Outdoor sprint season is shorts, singlets, and tank tops. Indoor sprint season is long sleeves, joggers, and crewnecks. The reason: indoor venues run 55-65 degrees most of the day, and athletes are not running their event back to back. A sprinter at an indoor meet might warm up at 9 am, run prelims at 11, sit through finals draws, and race the final at 4 pm. That is six hours in a cool venue with brief bursts of full effort.
The apparel program needs to match. A summer-only shop has nothing the indoor athlete wants in December.
| Piece | Brand | Use | Retail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moisture-wicking long sleeve | Sport-Tek | Warmup and between heats | $40 |
| Long sleeve cotton shirt | Bella+Canvas | Holding area, casual | $40 |
| Quarter-zip pullover | Sport-Tek | Layering, easy on-off between heats | $42 |
| Cotton-blend joggers | Cotton Heritage | Warmup, throughout the day | $62 |
| Open-bottom sweatpants | Jerzees | Looser warmup option | $55 |
| Crewneck sweatshirt | Bear Grips | Layering, post-race | $48 |
| Cuffed winter hat | Yupoong | Travel to and from the venue | $32 |
The indoor calendar:
Open the indoor apparel collection in early November. The first wave of orders catches the December meets. The second wave catches January through February. Most indoor apparel revenue lands in this 14-week window.
The quarter-zip is the single most useful indoor sprint piece. It layers over a long sleeve, comes off in 5 seconds before a race, goes back on between heats, and looks clean for travel and post-race interviews. Sprinters and hurdlers who never wear a quarter-zip outdoors will wear one every indoor meet.
Stock the quarter-zip in 3-4 colors (black, charcoal, the squad primary, and one alternate). Price it at $42 retail with $12 of margin. Athletes who buy one in their first indoor meet will buy a second one in a different color before season ends.
For a typical sprint and hurdle squad covering both indoor and outdoor:
| Variable | Conservative | Typical | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squad athletes | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Indoor window buy rate | 40% | 60% | 80% |
| Buyers | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| Pieces per buyer | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.0 |
| Average margin per piece | $11 | $12 | $13 |
| Indoor window profit | $165 | $396 | $780 |
Combined with the outdoor window, a 25-athlete sprint squad typically clears $800-$1,800 in apparel margin across the full year.
Long sleeves, joggers, quarter-zips, crewnecks. The indoor lineup your sprint squad actually wears. Launch in early November for the December opener.
Start FreeSame logo and squad design works for both. The difference is which pieces you stock. Indoor leans heavily on long sleeves, joggers, and quarter-zips. Outdoor leans on tees, tanks, and shorts.
Black, charcoal, and the squad primary color cover roughly 75 percent of indoor sales. Navy and royal are common alternates. White is rare for indoor (gets dirty fast at indoor venues).
No. Keep tees listed but reduce navigation prominence. Sprinters still need tees for daily training and they sell year-round. Just do not lead the indoor drop with them.
About 3-5 business days production at a US print partner with free ground shipping. End-to-end is about a week from order to door.
Bear Grips Pro Shops