Now gymnasts ditch their leotards: German women's team take a stand against 'sexualisation' as the only team wearing full-body suits at the Olympic qualifiers - after row over beach handball shorts
The German women's gymnastics team is the latest to become embroiled in a row over competition attire, after ditching their leotards for full body suits.
The team made up of Sarah Voss, 21, Elisabeth Seitz, 27, Kim Bui, 32, and Pauline Schaefer, 24, said they made the decision together to promote freedom of choice and encourage female athletes to wear what makes them feel comfortable.
They were the only gymnasts competing during qualifying at the Tokyo Games wearing the unitard with every other female gymnast wearing leotards and bare legs.
It comes after a fierce row over attire broke out ahead of the Olympics Norway's beach handball team fined for wearing shorts instead of regulation bikinis at the European Beach Handball Championship.
Elsehwere Team GB paralympian Olivia Breen revealed a female official had criticised her running shorts for being 'inappropriate' at a recent competition.
The German gymnastics team made up of Sarah Voss, 21, Elisabeth Seitz, 27, Kim Bui, 32, and Pauline Schaefer, 24, (pictured) wore red and white unitards that stretched to their ankles in qualifications at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday
The move was a break from convention because female gymnasts have worn bikini-cut leotards for decades however, the move from the German team was intended to push back against sexualization of women in gymnastics.
Sarah Voss, 21, said the team had discussed their choice of attire before competing on Sunday and had settled on the unitard.
She said: 'We sat together today and said, OK, we want to have a big competition,'
'We want to feel amazing, we want to show everyone that we look amazing.'
Gymnastics is often viewed as a sport best performed by very young women and girls and American gymnast Simone Biles, at 24, often jokes about being old; recently calling herself a 'grandma' on social media.
The move was a break from convention as female gymnasts have worn bikini-cut leotards for decades but the team said they made the decision together to promote freedom of choice and encourage female athletes to wear what makes them feel comfortable (pictured last week in the conventional team leotards)
Sarah Voss, 21, (pictured competing in a leotard at the German Championships in June) said the team had discussed their choice of attire before competing on Sunday and had settled on the unitard
With an average age of 26, the German team defies that emphasis on youth and Voss said that gymnastics customs should leave room for female bodies as they age and change.
'As you are growing up as a woman, it is quite difficult to get used to your new body in a way,' she said.
'We want to make sure everyone feels comfortable and we show everyone that they can wear whatever they want and look amazing, feel amazing, whether it is in a long leotard or a short one.'
Voss said the team - which wore full-body suits at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in April in a move aimed at countering the sexualisation of the sport - were keen for the trend to catch on.
We want to be a role model in any case, to make everybody have the courage to follow us,' she said.
Sarah (pictured competing on vault during Women's Qualification on Sunday) said they wanted to make sure everyone 'feels comfortable' and to show that gymnasts can wear whatever they want and look amazing 'whether it is in a long leotard or a short one'
The German team previously full-body suits at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in April in a move aimed at countering the sexualisation of the sport. Pictured: Sarah Voss on the uneven bars in Tokyo on Sunday
By doing so the athletes are not in defiance of any rules as their outfits comply with the wardrobe rules of the International Gymnastics Federation, which allow for a 'one-piece leotard with full-length legs – hip to ankle'.
The German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) confirmed in April that its athletes were taking a stand against 'sexualisation in gymnastics', adding that the issue was important in efforts to prevent sexual abuse, the BBC reported at the time.
The DTB's statement came after German athletes - including Voss and Bui - wore unitards at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
'We hope gymnasts uncomfortable in the usual outfits will feel emboldened to follow our example,' Ms Voss said at the time.
Speaking to public broadcaster ZDF, she continued: '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.'
American gymnast Simone Biles, 24, performs her floor routine in a bikini-cut leotard during the women's artistic gymnastic qualifications
The Germans' decision to wear unitards earned them praise from fellow competitors in Tokyo. Pictured: Pauline Schaefer, 24, Kim Bui, 32, and Elisabeth Seitz, 27
An earlier post by Ms Bui said the German team wanted to 'encourage all gymnasts around the world to be able to wear this if they want to feel better!
'It should be a gymnast's choice to wear what's she (or he) feels comfortable with! Long legs leotards can also look aesthetically pleasing!'
