A conference hosted by Melissa Zettel for UW’s athletes has taken the first step
Serving as a counsellor for varsity athletes at UW since 2020, Melissa Zettel is also a fitness enthusiast. On Monday, she hosted an open-invite conference discussing the struggles menstruating athletes face on and off the field. Far from an experience tailored only to women, Zettel’s presentation went over the culture surrounding periods, alongside the physical effects that athletes undergo.
The rapid diversification of athletes makes this a crucial conversation to have. In the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, half of all athletes were women, compared to eleven percent of athletes in Rome’s 1960 Olympics. Menstrual cycles vary from person to person, and one’s personal understanding can depend on numerous factors, such as culture and anecdotal experience.
The conference, aptly entitled A Period that Moves: A Conversation about Movement, Sport, and the Menstrual Cycle, was hosted via Zoom. The chat was active, as athletes shared responses to questions and their own experiences regarding menstrual cycles. A lot of people shared similar stories, such as being forced to wear white while on their period, cramps being ignored by coaches, and not having immediate access to hygiene products when needed.
Myths permeating periods were debunked as well. The archaic belief that a person cannot exercise during their period was put to rest, and replaced by new studies showing exercise can improve blood circulation to alleviate pain.
Participants were guided through the stages of the menstrual cycle and common symptoms like headaches and fatigue. Moreover, alarming statistics surrounding the treatment of menstruating athletes emerged. According to Zetel, 99 per cent of female athletes in Canada have competed while on their periods, and 64 per cent have felt uncomfortable or unable to talk about it with their coach.
Resources for UW athletes seeking guidance include Campus Wellness and websites such as Her Moves and Power to Play, Period. Participants were also encouraged to avoid potentially harmful remarks about others’ clothing or behaviour while they may be menstruating. This serves to create a more comfortable environment and dissolves the idea that periods are something that can just be ignored.
Zettel’s conference illustrated the need for athletes to discuss periods, whether they are women or not. As a natural part of life, periods do not “need to be discrete and hidden,” she says.
