1 in 3 girls quits
sports by 14.
Periods shouldn’t
be the reason.

Vermont schools are removing the uniform, product, and education barriers that quietly push girls off the roster.

Vermont first. Then everywhere.

A female soccer player with long black hair in a ponytail, wearing a navy jersey and white shorts, is reaching out with her arms extended to block a soccer ball during a game on an outdoor field.

This isn't a new problem. It's a newly named one.

In 2024, the National Women's Soccer League removed white shorts from its uniform lineup after its players named what girls in school sports have been carrying for decades — the anxiety of bleeding through. Peer-reviewed research now backs the experience: women's teams in white shorts averaged 0.32 to 0.37 fewer points per game than teams in dark shorts, a gap that doesn't appear in men's soccer. Adidas found 65% of menstruating athletes call period leakage their #1 concern in sport. Six in ten girls fear playing sport because of it. Vermont's female student-athletes have told us the same thing in their own words. We're listening — and acting.

Two female soccer players in red jerseys standing on a soccer field, with one smiling and looking ahead, while a man and other players are in the background.