Championing Female Athlete Health and Wellbeing
We help female athletes turn the conversation from stigma to strength. Through our Simply Periods and Play Without Pause initiatives, we integrate menstrual health, nutrition, and mental wellness into the daily life of every sportsperson.
This video highlights our SimplyBerry program at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy. We explain how our specialized period tracker helps elite athletes and coaches customize training plans, manage symptoms, and optimize performance by working smarter, not just harder.
Presenting to a full room at the Para Sport Summit. Our session focused on the specific menstrual cycle challenges faced by para athletes, bringing crucial, under discussed issues to the forefront of the conversation on inclusion in sport.
Our "Play Without Pause" initiative places India on the global map for menstrual health in sports. This graphic shows how our pilot in Uttar Pradesh, reaching over 1,100 athletes, joins a worldwide movement to let girls play without barriers.
Our partnership with the Bihar State Sports Authority is building one of India's most ambitious female athlete movements. This image shows young athletes with our menstrual health kits, a small part of a larger effort to shift the conversation from stigma to strength.
Our Head of Athlete Initiatives, a former international athlete herself, invites participants to our "Simply Periods" kiosk at the Khelo India Youth Games. This initiative provided free period care kits and education to over 800 athletes and coaches.
We conduct comprehensive workshops for both athletes and coaches. These group photos are from our "Simply Periods" and "Simply Smiles" workshops in Bihar, where we educated over 120 coaches on menstrual health and mental wellbeing in sports.
Our focus group discussions uncover the ground realities of menstrual health. In Agra, we learned that athletes had never seen tampons or cups and used code words like "common rest" for period pain, highlighting the urgent need for education and product access.
A close up of our team member leading the powerful session on menstrual health for para athletes. We believe in creating safe spaces where sensitive topics can be discussed openly, leading to empathy and, ultimately, action.
A panel discussion at the Para Sport Summit featuring our team member alongside para champions. Listening to athletes' lived experiences is fundamental to our work in developing policies that are truly inclusive and effective.
We publish our findings to advocate for change. This article, "Beyond Visible Limits," details the unique menstruation challenges for female para athletes, calling for adaptive products, better infrastructure, and greater support within the para sports ecosystem.
About Championing Female Athlete Health & Wellbeing
Real progress happens when we stop treating menstrual health as a taboo and start managing it like performance data. Our Simply Berry program isn't just about awareness; we provide a digital period tracker that helps athletes and coaches customize training plans, manage symptoms like cramps or migraines, and optimize performance based on real-time data rather than guesswork.
For too long, the 'female experience' in sports has been treated as an afterthought. We frequently see athletes in grassroots training centers who have never had access to sanitary products or menstrual health education, forced to use code words for pain or skip practice entirely. Our work is built on changing that reality.
Moving Beyond the Stigma
Our approach is grounded in field research, not just classroom theory. From conducting focus groups in Uttar Pradesh to hosting kiosks at the Khelo India Youth Games, we gather the insights needed to push for systemic change. We don't just advocate; we implement:
- Data-Driven Performance: We teach athletes how to track their cycles, understand the physiological impact of their periods on training load, and communicate effectively with coaches.
- Coach Education: We train support staff—male and female—on how to facilitate open conversations, implement period-friendly infrastructure, and modify training protocols for female athletes.
- Policy Advocacy: We take the findings from our workshops—like our work with the Bihar State Sports Authority—to advocate for better sanitation, menstrual health kits, and inclusive policies in state-level sports governance.
Why It Matters
Whether it is our 'Simply Smiles' workshops for mental health or our 'Simply Periods' initiatives, our goal is the same: keeping girls in the game. We believe that when you give an athlete the tools to understand their own body, you are not just preventing injury or dropout—you are empowering them to build a sustainable career. We help sports bodies move from basic compliance to genuine athlete-centric care, ensuring that the next generation of champions has the support system they need to thrive.
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