Freshman swimmer Dave Poorbaugh first shaved at age 12 while competing on an age group team in Europe. He told the chaperone he had shaved before, but he hadn't.

"He took all the meat off the bone of one leg and I thought he would have to get a blood transfusion," said his mother, Christina Poorbaugh.

Most Penn State swimmers shave three times a year: for the Eastern Seaboard Championships, to qualify for NCAAs and to do well at NCAAs. Some swimmers shave an additional time to qualify for Easterns.

But does shaving really make a difference?

Coach Peter Brown said studies show that removing body hair reduces the amount of resistance and can decrease a swimmer's times 3-4 percent. Another study proved that shaving increases a swimmer's stroke length, which allows more distance per stroke. Thus, shaving brings competitive swimming to another level.

"It's not psychological," said Elsworth Buskirk, director of the Noll Laboratory for Human Performance. "Some of the swimming events, especially the shorter ones, are won in just a fraction of a second, so we are only talking about a very slight advantage."

Although the swimmers may not understand the technical aspects and benefits of removing body hair, they view it as a natural way to close the season.

Poorbaugh, who said he still manages at least one big scar per shave, is not the only swimmer who has ever lost blood in the process.

"We have to be careful because we hack ourselves pretty bad," Walter Sopp said. "I don't cut myself very often anymore but some of the other guys have open gashes on the ankles and knees."

"I always cut myself right on an artery," Andy Archer said, laughing. "But seriously, the back of the knees and around the ankles are the hardest to get. Doing your right arm is difficult, too, because shaving left-handed is awkward for a right-hander."

To avoid major wounds and save money on straight razors, some swimmers take an intermediate step before shaving. "Clipping" is done with an electric razor to remove all hair but stubble. Swimmers usually clip only their legs, then finish the rest of the job using a 12-pack of straight razors.

Because shaving comes at the time in a season when the team is rested and looking ahead to a big meet, the swimmers make a party of it by shaving together in the locker room. Sometimes the process can take up to four hours. But Poorbaugh said most of the time is spent messing around and having shaving together in the locker room. Sometimes the process can take up to four hours. But Porbaugh said most of the time is spent messing around and having shaving cream battles. A serious shaver would probably take only an hour.

Connie Archer, Andy's mother, said her son never shaved in the bathroom because of the length of time it required. So while swimming at the high school level, he shaved while sitting on a sheet in the living room watching "Cosby" or in his room listening to Phil Collins and Genesis.

"He got bored sitting in the bathroom for hours," she said. "I didn't care that he shaved in the living room because he was always careful not to make a mess."

Archer said that at away meets the swimmers get together in one hotel room, watch television and have shaving cream battles while shaving.

"Then, once you shave all the hair off your head, you put it in the sink and make the management mad," he said, laughing.

In addition to their legs, arms, backs and all visible body hair, some swimmers even shave their heads. Doug Cooper said he will give himself a mohawk this year. Drew Van Winkle, who shaved his head the past three years, said it's important to use alcohol to open pores on the scalp and avoid ingrown hairs. Archer shaved his head the past two years for the state tournament.

"What else can be better?" Archer asked. "You get to fool around with your hair and make different designs and you have an excuse for it. Then you take a straight razor to it and it's as smooth as a baby's butt."

Sopp, who already has a flat top, decided not to shave his head.

"I learned in high school that it's not what's on your head, it's what's in it," he said.

Swimmers said that shaving removes the first layer of skin, which exposes nerve cells that send sensations and gives them a better feel for the water. Then during practice the next week, the swimmers wear nylons in the water to create resistance and make up for the missing skin.

"You don't want to keep feeling the sensation so you wear the nylons," Archer said. "They aren't incredibly heavy but you can tell they're there. It's just for the drag."

Connie Archer used to buy her son pink and purple Danskin tights to wear during his high school practices.

"The people at the stores always looked at me like I was crazy when I told them that I needed a size that would fit my son," she said.

But the swimmers are used to getting strange looks, especially in the summer when they wear shorts and have no hair or only stubble on their legs.

"The weirdest thing about shaving is wearing shorts," Sopp said. "It's hard to explain to a lot of people but for the most part it's not so bad."

"It's not like we don't have a purpose for doing it," Archer said. "Actually at some meets you feel stupid if you do have hair. But sometimes I want to go around with a little sign on telling people I have a reason for shaving my legs."

Quinn Carver said it was depressing to shave off his tan. But Poorbaugh said the worst part of having no hair on his legs is wearing jeans in the winter because it's cold and feels like he doesn't have anything on.

"Also, when you're in bed and roll over, its weird," he said.