Team kits for teams that train in the sun: what to look for

Start with the fabric, not the design

Most teams choose a kit by its colours and crest, and the fabric comes last. For a team that trains in strong sun, it is worth turning that order around. ARPANSA, Australia’s radiation protection agency, explains that the tighter a fabric is made, the less space there is between the yarns for ultraviolet to pass through.

Some jerseys use open mesh panels for air. Where those panels sit across the back and shoulders, they leave the sun an easy way in. A first check costs nothing: hold the fabric up to the light. SunSmart, the sun safety programme in Victoria, notes that a fabric that lets a lot of light through may let a lot of ultraviolet through too.

Cover where the sun lands

When a team trains outside, the sun falls on the shoulders, the back of the neck and the arms for hours at a time. SunSmart’s guidance on uniforms, which covers sport as well as school, looks for higher necklines, sleeves at least to the elbow, and shorts that cover most of the thigh.

Coverage is part of the standard too. Under AS/NZS 4399:2020, a garment needs to cover the torso and three quarters of the upper arm, or the lower body, before it can claim a rating at all. A sleeveless jersey can be made from excellent fabric and still cover very little. That is why we offer long sleeves for the whole squad, as well as short sleeves.

Fit and stretch

A jersey that is pulled tight across the chest or back opens up as it stretches. ARPANSA notes that stretching a knitted fabric lowers its protection, and SunSmart advises choosing the correct size for the same reason. Youth and adult sizes in one order help every player get a fit that is close without straining.

Water matters as well. Training kit gets wet from rain, sweat and water bottles, and SunSmart’s information sheet notes that most fabrics protect less when wet. A light, quick drying fabric spends less of each session that way.

Prints that last as long as the kit

Names, numbers, sponsors and the crest are the parts of a kit people notice first. We print every team kit by sublimation, so the design goes into the fabric itself. There is no layer on top to crack or peel, and no stiff patch across the back or the shoulders.

Ask for the proof

A maker who sells a kit as sun protective should be able to show a laboratory report for that exact fabric. Ask which standard it was tested to: AS/NZS 4399:2020 in Australia and New Zealand, or the American method AATCC TM183. ARPANSA notes that such reports rate the material, not the design, so the cut still matters.

Ask for a sample before the full order, too. Lay it over a UV card in full sun beside a card in the open, and you will see for yourselves whether the sun gets through. We explain the test in how to do the shirt test at home.

A season of washing

A team kit is washed far more often than most clothing. The American practice ASTM D6544 ages fabric with laundering, simulated sunlight and chlorinated pool water to stand in for two years of use before it is measured, because the protection a fabric gives changes over time. Our guide on how to care for clothing made to block the sun covers the rest.

How we make team kits

A Rezzella team kit is your own kit, in your design: your colours, crest, sponsors, names and numbers, on our fabric, next to our signature. We use a tight knit with no open mesh where the sun hits, and every player gets a UV card. Our fabric goes to ARPANSA, Australia’s radiation protection agency, for testing to AS/NZS 4399 before the first run. The full report goes on the shirt test page. We share it with every team too.

Coaches can add the Sun Hoodie for the sideline. Tell us your sport and colours on our team kits page, and we will send a free design within 48 hours, whether you play football, paddle in dragon boat crews or run with a running club.