Nothing could stop Kiera Austin from playing sport.
The Australian Diamonds netballer grew up in Sydney and had a passion for swimming and soccer and always wanted to be on the netball court with her friends.
But when she turned 14, Austin noticed a change. Fewer friends wanted to sign up for the next semester of sport and there was suddenly a “massive drop off” in participation.
“There are probably so many different reasons, but to know that young girls might stop because they’re scared of having their period while playing sport or not knowing how to manage it, that really upsets me,” she told this masthead.
The Melbourne Vixens netballer wants to empower girls to stay in sport and has recently co-designed UnderAustin – a performance period undershort that ranges from a girls’ size 10 to a women’s size 14.
She is also passionate about reproductive health for female professional athletes, promoting access to education and fertility awareness.
So, why is this world champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist talking about period undies and babies? Austin, who is enrolled in a medical science degree, has always considered herself an analytical person. Frustrated by the exodus of young women from organised sport, she was keen to try something creative.
In collaboration with Eltee Sydney, the period undershorts Austin helped design hold 15-20ml of liquid — the equivalent of four regular sanitary pads – and have a lower design at the front, so players don’t feel compressed if they are experiencing bloating symptoms.
Austin has tested the undershorts and worn them during the Vixens’ pre-season games in Ballarat and said she’d received positive feedback from parents, players and postpartum women.
She wants to reduce the stigma around menstruation and also create something women and girls felt “protected and comfortable with”, adding she didn’t want players to miss out on sport because they were nervous about period leaks.
Last year, a groundbreaking study from Federation University found nearly one in five girls consider dropping out of sport due to period-related challenges.
Out of a sample of 464 Australian girls, more than 90 per cent were worried about leaking or bleeding through their uniforms while more than half said they missed training due to their period.
Lead author and pelvic health physiotherapist Jane Strachan was not surprised by the responses, but admitted they were higher than she anticipated.
“There’s literature that shows us that girls drop out of sport, and give a lot of reasons around that… But no one had actually asked the question, ‘Are you dropping out because of your period?’,” she said.
“The dropout age bracket [for girls in sport] is very similar to the average age of menarche [a person’s first period]. So we see that peaking around age 12, and then diving into adolescence.”
The report included a number of recommendations for sporting bodies, clubs and policy-makers, including increased access to period products in sporting facilities and more education for organisations, coaches and parents.
Strachan said management should be a natural conversation, something that’s not taboo, and should involve all genders.
Ideally, Strachan hopes the future of period underwear and products can become more affordable to ensure easy access, adding period products are “a need not a want”.
Recently, several netball stars have spoken openly about their periods including Adelaide Thunderbirds’ Tayla Williams, who won a Netball Australia award last year for her advocacy around endometriosis and chronic pain.
Austin was anointed most valuable player in the Vixens’ Super Netball grand final triumph last year and has been a crucial player in her team’s undefeated season so far.
She has advocated for more education around fertility for young female professional athletes through an Australian Netball Players Association partnership with Virtus Health (a group of fertility providers that includes IVF Australia and Melbourne IVF).
Former Australian captain Liz Ellis, who now chairs Netball Australia, was one of the first to speak publicly about not understanding the extent to which fertility declines with age until she and her husband tried to have a second baby in her late 30s, after her retirement.
Through the ANPA partnership, Austin says Super Netball players over 25 have access to fertility health assessments and pelvic ultrasounds.
“I’m married, and when you get married, everyone’s like, ‘when you get to have kids’, and it’s tricky, because I actually don’t know when I want to do that,” she said.
“When I was younger, I never thought netball was something that I would do for a living. And now that I’m in it and loving the sport, I don’t ever want to step away from it, but I do know that having a family is a really big part of what I want to achieve in my life,” she said.
“I hope that conversations like this keep happening, so that people do feel empowered to keep raising awareness, and that women’s health is just another topic that people speak about it. ”
The Melbourne Vixens host the Sunshine Coast Lightning at John Cain Arena on Sunday from 4pm.
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Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports reporter and Formula 1 writer at The Age.Connect via email.
