Open-age players more confident in perception of women’s handball

Following on from the survey of Younger Age Category (YAC) athletes conducted during the various national team competitions held during the summer, the survey of players in the open-age sides offers new insights into how female players see women’s handball as a game, which issues in the context of their careers are most important to them and who are the most influential women in handball. 

Differences in public perception between age groups

One alarming finding of the YAC survey was the common response that outsiders, the public, see women’s handball as “boring” or “worse than men’s” handball. While there were many positive comments regarding how the public view women’s handball, the number of negative perceptions was more prominent. 

That was not the case among the open-age players, where the majority of survey respondents fell in the age range of 21 to 30. While the terms “boring” and “uninteresting” were somewhat prominent when describing the players’ perception of how the public see women’s handball, positive responses were much more common.

Most notably, female handball players in the 35 national teams competing at the top level see their game as fast, quick and dynamic; different than men’s handball; fun, entertaining and exciting; and physical, hard and aggressive. The only other negative perception that was somewhat prominent was that some people apply gender stereotypes to the game — the idea that it is “not for women.” 

These perceptions on the part of female handball players are meaningful — and more importantly, could be extremely important in keeping young women in the game. If young women have discouraging thoughts as to how others see them in the context of the sport, they might be less confident in their handball pursuits overall. When people feel good in a certain environment, they are more likely to want to stay in that environment, so transforming the negative public perceptions — or at least the young female players’ views of those perceptions — seems crucial. 

As female athletes graduate to the open-age category, they seem to start to feel more confident in how their game is perceived. The responses to the public perception here align more with how the players themselves see women’s handball, where the emphasis is on physical and performance qualities, skills and mindset, and team and social dynamics. The overwhelming most common response to the self-description of the game question was “fast.”

The fact that there is more alignment in the responses regarding both their own perception of the game and that of the public among open-age players shows a certain security and feeling of support. Open-age players have likely had more exposure to experiences that show them how their sport is valued among the public, for example, playing in full arenas at major championships, compared to YAC events where crowds are smaller. 

However, if we consider that some of their confidence has probably come from these kinds of experiences — seeing first-hand how people enjoy the women’s game — the positive perceptions of the open-age players could be related to those who support or actively follow women’s handball. Here we arrive at the responses surrounding visibility, which are telling.

Loud call for more visibility of women’s handball

Across both surveys, hardly any respondents felt the visibility of women’s handball is where it should be. 99 per cent of the senior players said women’s handball needs more visibility, and 97 per cent of the YAC respondents agreed. Both groups rated the game as moderately visible, although YAC players found women’s handball more visible than the open-age athletes. 

The most common response regarding the media’s place in that visibility among the open-age players was that the role is “very important,” with 47 per cent of respondents choosing that answer. 

However, this was not the area the female players feel needs the most attention in terms of the development of women’s handball, as media coverage and visibility of the game was rated as the third most important matter. The leading area to develop according to the players is working conditions, for example, professional contracts, ahead of marketing and sponsorship opportunities. Fourth on the list was pay, fifth was investment, sixth was infrastructure and seventh was other areas such as financial stability, medical staff and better coaches and referees.

Norwegian trio most influential across all age groups

Stine Oftedal Dahmke, Henny Reistad and Nora Mørk were the most common role models for YAC players, followed by Katrine Lunde, Bruna de Paula, Kari Brattset Dale and Andrea Lekic. The open-age list was almost identical, with Oftedal first, Mørk second and Reistad and Lunde equal third, changing the order slightly. Lekic, de Paula and Brattset were all also among the 10 leading role models for open-age players. 

The main differences occurred lower down in the top 10 for each age group, where the YAC players chose the likes of Helena Elver and Pauletta Foppa and the senior athletes opted for Camilla Herrem, Cristina Neagu and Estelle Nze Minko. This could point to age as a key factor in who players look up to, as Elver and Foppa are in their 20s while Herrem, Neagu and Nze Minko are in their 30s. Younger players are perhaps less likely to have seen players like Neagu in their prime, and have probably been more exposed to those closer to their own age.

Of particularly interest is the status of Oftedal, Mørk and Reistad. As role models, they were the favourites across both groups, but they stood out even more at the top of the list of who players judge as the most influential in women’s handball. YAC players said Oftedal is the most influential, while 20 per cent of the open-age athletes named Mørk as number one.

It will be interesting to see how such a list might change in the near future, given Oftedal’s retirement following the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but influence is clearly not limited to being on the court — legacy among former players has a big role here. The Montenegrin icons Bojana Popovic and Jovanka Radicevic both appeared among the most influential according to YAC players, and Popovic was named by the open-age players as well. Another addition on the open-age list was Danish legend Anja Andersen. 

Her Playground working to increase visibility

In September, the EHF launched a platform specific to women’s handball, aiming to give the game a unique voice that amplifies its visibility. Part of that platform is the role models project, which involves four players past and present: Lunde, Lekic, Nze Minko and wheelchair handball star Joyce van Haaster. 

Her Playground aims to highlight the issues that matter to women in and around the game — celebrate their wins, encourage open discussion and showcase best practices. In doing so, the EHF hope to influence some of the areas highlighted in the survey responses, contributing to the overall development of the women’s game. 

Follow Her Playground on Instagram, Facebook and the EHF website.

Photos © kolektiff