Menstruation continues to represent the most significant obstacle preventing secondary school-age girls from engaging in physical activity during school hours, according to research from Youth Sport Trust.
For Loughborough Lightning captain Nat Panagarry, the persistence of this challenge two decades after she experienced it herself is deeply troubling. Young women today face identical anxieties about leaking, cramping, bloating and heavy bleeding that affected her as a teenager, yet little has shifted in how sport addresses these concerns.
It does make me really sad because it feels like it was something that I was worrying about when I was 14/15 and I'm 35 now, we're 20 years on, and the young girls coming through are still having that feeling, Panagarry explained.
The Lightning skipper is committed to transforming how the menstrual cycle is discussed within sporting environments, determined to prevent girls from abandoning sport when they reach puberty. She recognises that the joy and personal development sport has given her—the friendships, confidence and sense of identity—should be available to the next generation without menstrual concerns acting as a barrier.
That conversation around periods isn't happening enough, it makes me sad and frustrated because I know how much joy sport has brought me. I think the person I am today is due to playing sport, the people I've met and the confidence it's given me, she said.
So to think that young girls that want to play sport still have that barrier of their period and feel like they can't speak about it, or don't know where to get female products from, or can't afford those products, that to me is just unacceptable.
The scale of the problem is substantial. According to Youth Sport Trust's 2024 findings, 62% of girls want to be more active at school, yet periods remain the leading barrier for girls aged 11–13 (47%) and 14–15 (52%). The research also revealed that 61% of girls aged 11 and over worried about leaking in PE kit, and 82% of teachers said periods affected attendance.
Beyond school settings, the problem extends into elite sport. A 2025 survey of 330 menstruating people found 68% had skipped sport because of their period, 90% worried about leaking, and 72% felt anxious about their period while playing sport.
Panagarry has represented Lightning since 2015, reaching 200 Netball Super League games on March 8. Throughout her tenure, she has witnessed significant shifts in attitudes towards women's sport and the research underpinning it. Yet she maintains that progress remains insufficient.
In recent years, Lightning's support staff have invested considerable effort into understanding how women's health issues affect performance on court. This commitment has contributed to the team's sustained competitive success. Through this work, Panagarry has come to recognise that the cultural norms she absorbed growing up can be damaging, and that discussing menstrual cycles with coaches and teammates is entirely compatible with strength and professionalism.
Beyond sport-specific support, Panagarry is passionate about ensuring free menstrual products are available in all women's public restrooms. She believes this represents a fundamental right that should not be negotiable.
It's been really nice to see conversations about the menstrual cycle being brought up more, with women and girls being more open to speak about it because so many of us are going through the same thing, she reflected.
Growing up in Preston, Panagarry absorbed a regional ethos of toughness and total commitment.
I always think being from Preston up north I had that 'no nonsense attitude, when you walk in you give a hundred per cent of whatever you've got' embedded in me. However, she now understands that this mindset, while valuable in many contexts, can be counterproductive when applied to menstruation.
Now we're getting to that point where we're realising that that's not always possible and it isn't healthy, mentally you just can't give a hundred per cent, especially when you're going through your period.
Heavy bleeding during the first days of her cycle once preoccupied Panagarry, particularly given the limited options available. Netball dresses required light-coloured undershorts—typically pink or purple—which heightened her anxiety about visible leakage. To manage this fear, she resorted to wearing both a pad and tampon simultaneously.
The introduction of black undershorts and period-specific underwear options, supplied through Lightning's partnership with sponsor Hustl, has transformed her confidence on court. These practical innovations have removed a significant source of stress.
Panagarry has observed that younger players progressing through the ranks display markedly greater openness about menstruation than she did at their age. She celebrates their self-assurance and willingness to advocate for themselves.
As women when we get older I think we get more and more confident, you're a bit more ballsy, you protect yourself a bit more. When you're younger sometimes you feel like you come into these spaces and maybe you've got to be a bit quieter and get used to people.
But I'm just loving this next generation that you do feel like have a massive voice and a massive opinion, I'm loving Gen Z and everything they're about.
She draws a parallel between menstrual health and the marginal gains philosophy that dominates elite netball.
Netball, especially in the Super League, is all about one per cent gains and we're always speaking about recovery, protein, what you're eating, what fluids you're getting but I think there's loads of one percenters about women's health.
For Panagarry, the ultimate measure of success is simple: if open discussion helps even one young girl feel confident enough to step onto a netball court without fear of her period stopping her, the effort is worthwhile.
If us talking helps any young girl feel like their period won't stop them going on a netball court, if we can help just one young girl, that for me is what it's all about.
The Netball Super League will be broadcast live on Sky Sports throughout the season. Round six features a double header on April 4, with Nottingham Forest hosting LexisNexis Dragons and Loughborough Lightning taking on Manchester Thunder, beginning at 2:50pm.
