Imagine this: you’re an athlete who menstruates. You’ve been training hard for a big race just days away, but your period is heavy, and the pain makes it hard to even get out of bed. On top of that, your race uniform includes white biker shorts, and the fear of leaking is real. You don’t feel like you can talk to anyone because no one talks about periods. So, you push through in silence.
Experiences like this are real and show exactly why Melissa Zettel’s online session on October 6, A Period that Moves: A Conversation about Movement, Sport, and the Menstrual Cycle, is so crucial. The session will bust myths about menstruation and performance, explore the challenges athletes may face, and provide practical guidance on having supportive conversations about menstruation in sports. It will also highlight research that dispels common myths around menstruation, especially those around performance. Such as a study conducted by the Institute of Sport and Exercise & Health (2025), that found athletes were, on average, 12% faster at ball-moving tasks and 25% more likely to succeed in anticipation-based skills during their menstrual cycle. While more research is still needed in this area, this workshop will explore the studies that do exist and what it tells us about how menstruation impacts performance and training.
Register today and join the conversation so that you can ask questions and discover strategies to train, compete or have supportive conversations with confidence—because menstruation belongs in sport, and so do the athletes who experience it.