Silver Fern Irene van Dyk calls for open talks on menstruation in sports

NZ Herald

19 hours ago

Experienced sportswomen are calling for a shift in attitudes – breaking the bias and normalising discussions around menstruation in sport.​ In the first of a four-part series, Bonnie Jansen speaks with netball great Irene van Dyk on her silent struggle of competing while menstruating – hiding the reality and avoiding conversations.
Irene van Dyk – one of New Zealand's greatest adopted athletes - still remembers the way she had to hide the cramps, the blood and shame.
She was playing netball at the highest level – but she couldn't ask for a tampon. There was a time when she wouldn't even take the court when it was her time of the month.
'When I grew up, you wouldn't even play netball [when you had your period],' van Dyk told the Herald.
'You'd say 'I just started vomiting or I've got diarrhoea'.
'You would literally not play.'
Two decades ago, playing elite sport while on your period wasn't just uncomfortable – it was taboo. Periods were whispered about, and athletes were forced to act like nothing was happening – because to acknowledge it might've made you seem weak.
'It was partly because you were bleeding, but also it was sometimes we wore short skirts or your dress was a light colour and anything could show.
Van Dyk laughed in disbelief as she recalled the moment. 'Hell no!' she said when asked if she'd ever told her coach the real reason she couldn't play.
'You'd name anything but the fact that you had your period.'
It wasn't until van Dyk was playing international netball for South Africa, in her 20s, when she struck up the confidence to play through her period.
She felt she had matured and was more prepared to take the court while menstruating.
'I would still not mention it. I would still not tell anyone else I have my period.'
It was then, during the era when van Dyk switched allegiances and played for New Zealand, that open discussions about menstruation became more accepted.
'There was one year where I can remember [playing for the Silver Ferns] ... It must have been preparing for the 2003 World Cup or 2006, Commonwealth Games, where our whole team's [menstruation cycle] was in sync.'
Irene van Dyk sings the national anthem ahead of the 2007 World Netball Championships final. Photo / Photosport
Van Dyk is referring to the phenomenon often called menstrual synchrony – otherwise known as herding. It's the idea that women who live together or spend a lot of time together may begin to have their menstrual cycles at the same time. Though the concept is not scientifically supported, it was popularised in the 1970s.
'We started laughing about it because we were like, 'holy s**t', we never would have talked about it – and now all of a sudden, our whole team is going through the same thing.'
Van Dyk – who is Netball New Zealand's participation manager – said it's changed quite significantly when comparing when she played to how menstruation is addressed today.
'The fact that now they have managers and people that are around the courts [carrying sanitary products] ... we didn't have that.'
She touted the national Netball Smart programme that educates players more on the balancing act.
'They've definitely done a lot of research into it, and they talk around the whole stigma around and how to prepare your body for when you compete and when you have your period and how it impacts on your body and your wellbeing.
'It's just incredible.'
Van Dyk said Sport NZ's period product rollout in 2024 was a 'genius move.'
The governing body launched a one-year research project placing free period products in 48 community sport clubs nationwide.
Funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as part of the legacy programme for the Rugby, Football and Cricket World Cups hosted in Aotearoa in 2022 and 2023 – the project aimed to understand the impact of free period products on inclusivity for female players.
Last year, 48 sports clubs across the country received free period products for 5895 athletes. Sport NZ's report said 45,000 pads and 44,200 tampons were distributed.
Van Dyk said it would be 'fantastic' if netball could be included in the campaign in future – particularly given that women and girls dominate the sport.
'We are the main female sport and that's something we'll have to look into to make sure we support our players and encourage them and actually normalise [periods] and being able to talk about [periods] in that sense.'
'All female sports should be able to celebrate being a woman and having that ability to regardless of your period.'
Sport New Zealand's priority populations manager, focusing on women and girls, Emma Evans, told the Herald, she doesn't want periods to be a barrier for athletes participating in sport and recreation.
'You have access to toilet paper, you have access to soap. You don't necessarily have access to period products,' Evans said.
'Period products shouldn't be a luxury, but sadly, that's how they're often seen.
'For me, a really fundamental part of this is 50% of the population requires period products.
'It's not a 'nice to have' – it's a necessity for health, for dignity, for wellbeing.'
Though a huge success, Evans said the legacy campaign wouldn't continue as the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment funding was specifically for that legacy project in 2024.
'After we did this one-year research project, naturally, we had a lot of clubs, sports, regional sports trusts coming to us and saying, 'Hey, we want to be a part of this, what can we do?'
'Unfortunately, there was obviously a limited amount of money and it was linked to those three World Cups, but what we hope is that actually during this one year across these 48 clubs across the country, it gets people talking about this being an issue and this being a barrier.
'I think the research has done that.'
Evans said various clubs and sports are having discussions about how they can continue building momentum in the space – without the financial support of the government.
'That's expanded to several regional sports trusts talking with their local council around actually 'what does collaboration look like in this space - how what might we work together' to break down this barrier that is still facing so many women and girls.
'While at this point there are no concrete partnerships that have come from those conversations, I think it's a very exciting step in the right direction.'
Van Dyk said normalising period chat is important in sport.
'It happens to everyone, every woman, it happens to every female.
'[We need to] reduce barriers for players when it happens on the day. Sometimes the younger ones don't realise [when their period arrives] - they don't follow the track as it goes'
'It just happens and having the ability to just go into the changing room or grabbing something out of the gear bag or having a manager there or someone that has product that you know – it would just be incredible.
'It would be really really helpful.'
'Life is expensive – for some people it is quite hard to prepare for those things. So, to have [sanitary items] on tap and to [player's] availability and then having the confidence to go to ask for it or just grab it – that would be a game changer.'
Tuesday: Irene van Dyk on her silent struggle playing netball while menstruating, hiding the reality and avoiding conversations.
Wednesday: Aimee Didierjean on the stigma in gymnastics, competing in tight uniforms while navigating pads and tampons, and how intense training led to her period arriving late. ​
Thursday: Sailor Liv Mackay on navigating the challenges of being the sole female on her team and how she manages her period while spending long hours at sea.
Friday: Ultra-marathon runner Shannon-Leigh Litt on embracing her flow and how she adapts her training to align with her cycle.
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She was named New Zealand's Best Up and Coming journalist in 2025. She's a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.