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Menstruation is a barrier to women’s sport participation through stigmas, silence, a lack of coach and athlete education, discomfort in communication, and risk of menstrual disorders, especially at nonelite levels. This study provides a qualitative and quantitative, poststructuralist feminist examination of the barriers and facilitators to positive coach–athlete communication and relationships around menstruation. The aim of the study is to create a gender-responsive model of coaching about menstruation. An online questionnaire was completed by 494 athletes aged 16 years or older. Utilizing poststructuralist feminist theory, qualitative and quantitative analysis highlighted women athletes’ experiences with menstruation, particularly surrounding coach–athlete communication. The results illustrated the heterogeneity of menstruation experiences, with athletes’ previous gendered experiences leading them to resist and/or uphold traditional, masculine-centric gender norms in sport. Most athletes experienced negative menstruation symptoms, but many did not speak with coaches about menstruation, highlighting menstruation’s current position as a siloed topic in sport, usually reserved just for women coaches. Athletes did not discuss menstruation due to discomfort, coach ignorance, menstruation stigmas, and fears of consequences. Athletes largely agreed coaches knowing and discussing menstruation would bring benefits, such as performance improvements, stronger coach–athlete relationships, and erasure of menstruation stigma. Overall, barriers to menstruation discussions include stigma, antagonism and pessimism, and maintenance of a masculine norm. A model of gender-responsive coaching around menstruation is proposed for coaches and sport organizations, which promotes integration and proactivity, tolerance and trust, and protection of athlete voice and agency.

In equestrian sport, women are popularly thought to compete on equal terms with men. This ideal has been critiqued by studies documenting how women’s participation is impacted by gendered equestrian cultures and society more broadly. However, one physiological process has been overlooked—menstruation. This is the first study to focus specifically on the impacts of menstruation and menstrual concerns on women’s participation in horse sport and to locate those concerns within broader equestrian traditions of attire and discourses of control. The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of 328 female riding members of Pony Club Australia aged 10–17 years. Findings challenge the idea of equestrian as a sport where men and women compete “on equal terms.” In particular, they illustrate how traditional dress codes of white-/light-colored riding pants exacerbate menstrual concerns, limit/prevent participation, and pose safety concerns due to distraction. The majority (80%) of participants supported changing the formal uniform to allow darker-colored riding pants. However, longstanding equestrian associations between white pants, prestige, and respect are a barrier to the adoption and therefore normalization of period-friendly attire. While discriminatory rules or standards need to be revised, they are insufficient to challenge entrenched gendered, socio-historical, and esthetic constructions of some organized sports. The authors therefore recommend that rule changes be supported by other practical and educational initiatives necessary to create period-friendly cultures for equestrian sport.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in restricting daily physical activity (PA). Women’s PA levels have been disproportionately negatively affected by the pandemic, compared with men. It is important to determine how women’s PA has changed over the pandemic, and if new barriers to PA participation exist since the release of restrictions. Aims: To assess how women in southeast England changed their activity during the pandemic and postpandemic, including how barriers and facilitators to activity have changed. Methods: Three hundred and thirty females completed the first online questionnaire (during lockdown), and 139 completed the postlockdown questionnaire. Questionnaires were designed from the General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire and International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Participants self-reported PA, and barriers and facilitators to exercise. Eighteen females then participated in online semistructured focus groups. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used for questionnaire data, and focus group transcriptions were thematically analyzed. Results: Most females maintained PA levels throughout the pandemic. Significant barriers to activity were lack of access to equipment/space, limited time to exercise, limited access to social groups, and finances as well as legal restrictions, safety concerns, gender, and lack of childcare. Similarly, significant facilitators were identified during lockdown and postlockdown for access to equipment, finances, having more time to exercise, and exercising with a social group. Participants both expressed desires to return to prelockdown PA habits, but also maintain new ones that were created. Conclusion: It is evident that the pandemic affected and changed the barriers and facilitators to female PA participation. Governments and industries in the sector should focus on providing services that address these changing habits to improve activity levels in women.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate change in bone mineral density (BMD), BMD percentile (BMDp), lean mass (LM), fat-free mass index, body fat percentage (BF%), and muscle size (mCSA) and quality (EI) in collegiate female gymnasts over a competitive season and characterize the impact of menarche on changes. Twenty gymnasts completed a validated survey to assess age of menarche. Body composition was assessed via whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans at pre- and postseason. mCSA and EI were determined from a panoramic ultrasound scan of the vastus lateralis. Pre- to postseason changes were evaluated using paired sample t tests, and strength of relationships between were analyzed via bivariate correlations and linear regression. Significant losses in body fat percentage (Δ -1.1 ± 1.9%; p = .022) and EI (Δ -5.0 ± 5.8 a.u.; p = .002) were observed. No significant changes were observed in BMDp, mCSA, BMD, LM, or fat-free mass index (p = .310–.869). Age of menarche (15.4 ± 1.5 years) was negatively correlated with Δ BMDp (r = −.454; p = .044) and Δ mCSA (r = −.658; p = .002), explaining 21% and 43% of variation in Δ BMDp and Δ mCSA, respectively. Positive outcomes of gymnastics training, such as gains in LM and mCSA, may be attenuated by delayed menarche, suggested by increased EI and decreased body fat percentage, despite no changes in mCSA or overall LM. These findings may indicate a higher priority of fat utilization within the muscle over muscle and bone growth. Considering menarche as a significant predictor for Δ mCSA, this lack of increase (despite improved EI), may signify increased injury risk resulting from team-specific training style or insufficient energy intake to support appropriate muscle growth.

