The European Handball Federation has changed its regulations on women’s beach uniforms after the mandated bikini worn by athletes came under fire this summer from players, celebrities, and government officials.
Women may now wear bike shorts and tank tops while competing, a rule change that happened quietly in the past month. Back in July, the Norwegian team was fined €1,500 for “improper clothing” because they wore shorts instead of scanty bikini bottoms. The men’s league has always been allowed to wear shorts and tank tops.
NORWAY’S BEACH HANDBALL TEAM SHOULDN’T BE FINED FOR COVERING UP
Talitha Stone, an activist who led the petition to change the women’s uniforms, which gained over 60,000 signatures, said female athletes shouldn’t be punished for wearing “practical” uniforms.
“I hope this is the beginning of the end of sexism and objectification of women and girls in sport, and that in future all women and girls will be free to participate in sport without fear of wardrobe malfunctions and sexual harassment,” Stone said of the change.
When the EHF fined the Norwegian team in July, famous singer Pink offered to pay it for them, bringing international attention to the issue.
The Norwegian beach volleyball girls wanted to play in these shorts instead of in bikini bottoms which they found too revealing but were threatened by the EC tournament organizer with fines if they wore anything covering more than 10cm of their butts pic.twitter.com/LHSxXz91CM
— Tradia (@amalieskram) July 15, 2021
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Last month, government officials from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland wrote a joint letter to the International Handball Federation asking them to change the women’s uniform.
Here are the rules for the men’s vs. women’s uniforms. Ridiculously pic.twitter.com/8wDXG22sTd
— KT SLP (@MrsThornSLP) July 25, 2021
