Why period-proof kits could be a 'story within a story' at Women's World Cup

Day 69:53Period-proof kits a story within the story at Womens World Cup

This was the first year Team Canada's game kitat the Women's World Cup featured a new Nike product with a liner designed to limit period leaks for athletes who menstruate.

In spite of the Canadian team's early exitafter a 4-0 loss to Australia earlier this week, Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, the CEO of Canadian Women andSport, says the kitcould be the "story within the story of the World Cup."

"It's been a long journey and this is a wonderful step really to acknowledge that many women do menstruate [and] that it is part of their sport experience," Sandmeyer-Graves told Day 6 guest host Manjula Selvarajah.

"It can be a real point of anxiety and ... a distraction. Setting them up for success allows them to really focus on the task at hand."

The topic of menstruation has made headlines at several major women's sporting events of late.Last fall Wimbledon changed its white clothing rule to allow female competitors to wear coloured undershorts for the purpose of "relieving a potential source of anxiety."

Earlier this year, British triathlete Emma Pallant-Browne went viral after a photo of her running during an event showed a small amount of menstrual blood on her swimsuit.

Pallant-Browne posted the photo to herInstagram in May to make the point that she felt there was nothing wrong with it.

"You talk about knee injuries without any awkwardness ... I think exactly the same with periods," she told Day 6.

Ignoring periods a barrier for young athletes

Pallant-Browne thinks younger athletes take cues from high profile athletes who "can lead the way by having these honest, open conversations and making it not a taboo subject."

Sandmeyer-Graves says Canadian Women andSport research says 23 per cent of girls surveyed in their research consider menstruation a barrier.

According to their 2020 report, one in three girls drop out of sports by their late teens for a variety of reasons including body image. That rate is only one in 10 for boys.

"It's very taboo. There's a lot of stigma about it, and I'd like to think that we're entering into a new place," said Sandmeyer-Graves.

Destigmatizing periods is also important to help athletes get the most out of their bodies when training or competing.

"When we talk about high performance [athletes] they're optimizing just about every variable they can to get the athletes to the highest performance in the right moments and periods have to be accounted for in that," said Sandmeyer-Graves.

WATCH |Canada eliminated from the 2023 Women's World Cup

Canada eliminated from the 2023 Women's World Cup

1 year ago

Duration 2:20

Australia has eliminated Canada from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. The crushing 4-0 loss comes as the team battles Soccer Canada for more support.

"I think there are still many misconceptions that surround athletes' periods such as the really healthy or fit athlete will lose that period," said Pallant-Browne.

Sandmeyer-Graves also told Day 6 that historically the disappearance of a period in some athletic circles was seen as a sign an athlete was peaking in their training. More recent understanding, she says, is that it might mean they're not taking in enough energy to fuel their bodies, which can lead to long-term health issues like early onset osteoporosis.

Both Sandmeyer-Graves and Pallant-Browne note not all the impacts on hormones from periods hurtperformance.

Women andSport Canada research says only 40 per cent of coaches they surveyed feel well-equipped to discuss body-image issues in general. Pallant-Browne feels normalizing the topic is key to toppling barriers to entry and success in women's sports.

"I think it's partnering with that athlete on that journey. So you're both kind of getting that knowledge together, not just sending them often and saying, go and deal with this elsewhere."

Sandmeyer-Graves acknowledges that it's hard to imagine a scenario where coaches talking to athletes, especially younger athletes, about periods is a comfortable topic, but there's a lot of benefit to making sure coaches who want to seek out research and information get it.

"We can't ignore it as if it does not play a role in the mental and the physical aspects of how women and girls show up in sport."

Training with periods in mind

Pallant-Browne adjusts how she prepares for an event based on her menstrual cycle.

"On days where I know that I'm going to be on my period and I'm going to be racing, I often feel quite bloated. So I make sure I'm well hydrated because often if I'm holding fluid I won't feel very thirsty."

She chooses a cooler racing suit because her heart rate tends to go up with her body temperature, which tends to be higher when she's on her period. She also paces her race differently because she tends to hit her "red zone" earlier.

Pallant-Browne will adjust her diet and stretching, focusing on opening her hips when and eating more carbs beforehand because she tends to get hungrier.

"There's a lot you can actually do to help so many of the symptoms that people get from periods."

Radio segment produced by Mickie Edwards