Although the fluctuations of hormones over the menstrual cycle are well recognized, this study investigated the variability in these patterns for individual women. This study examined a set of daily blood hormone results from an underlying data set of previous research. Hormones included follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone, progesterone, and estradiol taken over one menstrual cycle in 20 women of reproductive age (age 20–36 years), with ultrasound-confirmed ovulation. Although every woman’s profile of hormone changes was consistent with the expected physiological sequence of events, there was notable variability in the timing and peak levels. Variability in the length of the follicular phase was greater than in the length of the luteal phase, with the greater part of the variability in the cycle length being explained by variability in the follicular phase. Lower levels of FSH at the beginning of the cycle were associated with a longer follicular phase. Variability in the timing of events around ovulation was relatively consistent across all women. Variability in the length of the luteal phase was associated with the duration of elevated levels of progesterone. Differences were seen in the extent to which FSH increased at the end of the cycle. This study suggests the variability of the first part of the follicular phase may be due to initial FSH changes. Understanding the variability of menstrual cycle hormones is relevant for all women. Identifying subclinical ovulatory disturbances and variability is important to understand female health, across different populations including menstruating women and female athletes.

We aimed to quantify the representation of female athletes in research informing the fifth (Berlin 2016) and sixth (Amsterdam 2022) International Conference on Concussion in Sport consensus statements and analyze trends in progress between the statements. We identified all original research analyzed in each systematic review influencing the consensus statements and determined the percentage of female subjects for each study. Twenty-two systematic reviews and 1,161 original studies were reviewed (572 studies from Berlin 2016 and 1,089 from Amsterdam 2022). Both statements underrepresented females; however, there were significantly fewer studies with no female subjects in the 2022 statement, and more studies with a near equivalent (40%–60%) representation of females. While female athletes are still underrepresented within original research influencing international consensus statements, improvements are evident. We recommend a continued emphasis on female athlete representation and suggest a female-focused component of upcoming statements along with involvement from female predominant sponsoring associations.

The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of two training models—the traditional methodology and an alternative or nonlinear mixed methodology—on coordination, speed, and changes of direction (COD) in U-12 football players. The subjects were divided into two groups: a traditional group of 11 female players and a second group of 14 female players, which followed a mixed methodology. Ten training sessions of 30 min were carried out focusing on motor coordination and COD. The variables analyzed were motor coordination with the SportComp test, COD with the Modified Agility test, and the Suttle Sprint and Dribbling test, with and without the ball, and speed over 30 m, with and without the ball. Overall, improvements were obtained in the mixed training program, leading to significant improvements (p < .05) in the variables of motor coordination, speed, and COD, with a large effect size. Therefore, coaches and physical trainers, taking into account that it causes greater benefits in the physical condition of female football players in training, than the traditional training program, can use the mixed training program.