Norway’s beach handball team fined for wearing shorts

They weren’t brazen enough.

The Norwegian women’s handball team were fined for “inappropriate clothing” at the European Beach Handball Championships – for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms, the Independent reported.

The European Handball Federation which governs the sport has upheld a fine of $ 1,770 – $ 177 per player – for the sartorial violation.

By the rules, women are required to wear bikini bottoms when competing.

“Beach Handball’s EURO 2021 Disciplinary Commission has dealt with a case of inappropriate clothing,” the governing body said in a statement.

“In the bronze medal match against Spain on Sunday, the Norwegian team played with shorts that did not comply with the athlete uniform regulations set out in the IHF Beach Handball Rules of the Game “, he added.

The Norwegian Handball Federation has announced that it will pay the fine for its players – and also supported the athletes in a post on the team’s Instagram page.

“We are very proud of these girls who are at the European Beach Handball Championships,” he said in a statement. “They raised their voices and told us enough is enough.

“We are the Norwegian Handball Federation and we are supporting you and supporting you. We will continue to fight to change international dress regulations, so players can play in clothes they are comfortable with, ”he added.

The bikini issue has been debated in beach sports circles for years as some players find wearing them degrading or just plain impractical.

“The most important thing is to have equipment that the athletes are comfortable with,” Norwegian Handball Federation president Kare Geir Lio told Agence France-Presse on Monday.

Lio added that “it should be a free choice within a standardized framework”.

The rules state that “women must wear a bikini top of which must be a fitted sports bra with deep openings in the arms. The bottom should not exceed ten centimeters on the sides.

Male players must wear “tight tank tops” and shorts that are “not too loose” and “10 centimeters above the kneecap,” the Independent reported.

Norway’s Katinka Haltvik told NRK the decision to wear shorts instead of bikini bottoms was “very spontaneous” and the players “felt threatened by the rules”.

“People encouraged us to have gone in front of several teams and to have been shocked. Not all teams can afford to pay such fines, ”said Haltvik. “[Handball] should be an inclusive sport, not an exclusive one.

A Norwegian motion to change the rules will be discussed in the coming months.

“The EHF is committed to advancing this subject in the interest of its member federations, however, it must also be said that a change of the rules can only take place at the level of the IHF”, told l ‘AFP EHF spokesman Andrew Barringer in an email.