Fairfax Police
Youth Club

Uniforms

Uniforms/Clothing & Shoes

Uniforms: Distribution and Policies

We use the same uniform from season to season, so if your child's uniform still fits from a past cross country and/or track and field season, they do not need a new one. 

If you cannot make it on the dates designated on the schedule, parents will need to meet the directors at the clubhouse to obtain uniforms. We strongly recommend you send someone, even if your child can not attend practice on a uniform distribution day. Every runner must wear an FPYC-issued singlet (tank top) and shorts for every meet. Those runners without a full FPYC uniform will not be allowed to compete on race days. This is an FPYC wide requirement. Just as your child would be required to wear an FPYC football, soccer, basketball, etc. uniform, they are also required to wear the running uniform. 

*Indication of uniform sizes on the registration form does not constitute a uniform order. Sizes provided on the registration form allow directors to order the appropriate number of sizes needed. Families will still need to pay for the items on the date they are received. 

UNIFORM COST:
  • Shorts: $17
  • Singlets: $16
  • Sets: $33

NOTE: A full uniform (shorts and singlet) must be worn during meets; we offer them separately for those who already have a set and only need to replace the shorts or singlet.

The team uniforms are moisture-wicking performance fabric. The shorts come in seven unisex sizes as follows ("Y" = youth; "A" = adult):
 
YS
YM
YL
AS
AM
AL
AXL

 

Girls and young ladies are typically less enthusiastic about tank tops. Therefore, we have attempted to get as many girls and young ladies into 'adult ladies' singlet sizes, which offer a cut that has slightly wider shoulder straps, double-ply uniform material in the front, and slightly less revealing neck and arm openings. The Adult Ladies XS is slightly roomier than a unisex Youth Medium. From there, a similar skew follows: the ALS is obviously bigger than a ALXS, but still below a YL. There is no unisex adult XS. So girls should not have a need for the unisex YL; if they size out of a unisex YM, they should be into the AL (Adult Ladies) series sizes. If we run out of AL tops in any size, young ladies will need to find the most appropriate sized unisex top.

Size progressivity and conparison (smallest to largest) for singlets:

Girls
YS
YM
ALXS
ALS
ALM
ALL
Boys/Unisex
YS
YM
YL
AS
AM
AL
AXL

 

Recommended Dress and Footwear for Practices

CLOTHING RECOMMENDATIONS
Please dress appropriately. It is generally cold (spring) or warm (fall) at the start of the season, but the weather quickly changes within a month of either season. You may want to consider having your child dress in layers, so that they can take off a light sweatshirt, jacket, or long sleeve t-shirt and still have something underneath. Any general athletic shorts are fine, but ones that hang well below the knee might be more cumbersome for distance running than they are for something like basketball. Athletes will receive a team t-shirt but are not required to wear it to practice. Hats and gloves are important when the temperature gets colder. 

RUNNING SHOE RECOMMENDATIONS
We STRONGLY recommend running-specific shoes in place of generic tennis shoes or any other harder soled sneakers (generally more 'squared' - such as for basketball or skateboarding). Running-specific shoes may or may not do much for performance (we are of the mind that they do), but at least consider them for their propensity for preventing injuries and blisters. Children are fairly resilient to injury, but we do see repetitive knee, ankle, and other problems with our participants - and the culprit is usually overly worn or inappropriate shoes.

A handful of our runners make the additional investment in even more specific racing competition shoes or spikes. While we endorse these shoes if the parents are on board, they are completely optional. Our first meet doesn't take place until two or three weeks into the season; we encourage you to approach one of the coaches if you are considering or questioning racing shoes.

The FPYC Running program has established a wonderful relationship with Pacers Running Store in Fairfax and we have no hesitation with steering families there. Youth participants and coaches receive a discount if they mention FPYC running, and the service is top notch. Pacers donated $10,000 to us over the past few years for partnering with them and supplying help for their New Year's Eve Fairfax Four Miler race. Of course feel free to shop where you feel most comfortable, but their staff provide a higher level of attention and knowledge, and with the team discount can beat or come close to prices at Dick's, Kohl's, etc. The store is located in the Old Town Fairfax area; visit their website at www.runpacers.com.