On Day three of Women in Sport Week, Sport Ireland is officially launching its Period Positive Poster Pack.
Through consultation with teenage girls and the Her Moves campaign, menstruation has been identified as a key challenge of female puberty and can be a barrier to participation in sport.
The pack consists of seven posters, developed in collaboration with teenage girls, aiming to support and educate everyone around the menstrual cycle and sport.
“It’s important to create the conversation on menstruation in sport,” said Nora Stapleton, Director of Strategic NGB Programmes with Sport Ireland.
“These posters raise awareness and educate athletes, coaches, and parents on supporting teen girls around their menstrual cycle and sport.”
“Through these, and other resources on the hermoves.ie hub, we aim to enhance the environment in which the girls are training and retain more girls in sport and physical activity. That’s something we can all get behind.”
Sport Ireland is helping to make sure the posters are being put up in places where teenage girls participate in sport and physical activity – everywhere from clubs to schools to community centres to leisure centres.
“I think the Her Moves campaign is doing incredible work for girls in sport right now, their period resources on their hub are easily accessible and comforting for those who may not be able to start the conversation at home,” said Michaela Gillooly, one of the students who helped create the posters.
“The posters are something I’m even constantly referring to when I’m coaching my underage team or even for myself.”
“I’m so glad to see there is a safe site for girls where they can learn about their busy body without that feeling of embarrassment.”
Gillooly is a student of Glenamaddy Community School in Galway and recently won the All-Ireland STEM Outreach award at SciFest.
Seven educational posters have been developed to address the challenges of the menstrual cycle in sport. Five are for girls, encouraging cycle tracking and movement solutions, while two are for adults, providing tips on creating period-positive environments.
To launch the posters, Sport Ireland has provided almost 3,000 complimentary poster packs to National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs), along with 65 schools. The posters will be displayed across club facilities, schools and community centres to normalise the conversation on periods in sport and show their support to teenage girls.
You can download the posters for your school, club or centre for free here from the Sport Ireland website.
“Periods shouldn’t be a barrier to participating in sport,” added Bethany Carson, Women in Sport Manager at Sport Ireland.
“These posters help educate and provide solutions to athletes, coaches, parents and teachers regarding menstruation and sport.”
“I’d encourage all clubs and schools to display the ‘Checklist’ poster, it can help create period positive environments. We’ve had brilliant engagement from the NGBs and LSPs, which shows in the distribution numbers.”
Women in Sport Week
Women in Sport Week celebrates women’s contributions to sports, highlights related initiatives by Sport Ireland and our partners, and showcases initiatives funded by the Women in Sport Programme, all to advance our vision of equal opportunity and lifelong involvement in sports for women. ach day is organised along a different theme and there are a number of events taking place to mark the week.
Wednesday, March 5th – Her Moves
Webinar: Her Moves – Supporting Teenage Girls in Sport. Designed for teenage girls, but equally suitable for coaches, teachers and parents, this webinar will discuss different topics that girls experience in their relationship with sport, including menstruation, body image, and sports bras. Schools can register here (11am-12pm); Individuals can register for the later webinar here (7.30-8.30pm) here.
Further Reading for Sport for Business members: Seeing Sport Through Mainstream Media Imagery
SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
The purpose of calling out mainstream media is not to berate them but to point out the fact that culturally the things we do and the behaviours we accept are the real barometer of change. This is Women in Sport Week. They should be making more of an effort.
WHAT’S UP NEXT?
Each day this week we are highlighting the daily pillar that Sport Ireland is shining a spotlight on. On Thursday that will be Officiating and on Friday it will be on Leadership and Governance.
MEMBERSHIP AND EVENTS
Sport Ireland is part of the 300+ organisations that make up the Sport for Business community. Our Daily content on the commercial world of sport is read by 40,000 readers each month. See below for our membership and our upcoming events. Our Women in Sport coverage is in partnership with Lidl Ireland.
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