By Emily Tarinelli ’25
Staff Writer
Female handball players are no longer required to wear bikini bottoms and sports bras in competition, according to a rule the International Handball Federation changed on Oct. 3. As reported by The New York Times, the rule originally stated that female athletes must wear bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg,” with sides that could not measure more than four inches.
The change came after a global outcry regarding the sexualization of women in sports. According to The New York Times, in July 2021, the European Handball Federation fined the Norwegian women’s handball team 1,500 euros — or roughly $1,740 — for protesting the rule by competing in shorts instead of bikini bottoms. NPR reported that the players told the EHF the rule was “degrading to women” and that the bikini bottoms were not practical in a sport that required dynamic movement on sandy ground.
Norway’s team captain, Katinka Haltvik, described the impracticality of the IHF uniform ruling in an interview with Vogue Scandinavia in August.
“I have played for eight years in panties, and you have to spend extra time on preparation, like having small enough underwear underneath, shaving and taking care of wounds from sand rubbing that need treatment,” she said. “And of course, there are girls who don’t want to play because of it.”
Haltvik went on to describe her increased discomfort with the dress code this year, noting that she had given birth to her first child and that her body didn’t look the same as it had before. She also recognized that she “shouldn’t have to think about that.”
“It’s the sport and the performance that should be in focus, not what we’re wearing,” she said.
The Norwegian team’s protest garnered support from across the world. Valerie Nicolas, the goalkeeper of the French women’s handball team, echoed Haltvik’s sentiment in a statement provided by the Miami Herald.
“We have lost players due to the suits. The players tell me they are uncomfortable, feel naked and watched. It is a sport with a lot of movement and you are hindered by the bikini. There is also discomfort associated with menstruation and not least religion,” Nicolas said.
After the Norwegian team was fined, pop singer Pink tweeted that she was proud of the athletes for protesting the dress code and offered to pay the fine to the EHF. However, after charging the team, the EHF announced its commitment to uplifting women in sports, and donated the fine paid by Pink to an organization that supports women and girls in athletics.
“We are very much aware of the attention the topic has received … and while changes cannot happen overnight, we are fully committed that something good comes out of this situation right now,” EHF President Michael Wiederer said in an EHF statement. The EHF also wrote that while the organization was committed to bringing about gender equality in the sport, only the IHF could change the uniform requirement.
In addition to capturing the support of the singer and other teams, the sports ministers of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland sent a joint letter to the IHF encouraging an update to the dress code. The Guardian reported that Norwegian Prime Minister Abid Raja called the rule “completely ridiculous” and that several European women’s sports groups demanded the resignation of the IHF and EHF presidents. A petition organized by Australian activist Talitha Stone and backed by Collective Shout, an organization dedicated to advocating for gender equality, garnered 61,000 signatures favoring a change to the rule.
“I hope this is the beginning of the end of sexism and objectification of women and girls in sport. And that in [the] future all women and girls will be free to participate in sport without fear of wardrobe malfunctions and sexual harassment,” Stone said in a Facebook post.
Now, the IHF’s updated rules specify that female athletes may wear “a body fit tank top, short tight pants and eventual accessories.” The uniform requirements are still not the same between men and women — women’s shorts must be tight-fitting, while men’s shorts cannot be “too baggy.”
NBC News reported that Norwegian Handball Federation President Kåre Geir Lio said that the players told him they competed better in tight shorts and were happy with the IHF update.
The updated rule will take effect starting on Jan. 1, 2022.