In What Sports Do People Wear Hats?

A hat is a common addition to many different types of sports uniforms. Aside from the fashion aspect, hats do provide a function on the field. Soft hats in field games protect a player's face from the sun. Harder hats, or helmets, are worn for contact sports and protect the athlete from hurting himself when struck by another player or piece of equipment.

  1. Soft Hats

    • Soft hats made of mesh, cotton, wool or polyester are worn in sports such as baseball and softball when the players are on defense. Baseball and softball are rare exceptions to the world of sports hats because they wear soft hats in the field, but hard protective helmets when they are on offense. Soft hats are optional for people who participate in tennis and golf. Some players prefer to wear the hat to help block out the sun, while others play with other accessories such as sunglasses.

    Helmets

    • Helmets provide protection to the player and help stave off injury when head contact is made with another player or piece of equipment. Sports such as football, hockey and lacrosse all require helmets. In football and lacrosse, helmets have a grid type shape in front of the face. In hockey, the face mask is clear so players can see the puck. Other sports require helmets as well such as inline skating, auto racing, horse racing (for the jockeys) and cycling.

    Caps

    • There are some sports that utilize hats in the form of a cap. The cap is meant to keep the hair close to the head. For example, swimmers and water polo players wear caps. In swimming this is to streamline the swimming time as hair dragging across the water can cause additional friction slowing down the race time. Water polo caps are a hybrid cap. They keep the hair close to the head, but at the same time have hard ear covers for ear protection. Another sport that utilizes a cap similar to that of a water polo cap is wrestling. The ear protection is meant to keep wrestlers from developing "cauliflower ear." This is a condition where the cartilage is repeatedly pressed against the wrestling mat, injuring it and causing it to change in shape to something that looks like cauliflower.

    No Hats

    • There are a multitude of sports where no hat, helmet or cap are required or used. Basketball, volleyball, badminton, tournament fishing, soccer, archery and competitive shooting are all sports in which hats are not required. Additionally, track and field sports such as sprinting, distance running, marathon, shot put, triple jump, long jump and discus are all examples of sports where participants are not required to wear hats.