For many teenage girls, menstruation can be a significant barrier to full participation in sports.

Sport Ireland research has highlighted that issues such as discomfort, lack of access to appropriate facilities, and a general lack of understanding or support around menstrual health can contribute to reduced confidence and increased dropout rates among young female athletes.

A short 4-minute video created by Sport Ireland on supporting teenage girls during their menstrual cycle can be found HERE and is well worth a watch. A wide range of posters and videos can be found in the club resource section of our website HERE.

To better understand issues facing our athletes and how we can help address them, we are conducting a survey to gather insights from teenage female rowers. We’re reaching out to teenage female rowers in all clubs and their coaches & parents to help ensure as many participants as possible have the opportunity to complete this important survey.

Coaches, by setting aside just 3 minutes before or after a rowing session for the girls to sit down with their phones to complete the survey on our website, you can make a big difference in helping us gather valuable feedback!

The survey is brief, and all responses are completely anonymous. Your encouragement and support in making this happen could help shape the rowing future for young women. Thank you!

Period Health Survey

We invite all female Rowing Ireland members to complete the following short survey regarding their period. We would like to know more about what supports are currently in place in clubs for female rowers and identify what more can be done to ensure all our athletes can participate and perform optimally.

1. Do you feel you have an understanding of how the menstruation phase of your cycle affects you as an athlete when you train or compete?
2. Do you physically feel comfortable training during the menstruation phase of your cycle?
3. What period products do you typically use?
4. Does your club provide period products in the bathrooms?
5. Are there sanitary bins for disposal of period products in your club bathrooms?
1 not comfortable at all, 10 very comfortable
7. Would you like your coaches to know how you feel your performance can be affected during the menstruation phase of your cycle?
8. Has your club provided any training or information to help you understand how the menstrual cycle can affect your performance?
9. Would you be interested in finding out more about how the different phases of periods can affect training and performance in female rowers?
If yes, how would you like the information to be provided