Abstract
This study analyzes the professionalization process of handball athletes of a team from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, considering their histories and narratives. Its theoretical and methodological framework is based on Oral History and information was collected during fifteen interviews with athletes from the APAHAND/UCS/Caxias do Sul City adult team. The analysis showed handball’s centrality in those athletes’ life as well as the close relationship between their sports histories and their academic education. Finally, we found that their understandings about being professional handball players focus on their relationship with playing rather than the labor ties that make it a profession.
Keywords
Women; Female handball; Sports career