OPS CALLED UP
We’re fed up with obsession about our skimpy outfits, say scantily-clad GB girls
FEMALE beach volleyball players yes- terday vowed that they would keep wearing their bikinis – despite admitting it was ‘upsetting’ that the sport was known only for skimpy outfits.
Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin, who form part of Britain’s first ever Olympic beach volleyball team, said bikinis were still the best kit for the sport, despite rule changes which would allow them to cover up if they wished.
‘It’s perfect for our sport,’ Miss Mullin, 27, said. ‘We play in hot countries and I can’t imagine wearing anything else on the sand. I will still be wearing my bikini.’
The players said their family and friends hated the fact that they were recognised only for wearing bikinis.
‘They find it really upsetting,’ Miss Mullin said. ‘They say to me, “How can they still be talking about your bikinis? Don’t they understand how hard you work?”
‘I try and tell them it will change eventually. But yes, it does upset them.’ Miss Mullin said that whenever the team played, most of the men who attended were there only to see girls in bikinis.
‘It doesn’t really bother me, but I hope they go home with a different attitude once they see us play,’ she said.
Players have been given the option of wearing shorts rather than bikinis during the Olympics. And with dismal weather forecast during the Games, they may well wish to change.
But Miss Dampney, 26, said: ‘If it’s warm, we will be in our bikinis.’