Nikon 80-200/2.8 ED AFD Help Needed.....

[technicolor]

if the light wasnt as bad as franglais described, i heard that fuji 800 pushed to 1600 looks better than actuall 1600. but, as he said, if its so bad that you need a couple more stops, then pushing the 1600 may be the way, but just know the shots are gonna be grainy. I may have missed this, but do you have a tripod? This may help you a little bit. You can't set the shutter too slow without blurring the action, but maybe a little slower than you could handheld.

[another view]

What shutter speeds were you reading? That will help determine the film speed you'll need to use - figuring on using that lens wide open. You probably want a minimum of 1/60 even on a monopod. The other thing is that the color of light in a not-so-well lit gym (as in not the Olympics!) isn't usually so good. Color neg film can overcome a lot of the problems in the printing process, but one way to eliminate it altogether is to use b&w film.

Try Ilford Delta 3200 if you have a lab that "does" b&w film. Shoot at 1600 if you can get away with it, 3200 if you need to.