Why period-proof kits could be a 'story within a story' at Women's World Cup

This was the first year Team Canada's game kit at the Women's World Cup featured a new Nike product with a liner designed to limit period leaks for athletes who menstruate. 

In spite of the Canadian team's early exit after a 4-0 loss to Australia earlier this week, Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, the CEO of Canadian Women and Sport, says the kit could be the "story within the story of the World Cup."

"It's been a long journey and this is a wonderful step really to acknowledge that many women do menstruate [and] that it is part of their sport experience," Sandmeyer-Graves told Day 6 guest host Manjula Selvarajah.

"It can be a real point of anxiety and ... adistraction. Setting them up for success allows them to really focus on the task at hand."

The topic of menstruation has made headlines at several major women's sporting events of late. Last fall Wimbledon changed its white clothing rule to allow female competitors to wear coloured undershorts for the purpose of "relieving a potential source of anxiety."

Earlier this year, British triathlete Emma Pallant-Browne went viral after a photo of her running during an event showed a small amount of menstrual blood on her swimsuit.

Pallant-Browne posted the photo to her Instagram in May to make the point that she felt there was nothing wrong with it.

"You talk about knee injuries without any awkwardness ... I think exactly the same with periods," she told Day 6.

Pallant-Browne thinks younger athletes take cues from high profile athletes who "can lead the way by having these honest, open conversations and making it not a taboo subject."

Sandmeyer-Graves says Canadian Women and Sport research says 23 per cent of girls surveyed in their research consider menstruation a barrier.

According