This Women’s Collective Ireland- Donegal, ‘Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ feature is written by Rhona Hannigan, Development Worker with the Women’s Collective in Donegal Town and Catherine Culbert HCPC Registered Dietitian who specialises in sports nutrition and women’s health. Highlighting the importance of education on the impact of the menstrual cycle and women in sport.

As many people know I love football and in particular women’s football. Women’s football has come on leaps and bounds but a huge disparity still remains between the men’s and women’s game especially in terms of wages, attendance at matches and funding available to improve structures within women’s football. We often hear the old argument that ” men’s games generate more revenue” and that is partly why men are paid more. However, if the same amount of time and effort had gone into women’s football in the past who knows where we would be today.

Girl’s football is the fastest-growing sport in the country. There are chances for girls to play that have never been available before. It’s only 15 years ago that Stephanie Roche was playing with her local boy’s team because there wasn’t any options for her. Now, there are options at every level from community to elite. The success of the Irish women’s football team in recent years has had a profound effect on the Irish public and especially on many young girls who want to emulate players like Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan. Attendance at women’s football matches is breaking records. Women’s football in Ireland is on a journey with many positive steps implemented already. We have prominent companies like Sky who sponsor the women’s national team, who’s advertising can be seen nationwide, and Cadbury Ireland who have given tremendous support to the growth of women’s grassroots football and have recently launched their ‘The Game is On’ campaign that aims to drive more interest in local clubs, game attendance, volunteering and supporting the game in general.

Despite the fact that many girls and women love football, it’s still a sport that’s overwhelmingly dominated by men. Even with the increased popularity, women face barriers that prevent them from participating. Such barriers may include feeling self-conscious about body image, social stereotyping and harassment or doubts around skill level or perceived lack of skills “because you are a girl”. Football has a male-dominated sports culture and more often than not your role model will be a male footballer, for me there is only one Roy Keane, the only one person iv ever hero worshipped.

All levels of football coaching is male dominated and more female coaches is preferable to bridge the gap. However, thankfully, despite what sex the coaches are they devote crazy hours of their free time coaching so that we have girls football. That said, coaching girls is very different to boys. I’m involved with Derry City FC Women’s Academy, I’m the Child Welfare Officer and also on the coaching staff of the U17’s and U19’s. Derry has an amazing ethos of education off the pitch as well as on the pitch. Head of the academy, Jarleth Canning, thought it prudent that the teams should have a female on the coaching staff as all our coaches are males. As the Welfare Officer one of the areas I thought important to highlight was how women are affected by their mensural cycle when participating in sport. It was shocking speaking to some of the coaching staff, who had never considered the affect periods had on girls and their performance, so after research and recommendations I asked Catherine Culbert to present to the coaches and players on this topic; here is her story.

The importance of education around the menstrual cycle and women in sport

“Menstrual cycles are a completely natural process for most girls and women, yet they are often the elephant in the room for female athletes. Menstrual cycles can be a huge barrier for girls and women continuing to play sport throughout their lifecycle or reaching their full potential in sport. In a recent survey by Youth Trust Sport periods and low confidence were the most common reasons girls gave for not wanting to take part in PE¹. Its important that girls and women feel supported to continue to play sport for as long as possible and to do this, we need to raise awareness and educate athletes, coaches and parents on menstrual cycles for women in sport. 

As a female athlete myself, I started my period when I was 12. At that time, I swam competitively for a local swimming club and often felt embarrassed and worried each time I got my period and had to juggle swimming training and competitions. At that time, most of my coaches growing up were men and so I never dreamt of mentioning it to them. Looking back, I wish I felt more supported that having a menstrual cycle was completely normal and perhaps as a young girl given education on how to manage menstrual health around sport and training. Even the provision of period products in the swimming changing rooms would have been an absolute game-changer to help normalise it and for emergencies. 

When it comes to menstrual cycles, there is no ‘normal’, as every woman and girls’ body is different. Not all athletes have a regular cycle, due to hormonal imbalances, contraceptives, pregnancy, or menopause, so there is no ‘one size fits all’ advice.

However, most women and girls at some stages are likely to suffer from menstrual cycle symptoms which can impact on their physical performance in sport. Examples include bloating, digestive issues, mood swings, increased hunger, cravings, acne, low confidence, reduced energy, endurance, and strength. Another thing to consider is that bloating, and water retention can significantly impact on body image, especially for young girls which might affect their confidence in sport around this time.

Raising awareness and speaking about menstrual cycles for girls and women in sport can support the management of symptoms as well as encouraging female athletes to seek help if menstrual cycles are a barrier to them playing sport.

The effect of menstrual cycle on sports performance is now being increasingly recognised. Studies show 50-86% of women reported sport-related menstrual problems or that menstruation has affected their participation in training and competition.

The benefits of increasing awareness and education around menstrual cycle and sport includes:

• Girls and women supported to continue to play sport for longer
• Female athletes supported to reach their full potential
• Reduced risk of injury due to better understanding and management of symptoms
• More women and girls participating in sport
• More positive attitudes towards sport and exercise from girls and women
• Less shame and embarrassment

What can clubs and sports teams do to support girls and women with their menstrual cycle

The first place to start is getting buy-in and commitment from coaches to raise awareness of how menstrual cycles can affect female athletes. This can be done by organising a session where all coaches and athletes attend. Nutrition plays a key role in supporting with symptom management around menstrual cycles so a nutrition session that focuses on food and nutrients to support symptoms can be helpful starting point for coaches and athletes.

Coaches also need to normalise menstrual cycles and periods by speaking about them regularly, encouraging athletes to track and understand how their cycle affects them personally. Teams and clubs can also provide period products in changing rooms and provide emergency products in a kit bag for matches/ competitions away to support athletes.

Providing a safe space for female athletes to speak to coaches about barriers such as periods can really support athletes in staying consistent with training ad matches. Not all athletes will want to discuss their period with coaches, especially younger girls but it’s still important to raise awareness and provide education on this area for all.”

WCI-Donegal are always looking for women to share their stories and looking for women to write features on topics of their choice which we will profile as part of our Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ series.