The European Handball Association fined 5 Nordic Ladies Beach Volleyballs Teams for NOT Wearing bikinis. The players from the teams agreed to wear shorts and a tank top in protest rather than uniform regulations that required females competing to wear bikinis. Their male counterparts are allowed to wear shorts and T-Shirt to allow them to be dressed in a way that suits both performance and comfort. The regulations state that female players are required to ‘wear tops exposing their midriffs and fitted, low-cut bikini bottoms’.
Many officials including the sports minister of Denmark wrote an open letter urging the handball association as well as other sporting bodies to review their dress regulations to allow gender equality. Further that there is no valid reason to require these athletes to wear bikinis whilst competing in national or international events.