Sports hijab and athletic performance - addressing key factors

Back in my netball, tennis and very active sports playing teenage days, which have since been replaced with family duties, I read an in a sports magazine about how athletes use all their senses when competing.

Watch an ATP tennis match. Pick any of the fastest servers in the league and you'll see that they hit the ball so hard that travels towards their opponent at speeds over 220km/hour!

I doubt any of their opponents can see the ball coming towards them. Perhaps all they can make out is a yellow streak. But it's so fast, it's difficult to judge with eyesight alone the direction it is going and precisely where it is going to land. Getting there before it bounces past them, is difficult.

According to the article I read, hearing the ball being hit and landing nearby, helps to judge more accurately it's direction. Hearing the THWACK of it being hit by your opponent, gives an idea of timing, of when to move. Together with eyesight, judging the ball's direction and timing it's landing is easier with teamwork of the senses.

Now for a hijabi girl, this may be problematic. Layers of fabric over the ears can affect hearing, particularly if there is more than one layer.  More denser fabrics can flaps against your ears causing distracting and annoying noises.

That day, many years ago, I thought to my teenage self, This is it!
This is what Muslim women's sportswear is all about. It's not just style, design and colours. But functionality and performance enhancement too. That day I sketched my first design. And improved on it a little at a time.

The new sports hijab Pioneer 800 range has less gathering of fabric at the neck and a longer, though compact front panel to cover small to larger chest sizes. It's a simpler design, offering comfort and modesty.

In the side-view sports hijab image above, I've edited the picture to emphasise the seams in the design. Two seams are visible, but neither cross over the ears eliminating noise caused by friction and irritation on the ears.

The Pioneer 800 range of sports hijabs, are based on the previous design of 2012, the Pioneer 700 range. However, the inner head band was removed as it added another layer over the ears getting in the way of a key factor I wanted the sports hijab to have. 

Like the 700 range, it comes in FIVE different sizes to give you the best balance between secure fit and comfort. Not to mention TEN different colours to choose from. And the fabric - it is still the same quality, moisture-wicking, quick-drying, breathable, lightweight fabric, designed for sports. All to keep you cool and dry while you play free.

*Currently retails for BWP320 or USD 37 or EURO 27 or MYR 117 or SGD46

Hijabified footballers

FIFA finally approves proper hijab (and not a modified version of it) for all female footballers who wish to wear it. And to commemorate this historic rule change, which honestly I thought would never see the light of day, I have put together some photos of the good people of the beautiful game... all sporting hijab.

Take a look..

(Apologies for the poor editing.. I do not have photoshop.. someone else with minimal skill could have done this alot better than I did.)

 

1. Hope Solo (USA)

Rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the women's game, Hope Solo had to appear first on my list. Looks lovely in turquoise.



2. Players of the Norwegian team 

I'm ashamed to say I do not know their names or their level of skill as much as I know of the more popular USA team... But the hijabee one looks like she does a good job at dribbling and keeping tacklers at bay.



 

3. Lionel Messi (Argentina & Barcelona FC)

Ok so the hijab rule applies only to women (both FIFA-ly and Islamically) but no football list would be complete without him.



4. Sepp Blatter (FIFA PRESIDENT)

And the man, without whose approval, hijab on the pitch would have been only a pipedream. Looks pretty happy with his fabulous grey hijab...



Seriously though, I'm really glad this ban has been lifted. Football being one of the major sports, and FIFA the largest sporting body, this rule change in favour of "proper" hijab speaks volumes about the current sports conditions at the elite level. Hopefully paving the way for more Muslimah athletes in all sporting disciplines.

FIFA lifts ban on full hijab

A petition started by Rahaf Owais, a staffer at Jordanian Football Association gained more than 15000 signatures to campaign against the FIFA ban on headscarves.

Previously, FIFA only allowed a cap-like covering and forbade any garments over the neck and ears for "safety" measures. This rule resulted in both Iran and Jordan teams being disqualified from major matches last year due to players wearing hijab. It affected younger, future international players too such as the 11 year old Canadian who was sent off for wearing hijab a few years ago that contravened FIFA rules during a league match.

Numerous meetings and discussions began between pro-hijab campaigners and FIFA bodies. Like most injustices, all it came down to was lack of education on what hijab really wa. After hijab was clearly differentiated from the enveloping burka and chador, as a more sports-friendly Islamic dress item that covers head, neck and ears, FIFA came to the understanding that hijab was not a safety issue. In fact playing with hijab was no more a safety issue than playing with long hair.

A prototype of a suitable hijab was proposed to FIFA - it covers the head, neck and ears, is tight-fitting, closes with velcro and easily comes off if pulled by another player. (Hmm sounds suspiciously like another sports hijab brand that you may know of beginning with R and ending with n).

The short front friniggi sports hijab designed especially for weightlifter Kulsoom Abdullah, has those qualities too. Except that it is not as tight-fitting and appears more like hijab. It doesn't use velcro or pins. Instead like the long-front friniggi sports hijab it has an inner headband that holds everything in place. And comes in different sizes for more comfy fit. And it slides off when pulled..

The petition was hosted by Change.org, a site with facilities for petitions for any campaign. Thank you to all those who signed the petition after viewing both our blogpost and status post on facebook.