Nike Swift Hockey Innovation Debuts With Team USA

Heritage Meets the Next Generation 


BEAVERTON, Ore., Dec. 20  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, Nike and USA Hockey introduce the new uniforms for Team USA for the XX Olympic Winter Games and the innovation behind it that will help make the men's and women's national teams among the fastest in the world when they step on the ice in Torino, Italy in February. 

  (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051220/SFTU062-a
           http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051220/SFTU062-b
           http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO )


Nike, a proud sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team and USA Hockey, introduces Swift Hockey, performance-driven apparel that's a true revolution in hockey-wear. Comprised of material and design innovations for team jerseys and socks, Swift Hockey matches today's players and their dynamic style of play, and is designed for and tested by elite athletes and national team members from around the world.

USA Hockey's men's and women's national teams will wear Swift Hockey when they skate in Torino at the XX Olympic Winter Games.

Each Nike Swift innovation -- developed by Nike's Advanced Innovation Team that unleashed the Nike Swift suit for track and field in Sydney and Salt Lake's Nike Swift Skin for speed skating -- provides another way to out-skate and outperform the competition. In a game now measured in fractions of inches and precious seconds, every advantage and added efficiency counts. Nike has advanced traditional hockey apparel with a superior focus on speed, mobility, endurance and comfort.

  The Swift Advantage
  Aerodynamics in hockey? It's a genuine revolution.


There are those who call hockey the fastest game on earth. Unlike any time in hockey's history, the action on the ice is faster and quicker, with blinding speeds and unfathomable power. With pucks traveling at 100 miles per hour, and players slicing the ice at 20 mph, demands on player performance have never been greater. And that goes double for apparel.

Without sacrificing an ounce of heritage, and passing rigid International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) standards, the Nike Swift Hockey Jersey and Sock reduces overall weight, adds increased mobility and comfort while making the jersey aerodynamically the most advanced in the world.

Overcoming Air Resistance

While 25 percent of a hockey athlete's energy is spent fighting the friction of the ice, 75 percent of his or her energy is spent overcoming air resistance. Unheard of in the world of hockey, rigorous wind-tunnel testing has shown that the Nike Swift Jersey -- with its advanced design, hockey-specific articulation and fit, reduced weight, and innovative materials -- provides nearly a 20-inch advantage over a 50-yard sprint, delivering nearly 15 percent reduction in aerodynamic drag compared to standard hockey jerseys. That's a big break-away advantage for today's up-tempo game.

Thermoregulation and Weight Reduction

The Swift Hockey Jersey and Sock help increase player efficiency by paying particular attention to thermoregulation and weight reduction. Strategic mesh venting is located at gaps in the under protection, allowing air to flow directly to the body, increasing evaporative cooling and comfort.

Through perspiration, a hockey player can lose up to one kilogram of body weight per period. Using lighter weight, less absorbent materials integrated strategically into the jersey and sock design, the uniform takes on far less moisture than traditional products, staying lighter throughout the game.

Overall, the Swift Hockey Jersey has reduced average dry weight by approximately two and a half pucks' worth, saving 230 lbs. in lifted weight per game for a typical forward.

The Swift Sock weight offers a 40 percent weight reduction compared to a standard hockey sock, with a combined jersey-and-sock reduction of 33 percent in overall kit weight. Less weight equals more speed. The articulated fit is snugger and more streamlined, reducing bulk and requiring less or no taping.

Mobility, Fit and Comfort

For mobility, the Swift Hockey Jersey features optimal material integration, hockey-specific articulation for greater freedom of movement, and zoned stabilization in the forearms and elbows, for example, for protective equipment control. The jersey's snug, streamlined fit helps defeat a defender's jersey-grabbing grip, but with underarm stretch material, for great freedom of movement. The position-specific goalie jersey incorporates more durable fabrics across the entire face of the jersey, and is cut larger to accommodate goalie pads.

In the heat of battle, players want to think only about playing performance, and not uniform hindrance. To that end, the Swift Jersey features a waist Lockdown Gasket System that helps keep the jersey conveniently and efficiently in place.

Welcome to the Revolution

Skates are lighter, players are quicker and more powerful, and the game's overall speed is off the charts. With Nike's Swift innovation, the hockey athletes' need for speed is satisfied, proving that hockey apparel is not an accessory -- it's equipment.

About Nike, Inc.

NIKE, Inc. based in Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan (R), which designs, markets, and distributes fine dress and casual shoes and accessories; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which designs and markets athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail channel. 

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051220/SFTU062-a

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051220/SFTU062-b

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990818/NIKELOGO

http://photoarchive.ap.org/

DATASOURCE: Nike



CONTACT:  Dean Stoyer of Nike, [phone], or 



Web site:  http://www.nikebiz.com/ 

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