WUKA, which stands for Wake Up, Kick Ass, will provide the Wales Women senior squad with a range of sustainable period underwear, and provide support to the rest of the female pathway along with community teams through exclusive discounts.
The agreement makes WUKA the first period pant brand to sponsor a sports team.
Periods affect 80 per cent of women’s exercise schedules due to concerns of leakages, cramps and general wellbeing.
New research commissioned by the sustainable period underwear brand found that, from a poll of 1,000 women aged 18-45, 60 per cent planned their exercise around menstruating and one in six said they didn’t even believe it was safe to do so.
Jo Perkins, Wales Women head physio said, “This partnership is fantastic news for us as a programme and for female sport in general. As part of our performance programme we are looking at many ways in which we can support players so they can reach their full potential on the pitch and that includes tackling aspects of female health.
“Acknowledging the importance of periods is the first important step. The menstrual cycle should be seen as a real advantage to women, not only as a sign of good health but, by adapting nutrition and training at key times in the cycle, women can make performance gains.
“WUKA is the perfect partner. With this practical support, players will be able to feel strong, confident and supported to help them concentrate on performing rather than worry about other factors.”
Academic research* also found that during ovulation (day 14 of the menstrual cycle), women are at their strongest whereas during the luteal phase (day 14-21 of the menstrual cycle) bodies are not primed for high intensity training.
Ruby Raut, Founder of WUKA said: “From our research, we know that some women still feel they face barriers in some sports whilst menstruating.
“At WUKA, we feel it’s important to educate women around the benefits of exercising and playing sport during periods and also want to highlight the great variety of sanitary products now available that can cater to women of all shapes and sizes for many different sports.”
WUKA will also provide the entire Wales Women’s senior team with a range of their sustainable ‘cycle sets’ and discounts, ensuring they feel comfortable and secure for many match days to come, whether they’re on their period or not.
In addition to supporting the Wales Women senior team, WUKA will provide support to the women’s pathway and women and girls’ community programmes by offering exclusive discounts across their product range.
To find out more about WUKA visit www.wuka.co.uk and to find out more about WRU visit www.wru.wales.
* Wikström-Frisén L, Boraxbekk CJ, Henriksson-Larsén K. Effects on power, strength and lean body mass of menstrual/oral contraceptive cycle based resistance training. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2015
