European Beach Handball Championships: Norway hit with 1,500 euros bikini fine

Norway have been fined 1,500 euros (£1,295) for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms at the European Beach Handball Championships.

The European Handball Federation (EHF) said it had imposed the fine because of a case of "improper clothing".

Norway's players wore shorts instead of bikini bottoms during a bronze medal match against Spain in Varna, Bulgaria.

Norway's Handball Federation (NHF) had already stated it would pay if their players were fined.

An EHF statement said a disciplinary commission had imposed a fine of "150 euros per player, for a total of 1,500 euros".

It added that Norway had played with shorts that are "not according to the athlete uniform regulations defined in the IHF [International Handball Federation] beach handball rules of the game."

Kare Geir Lio, the head of NHF, had told news agency AFP any penalty would be paid but added: "It should be a free choice within a standardised framework.

"The most important thing is to have equipment that athletes are comfortable with."

Before the Championships, Norway approached the EHF to ask for permission to play in shorts but were told that breaches of the rules were punishable by fines.

A Norwegian motion to amend the current rules will be discussed by the bodies in the coming months.

"The EHF is committed to bring this topic forward in the interest of its member federations - however, it must also be said that a change of the rules can only happen at IHF level," said EHF spokesman Andrew Barringer.

The issue has been debated in beach sports circles for several years as some players find the bikini both degrading and impractical.

German gymnasts' outfits take on sexualisation in sport
Published23 April



Germany's Sarah Voss performs on the balance beam during the women's qualification round of the 2021 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 21 April 2021
IMAGE COPYRIGHTEPA
image captionSarah Voss said she hoped other gymnasts would follow the team's example
She did not break any rules, but Sarah Voss's full-body suit this week at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships defied convention.

Until now women and girls have only covered their legs in international competition for religious reasons.

Voss, from Germany, said she was proud of her decision and she was supported by her country's gymnastics federation.

Two team-mates then did the same on Friday, wearing full-body suits during the women's all-around final.

The German federation (DTB) said its gymnasts performing in the Swiss city of Basel were taking a stand against "sexualisation in gymnastics", adding that the issue had become all the more important to prevent sexual abuse.

"We hope gymnasts uncomfortable in the usual outfits will feel emboldened to follow our example," said Voss.

Kim Bui of Germany competes on the beam during the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Finals at St. Jakobshalle on April 23, 2021 in Basel, Switzerland
IMAGE COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES
image captionKim Bui took to the beam in a full-body suit two days after Sarah Voss had done so in Basel
Kim Bui had initially performed in a conventional leotard on Wednesday but said they had wanted to set an example as a team. Elisabeth Seitz said earlier that it was one less thing to worry about, as there was no risk of revealing anything by accident.

'I began feeling increasingly uncomfortable'
Voss explained her decision in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF: "We women all want to feel good in our skin. In the sport of gymnastics it gets harder and harder as you grow out of your child's body. As a little girl I didn't see the tight gym outfits as such a big deal. But when puberty began, when my period came, I began feeling increasingly uncomfortable."

The German federation said sport and gymnastics should be fields where female athletes felt comfortable in their clothing at all times.

In a message posted on Instagram on Thursday, Voss described the decision as a project "close to the hearts of our team". Her performance on the beam had not gone as well as she had hoped, she said, but her message won widespread praise. "Feeling good and still looking elegant? Why not?" she wrote.

Under the rules of the international gymnastics federation (FIG) competitors are allowed to wear a "one-piece leotard with full-length legs - hip to ankle", provided it is of elegant design.

Seitz said everyone trained in full-body outfits and then at one point asked themselves why they should not do the same in competition.

Beth Tweddle on puberty & women's sport
Dutch Gymnastics has also praised the move. A spokesman told public broadcaster NOS that judges had often deducted points when a competitor had tried to make her leotard more comfortable during their performance.


image captionElizabeth Seitz came fifth on Friday in the women's all-around final
Voss said that while she had never herself been abused, she and her colleagues were role models for younger athletes and wanted to encourage everyone to stand up for themselves.

US gymnast Simone Biles, who has said she was sexually abused by jailed sports doctor Larry Nassar, said last week that one reason she was competing at the Tokyo Olympics this year was to speak out and give survivors of abuse a voice.

I just can't but wonder how the simple question about human rights turned political, and about feminism and leftism. Thar and others have talked about the right of every individual to decide what kind of garment they would like to use while playing.

The Texan trumpists seem to concider these things with their balls rather than with their brains.

I won't pretend I've read the whole thing you linked to because I already gave up after the quoted paragraphs. It smacks of a keenness to dodge all responsibility by claiming 'biology made me do it'.

There's biological impulses and then there's learned behaviour. Claiming that objectification of women is not a product of society is extremely short-sighted. Objectifying women is misogynistic, because you're people with impulses and impulse control. There are enough men and women out there who find other people attractive and still don't make those thoughts and impulses someone else's problem. The 'single greatest proof' is that if a gay man sexually objectifies another man, it's also a problem.

Right! There are no reasonable reasons why women should be forced to be objectified in order to enter official games. Money should not be the bottom line. (Pun not really intended. )

Eww. I thought about saying men should be made to do the same and then the awful picture of men jumping around in Speedos won't go away.