The Germans' decision to wear unitards earned them praise from fellow competitors in Tokyo.
'I think it's really cool that they have the guts to stand on such a huge arena and show girls from all over the world that you can wear whatever you want,' said Norwegian gymnast Julie Erichsen. 'I applaud them for that.'
In recent years the sport has been rocked by widespread cases of sexual and physical abuse, prompting the introduction of new safety protocols meant to protect athletes.
In 2016, the world of gymnastics - particularly in the United Sates - was rocked by sexual abuse accusations against senior figures, including longtime USA Gymnastics (USAG) national team doctor Larry Nassar.
Nassar was found guilty and later sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after more than 150 women made impact statements against him in court.
The case led to questions being raised over the sport, namely how someone like Nasser had unsupervised access to young girls for so long.
For women, the standard competition outfit is a leotard, with long, half-length sleeved and sleeveless garments allowed.
Outfits covering legs are authorised in international competitions but to date they have been worn almost exclusively for religious reasons.
At gymnastics qualifying Sunday, the announcer over the loudspeaker called the outfits 'very nice indeed.'
The German team did not qualify for finals, but the announcer pondered if their team debut on the Olympic stage might increase unitards' popularity.
Just days before the Games began, the Norwegian women's beach handball team refused to play in bikini bottoms during European tournaments, opting instead for skin-tight shorts. For that, they received a fine for violating a wardrobe requirement.
German gymnasts (L-R) Elisabeth Seitz, Pauline Schaefer, Kim Bui, and Sarah Voss debuted the team's unitards on Thursday in a picture posted to Ms Schaefer's Instagram (pictured)
Pictured: Pauline Schaefer of Germany competes in August 2018 wearing the more conventional leotard worn in the sport. By not wearing leotards, the German team are not in defiance of any rules, which allow for a 'one-piece leotard with full-length legs – hip to ankle'
The Disciplinary Committee of the European Handball Federation (EHF) fined the team 1,500 euros (£1,300), or 150 euros (£130) per player.
The fine comes after they wore shorts - instead of the bikini bottoms required by International Handball Federation's (IHF) rules - in their bronze-medal match loss to Spain at the European Beach Handball Championship in Bulgaria.
Norwegian officials reacted angrily to the news the following day.
'It's completely ridiculous,' Norway's Minister for Culture and Sports, Abid Raja, tweeted after Monday's ruling. 'What a change of attitude is needed in the macho and conservative international world of sport.'
Eirik Sordahl, the president of the Norwegian Volleyball Federation, told national news agency NTB: 'In 2021, it shouldn't even be an issue.'
On Monday, Norway's women's beach handball team was fined after the players refused to wear bikini bottoms in a match, instead wearing shorts (pictured)
Before the sanction, the Norwegian handball federation said on Monday it was ready to pay the fine after the women's team knowingly defied official regulations.
'Of course we would pay any fine,' Norwegian Handball Federation president Kare Geir Lio told AFP news agency on Monday. 'We are all in the same boat,' he added.
Norway's handball player Katinka Haltvik, quoted by public broadcaster NRK, also said ahead of the fine that the team would happily pay it.
It was expected the team would only be fined 50 euros (£43) per player, meaning the fine is 1,000 euros more than first anticipated.
Clothing has long been an issue in beach sports, with some women players finding bikinis degrading or impractical.
While bikinis have not been compulsory for beach volleyball players since 2012, IHF rules state 'female athletes must wear bikini bottoms' and that these must have 'a close fit', be 'cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg' and a side depth of no more than 10 centimetres.
By ditching the regulation bikini bottoms, the Norwegian women's team (pictured in 2017 wearing bikini bottoms) was fined 150 euros per player - a total of 1,500 euros
Ahead of the European Championship, Norway approached the European Handball Federation to ask for permission to play in shorts, but were told that breaches of the rules were punishable by fines.
They complied, until their last match.
'The most important thing is to have equipment that athletes are comfortable with,' Lio said, adding that 'it should be a free choice within a standardised framework.'
A Norwegian motion to amend the current rules will be discussed by the bodies in the coming months.
In a reverse of the situation earlier this year, German beach volleyball stars Karla Borger and Julia Sude said they would boycott a tournament in Qatar, saying it is 'the only country' where players are forbidden from wearing bikinis on court.
No comments: