Topless while playing badminton

[DarkMajes71c]

I have been having some issues with a member of staff at the sports hall where I play badminton twice a week. When I play I get quite hot and as the hall is very poorly ventilated I take my t-shirt off and play without it. Which to me and the people I play with is totally acceptable. However the woman who runs some kids club thing (which is on one of the adjacent courts in the same hall with a big green curtain between us and them) has taken it upon herself to start spouting off about a load of child protection laws and essentially accused me of exposing myself to kids. This was a bit of a shock to me as I was definitely still wearing my shorts and have never taken them off! Am I well within my rights to play without a shirt? Or are they about to introduce covering male swimwear because children go to swimming pools?

[Ethel]

I take it you are a man.

My own club has very strict rules about dress in the gym and the courts - men must wear tops.

If you invest in some good quality sports tops they will help keep you dry and comfortable.

I would not be happy to see a man without his shirt on the badminton court.

However, you are not within your rights. It's their club, their rules, your choice to go elsewhere.

[Panic Button]

The title of the question gave a lovely image.

Unfortunately Ethel's first line shows why I was disappointed.

[DarkMajes71c]

There are no such rules for the center that i play at and for the whole of last year there was no issue. Yes i am a man and for your information Tetjam im not like you i dont stare at little kids.

Thanks Ethel i will have a look into getting some sports tops that are a bit more breathable so i dont drown in swet while im playing. seems like its the only way im going to keep the peace.

[Twenty20]

Oh dear. We dont really want to see sweaty, half naked men running around sports halls. If you really are that hot and sweaty it will actually make more sense to wear a top. For one thing you'll be less likely to drip sweat on the floor which will make it very slippery.

And its just really not very nice. Put some clothes on, youre not impressing anyone, youre just looking a bit odd.

[bednobs]

if it is a member of staff then i think you have to listen to her. of course she is bonkers for accusing you of exposing yourself, but she is acting as an agent of the sports hall. i expect if you persue it then they will rapidly get themselves a policy of "tops must be worn", which would be in their rights and then you would be chucked out.
However, as a former badminton player, i find it a bit weird that you find playing without a top comfortable in the slightest, or that sweat dripping off your body (what a lovely image that presents - off to get my mental eraser) dosent cause problems on the court for yourself or your partner. you may even find that your friends are saying its ok but thinking something completely different!

[DarkMajes71c]

Thanks Tetjam your a great help as usual.

[~max~]

"We dont really want to see sweaty, half naked men running around sports halls."

Talk for yourself, Twenty20!!! Sounds good to me....;O)

[Lakitu]

And me

[tinglepie]

pervs

[Lakitu]

I try my best, timglepie :)

[johnny37]

My local gym says men must wear a top at all times. It doesnt say anything about women.This reminds me of when I was at work in a city bank. Men had to wear a suit but the girls could wear what they liked, which included jeans, t-shirts and vests. someimes without a bra!

[saxy_jag]

If the sports centre and your playing colleagues are happy for you to play badminton topless, then there's no law in Britain to say you can't - although there are some men who really shouldn't, purely for aesthetic reasons, of course.

Obviously there are times when it wouldn't be appropriate, but playing a high action sport such as yours isn't one of them.

This woman needs to get a life. There is no shame in the human body, and letting children believe that it should be covered up at all times is one of the worst things we can do for their self- and body-image. I know - it's what I was unwittingly taught and I'm still coming to terms with my body shape forty years on.

[hammerman]

Bloody hell...this is 2008 and the constant media coverage of men and women who go topless is immense.

personally it wouldn't bother me and i really can't see how it could bother anyone else. The amount of prudish do-gooders in this country is beyond belief

[johnny37]

Further to my previous post, yes i do have a problem with topless male badminton players. Certain activities require a certam mode of dress. Would you go topless to a wedding or a funeral? Of course not. Would you even think playing topless at Wimbledon is acceptable? I doubt it. Stop being arkward and just enjoy your game.

[saxy_jag]

But Johnny, this is not a wedding or a funeral, and neither is it Wimbledon with its middle-class sensitivities. It is a badminton court in a sports centre. Moreover, it is a badminton court in a sports centre whose dress code does not preclude men exercising without their shirts. I guess if it did, then DarkMajes would comply with it.
Did you never go 'shirts and skins' when you played football at school? Or were you always off with your period on PE days?

[johnny37]

saxyjag, Im no prude but certain activitiies do require a certain dress code. In golf you would not get a game if you did not dress properly. I would find it just annoying if DarkMajes played his game of badminton dressed as a clown, or in the nude. Its not difficult, just get on with the game and worry about more important things.

ps my gym specifically says shirts must be worn. If you dont like it dont join.

[saxy_jag]

"Certain activities do require a certain dress code" - and who dictates that, Johnny? The law? The clubs? You? Thing is, your gym isn't every gym, and what suits one may not suit another. Neither can we expect others to dress according to our personal tastes and dress codes, especially where a strong corporate one does not exist. I happen to find the sight of fat-bellied males in skin-tight swimwear quite repulsive, but that gives me no right to ask the pool management not to allow it.

You'd probably expect a golf club not to allow males to play topless, but again, that's a golf course and not a sports hall. In this case, there's nothing in the dress code about it, and I for one wouldn't object (and it would appear I'm not the only one).

As you say, if you don't like a place's dress code, you don't go there. That goes two ways. If you really can't face the thought of looking at a naked male chest, then you don't have to join.

You say "get on with the game and worry about more important things" - absolutely great piece of advice, Johnny. Well worth taking - worry about the game and not about what someone else is or is not wearing. Sounds like DarkMajes' playing colleagues are doing just that - unlike her ladyship.