Caroline Wich: “The facilities in the sports halls are not designed for menstruation"
In connection with our campaign, White Shorts Are a Red Flag , we spoke with Caroline Wich, initiator of Girl's Got Game - a Danish sports community and NGO that works to strengthen the position and participation of girls and women in sports.
Through role models to look up to, better and safer environments, and new knowledge and inspiration, they help associations to ensure that more girls and women are retained and motivated in their sport.
Caroline herself has a background as an elite basketball player and is currently in the midst of a large and important effort to create a safer and more inclusive environment for young menstruating women in sports.
written by Simone Mervig
You have close contact with young girls in particular in sports - and you have played basketball at an elite level yourself. How do you experience that a good framework is created when you menstruate?
“Menstruation is only considered to the extent that there are some small bags hanging in the toilets, but it is not further considered in the changing room. Where do you wash your cup, for example? There is also no place you can go if you are missing a pad or tampon. We have to make sure we have them in our sports bags. But menstruation is not always regular. Especially not in sports.”
What does it mean for the young players that the framework does not match their needs?
“The conversation among young players is often about not bleeding through. Especially since many teams, regardless of sport, play in white uniforms or shorts. And then there’s the fact that it can be uncomfortable. Pads absorb sweat, and a tampon or cup can move around over the course of many minutes on the field. Plus, we always play in sports halls, so it’s difficult to empty your cup. The facilities aren’t designed to accommodate menstruation.”
Have you ever experienced situations where menstruation and the confines of sports clash?
"I've seen several people who have lost their tampons during the game. Luckily, they were wearing some inner shorts, but you have to wear those too in case something like that happens. And then I have friends who have soaked through and had to change shorts at half-time. But then you risk wearing shorts with a different number on them, which you then have to tape over, and it just doesn't look very aesthetically pleasing."
But I've also experienced some super cool girls who have been like, 'I don't f***ing care,' where you've also thought, 'f***, how cool!' It's really inspiring.”
What does it mean for girls in sports when you see players at national team level going against the system, as the handball women have done?
"It's so cool that the national team has joined the IHF. It has a really cool effect on girls and women having a voice and having an influence on the decisions and the framework for sports. It's super important that decisions are not only made on behalf of women and girls who play sports, but are made together with them."
What do you wish young players knew about menstruation and performance?
“Unfortunately, I still experience this 'No pain, no game' in sports, which is so wrong if you ask me. Because all bodies and everything we notice and feel in our bodies and mentally is different. It's not right that you always just have to fight through it because you feel that's just how it is. If you have a different type of menstruation or menstrual pain, you shouldn't compare yourself to others who don't experience the same pain at all. But that may be the perception you have because you're not allowed to whine, and you don't want it to become a big deal. You never talk about your period with your coach, maybe because coaches are also often men.
Menstruation has just been made into something that women live with. A personal thing that they have to solve for themselves. Of course, the young players can use each other on the team, but you can also quickly think: 'Do they think I'm weak because I honestly just want to lie down like a little ball right now?'
I think there are a lot of young girls who don't know how different periods can feel and be and look. It's so important that we look at each other, but that we also understand how different we are.”
Caroline puts precise words to something that many menstruating athletes experience, but rarely say out loud.
We hope her perspectives can help start more conversations — both in the halls, in the locker rooms, and among those who make the decisions.
Because it's never menstruation that's the challenge.
That's the framework around it.
And we can change them. Together.
