A swim cap, swimming cap or bathing cap, is a silicone, latex or lycra cap worn on the head by recreational and competitive swimmers.

Caps are worn for various reasons. Some facilities require the wearing of swim caps, in order to protect filters from becoming clogged with loose hairs which fall from the scalp of swimmers who are not wearing a cap. Caps are also sometimes worn in an attempt to keep the hair relatively dry or free from chlorinated water, to keep the sun off of the hair, and also, when a cap is worn with ear plugs, in order to keep water out of the ears.

Competitive swim caps are made of tightly fitted silicone, latex, or lycra that hugs the skull of its user, providing cover for his or her hair. This reduces drag in the water caused by loose hair. During longer swimming sessions, a swim cap keeps the head warm.

Swim or SWIM may refer to:

A cap is a form of headgear. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head and have no brim or only a visor. They are typically designed for warmth and, when including a visor, blocking sunlight from the eyes. They come in many shapes and sizes.

Long hair is a hairstyle. Exactly what constitutes long hair can change from culture to culture, or even within cultures. For example, a woman with chin-length hair in some cultures may be said to have short hair, while a man with the same length of hair in some of the same cultures would be said to have long hair.

Scientists view long hair as playing a large part in natural selection among many species, since long, thick and healthy hair or fur is frequently a sign of fertility and youth. As hair grows slowly, long hair reveals several years of a person's health status and reproductive fitness. Hair length is significantly correlated with female attractiveness, as rated by men as well as women. Hair length and quality can act as a cue to especially a woman's youth and health, signifying reproductive potential. The prevalence of trichophilia (hair partialism or fetischism) is 7% in the population, and very long hair is a common subject of devotion in this group.

Ways of life often viewed as more rigid, such as soldiers and religious cultures, often have explicit rules regarding hair length. For example, Buddhist monks shave their heads as part of their order of worship. Even outside religious structures, cultures often associate male long hair with ways of life outside of what is culturally accepted. Subservient cultures, for example, are sometimes detected by their rulers through hair length, as was the case with the Gaelic Irish under English rule and the Moors under Spanish rule in Medieval Spain.

Dana Vollmer (born November 13, 1987) is an American college and international swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece she won a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Natalie Coughlin, Kaitlin Sandeno, and Carly Piper that set the world record in the event.

She has won a total of twenty-seven medals in major international competition, fifteen gold, eight silver, and four bronze spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, the Pan American Games, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the Goodwill Games.

Though born in Syracuse, New York, she was raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex suburb of Granbury, Texas. As a child, Vollmer swam for coach Ron Forrest at the Fort Worth Area Swim Team (FAST).

Collegiately, she initially swam for the University of Florida, before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley.

In 2003, Dana underwent heart surgery to correct a condition called Supra Ventricular Tachyardia, which produces a quickened pulse rate of about 240 beats per minute. After that surgery, an EKG indicated that she might have Long QT Syndrome; however, further testing indicated that she did not have the syndrome. Nonetheless, her heart conditions demand that a defibrillator be kept poolside when she swims as a precautionary measure.