Being a woman on her period in the sports world

 

photo credit: Peau-Ethique

For the International Women's Sports Day on January 24th, we decided to interview 3 female athletes so they could share their experiences and opinions on what it means to be a woman who has periods in the sports world. It's a delicate topic that is rarely discussed, yet it impacts athletes' daily lives, particularly in managing training, calculating peak performance, and preparing for major competitions. For this occasion, we had the pleasure of interviewing Lorette Charpy, a gymnast, Carla Digonnet, a soccer player, and Léa Saint-Romain, a handball player.

 

Photo credits: peau-ethique

Combining sport and periods: not always easy!

Pain, apprehension, taboo... It's not always easy to be a woman in the world of sports. For Lorette, who has been doing gymnastics since childhood, the onset of puberty was a difficult time. "You have to learn to accept your new body, which is always a bit complicated."

One might think it's always necessary to adapt your training if you have your period. However, Lorette and Carla assured us that it's perfectly possible to manage having your period and practicing a sport very well. This period is not always synonymous with physical discomfort. The only thing that changes is the apprehension of having a problem at that time. For the less fortunate, like Léa, it's difficult to combine sport and painful periods. For her, certain movements become complicated to perform, which impacts her performance. It's mainly the fear of injury that stresses her a lot during this period. "In terms of performance, I notice changes. First, I feel heavy. My back hurts, so I'm blocked for quite a few movements. I'm especially afraid of getting injured because I've already been injured, and I realized that the times it happened were when I had my period, so I'm more apprehensive than when I was younger," she confides.

Like many female athletes, the only solution she found to better manage her cycle and her training is to take birth control pills. Indeed, many are in this situation and use this method to stop their periods during competitions.

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Periods in sports, a taboo?

Having your period in the sports world can be considered a delicate, even taboo subject. Indeed, the girls who spoke to us about their experiences often feel this way. According to Carla, it's important to break this taboo: "we are all women, we have the same problems. If we can't understand the problems of other women, we can't understand our own problems." Léa, on the other hand, explained that she felt this way especially when she was younger. She didn't dare talk about it. Today, the discussion is much more open, and coaches are supportive. Her advice for young girls in the same situation is to talk about it openly, to realize that it's completely normal and that they won't be judged for it. It's important for there to be real awareness on this subject, both among coaches and players. Some often underestimate the influence of their periods on their performance.

A significant mental load

What we gather from these interviews is that, no matter what is said, periods are a real mental burden for women, whether they are athletes or not. Apprehension, having to take precautions, and the stress of wearing light-colored clothing are daily sources of anxiety. We tend to quickly take into account what others think, when we shouldn't. On this subject, Léa confided that she and her teammates systematically have to wear undershorts beneath their outfits to avoid any problems. For Carla, it's also a source of worry: "Having your period is still a stress. When I have them and I have to play, I don't feel very well, especially because we have to wear white shorts and it's complicated."

For our part, since the launch of our menstrual underwear, in addition to our commitment to the fight against endometriosis, we want to democratize this feminine hygiene product so that even athletes can use it to practice their physical activities with complete peace of mind. It's a challenge we've set for ourselves and one we hope to achieve!

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