A cricket club in Sussex, England, has decided to ditch the traditional white in its kit in favour of darker colours, so as to make women and girls feel more comfortable while they play on their period.
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The Lewes Priory CC is being hailed for its decision, which many see as inclusive and progressive.
According to The Independent, it is said to be the first such club in the UK to make the switch and bring in a black kit. Additionally, the swap happened after rounds of discussions with “gender inclusion consultants”.
Susie Lanaway, who is the women’s captain at the club, was quoted as telling The Daily Telegraph: “It’s well known that girls stop playing sports as they become teenagers and women. There’s nothing less tempting than playing in whites when you have your period.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for our junior girls to carry on playing as they get older, and a really easy way of doing that is dropping whites, so they aren’t put off by the prospect of having their periods and having to wear white trousers.”
According to sussexexpress.co.uk, club chairman Kevin Ives said about the swap: “One team, one kit, one club sums up our whole approach. We want girls and boys to come here, play cricket and to love the game as much as we do. The switch to coloured kit is a really important part of the work we are doing towards our goal to be a truly inclusive club.”
The move is also being compared with Wimbledon and its stringent dress code that prevents tennis players — men and women — from wearing any other colour except for white.
Recently, British tennis star Alicia Barnett spoke about this mandate and expressed that she was a “bit stressed” about getting her period during the matches. She told the Press Association news agency, “During the pre-qualifying, I was on my period and the first few days were really heavy, and I was a bit stressed about that.”
She continued, “Your body feels looser, your tendons get looser, sometimes you feel like you’re a lot more fatigued, sometimes your coordination just feels really off, and for me, I feel really down and it is hard to get that motivation. Obviously, you’re trying to play world-class tennis but it is really hard when you’re PMS-ing and you feel bloated and tired.”
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