assembly including at least two slits to eight inches above or below the user's hip joint allowing for unrestricted leg movement while providing coverage of the buttocks and crotch area in various sport related positions.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention is a garment, a sport skirt. Throughout the application description the coined word “skqurt” is used in place of “the garment of this invention”. The English word “garment” is used in the claims. [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a garment for a part of the body, and in particular to a sport skirt, a skqurt. Particular examples are described in relation to surfing and skiing, which are preferred sports for application, but the garment described here can be adapted for use in other sports. [0004] 2. Background Information [0005] Skqurts can be seen as similar to many historic garments including loincloths, which have historically been worn as the sole piece of lower torso clothing. Loincloths are noted for their ability to offer glimpses of pubic hair, which is precisely what skqurts aim to prevent. In Borneo the purpose of the loincloth is to cover the male genitals, it leaves the buttock...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0020] This invention is based on the realization that female athletes, specifically surfers, want more choices in their surfwear. They do not want to be limited to surf shorts, one-piece bathing suits, or bikini bottoms. But they also want to keep their performance capacity, which hinges on conserving energy by means of a well-timed, quick paddle out. Due to aesthetics most women would enjoy wearing surf skirts in the water if they were fully functional. The unique design of skqurts allows for full range of motion in the legs, full frontal coverage when straddling a surfboard and an aesthetic many female surfers prefer over surf shorts, bikinis, and one-piece bathing suits.

[0021] The fixed circumference waist opening of the skqurt keeps the garment from being pulled off in powerful hydraulics.

[0022] High slits allow for complete leg mobility and complete coverage in sport specific positions such as straddling a surfboard. By freeing portions of fabric the slits allow fabric to fall with gravity to cover the frontal crotch area when the surfer is straddling her board and to cover the buttocks when she is straddling her board and lying on her board. This coverage allows the surfer to fully focus on the waves rather than the position of her bikini while retaining a distinctly female aesthetic.

[0023] The tabs or the parts of a connective device of the skqurt connect it with an undergarment providing more stability in both garments. For example, when the skqurt is connected to a bikini, the stability of the bikini from the strip of cloth between the legs translate to stability for the skqurt against twisting and floating higher than desired while the fixed circumference waist opening of the skqurt keeps the bikini bottoms from getting pulled off.

[0024] Skqurts also attempt to reduce rashing around the waistline of the athlete. The waistband of the skqurt is seamless in the main area of waist and hip contact with sports equipment. When intended for use as surfwear, the front is seamless and all closures, attachment seams, and embellishments are placed away from the ‘hotspots’ of the surfer by keeping them below, medial to, or lateral to the hip bone protrusions on the side or back around the upper edge of the garment, allowing for frictionless paddling and lying on a surfboard.

Problems solved by technology

These are very long and have potential for entangling the user if it is subject to strong currents of wind or water.

In addition to other limiting factors, they have excess fabric, which bunches when worn in a manner similar to the skqurt, this adds weight and bulk in opposition to the performance ideal of a surfer.

Besides using fabrics unsuitable for salt-water exposure, these are limited in the respect that they generally have elastic waistbands that easily fall off or up when pulled by strong ocean surges.

Some do employ fixed circumference waistbands and full skirts, pleats, or excess fabric, however these skirts do not offer the coverage or mobility of skqurts, as when seated with legs spread wide they tend to flip up in the middle to form an “m” shape with the lower edge of the fabric exposing the crotch.

They also lack a means of securing to an undergarment.

Often these are made with built in undergarments, which limits the convenience and ability to wear the same skirt with any bikini bottom, thus precluding many combinations from one purchase.

However, it would not be as useful in the water where rough water easily shifts skirts.

And the plurality of skirt panels and seams might make for some very uncomfortable rashes especially if seams corresponded to the protrusions of the hip bones on the user, which is a place on the body that receives a lot of pressure while paddling.

If the garments a surfer is wearing move around or fall off, the surfer suffers in energy and time lost to rearranging clothing rather than paddling back out immediately.

Or worse, loose or inappropriate garments can restrict the movements of the surfer or even entangle her in the event of getting ‘maytagged’ or joggled by severe water hydraulics.

In addition, because a substantial amount of time in surfing is spent paddling, there are places on the body which can get raw or rashed called ‘hotspots’.

However a problem many women surfers find is that both of these options do not fully cover their crotch when they are straddling their surfboard.

This means time lost to rearranging in the crucial time between bailing off the wave and paddling out.

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