After launching in 2020 as an online running coaching platform that aligns female-led training programs with women’s menstrual cycles, Australian and New Zealand-based start-up
has launched an expert backed online education program to empower those who work with and alongside women called
say the program aims to improve literacy in coaches and trainers about women’s physiology and the unique physical and psychological needs women have as athletes.
“Both Lydia and I know first-hand the challenges of being an athlete, and how the current norms in training – both at a professional level and an amateur level – mean women are put at a distinct disadvantage. Performance in athletics and sport is largely understood through the framework of male physiology, which isn’t surprising given that only 6% of research in sport is performed on women,” says Keown. “Our aim from day one has been to give female athletes of all stripes the knowledge and insight into their own bodies they need to train to their full potential. The launch of FEMMI THEORY sees us take this aim one step further by giving trainers and coaches the information and tools they need to coach female athletes from a truly holistic perspective.”
Keown – a successful junior athlete – met fellow athlete O’Donnell over ten years ago. The pair shared similar backgrounds, both having suffered harm as a result of intense training that didn’t take their psychological and physical wellbeing into consideration.
“In our experience, it’s still the norm for young female athletes to train to the point where they stop menstruating – a key indicator of poor health in women that can lead to loss of bone density and can impact on fertility, too. The pressure to be a certain size or weight can contribute to this and lead to other issues like eating disorders,” says O’Donnell.
The 7+ hour online FEMMI THEORY course will bring together six experts including endocrinologist
Dr Izzy Smith, dietician
Sara Widdowson, provisional psychologist
Lilli Burdon, physiotherapist
Grace Coombs, and Femmi co-founders Esther Keown and Lydia O’Donnell.
The course will cover 11 topics ranging from relative energy deficiency syndrome, to pre and postnatal athletes and how to keep young girls in sport, run across 7+ hours online. Those who complete the course’s 34 modules receive a Femmi Theory accreditation. “Our medical team is incredibly passionate about giving trainers and coaches of all levels the knowledge to break the cycle of male-skewed training in sports,” says O’Donnell.
Keown and O’Donnell believe education is key to improving female engagement in sport.
According to research by the Women’s Sports Foundation, by age 14 many girls are dropping out of sports at two times the rate of boys. A key reason for the disparity is the availability of quality, trained coaches who may be lacking in the girls’ community or coaches who may be more focused on boys’ programs that have more money for training.
Early in 2022, FEMMI partnered with Nike to run the FEMMI Scholarship Program, designed to educate and inspire young girls to stay in sport.
“We know that between the ages of 8-14 – typically the age menstruation starts – girls’ confidence level drops significantly. At the same time, we know engagement in sport can boost confidence levels in young people. By empowering female athletes and those invested in their success with a better understanding of their physiology, we hope more girls remain engaged in sport throughout their development years and beyond,” says O’Donnell.
A recent survey conducted by FEMMI of their athletes showed 100% of respondents feel more empowered in their bodies and 84% have improved performance. An average 25% improvement in self-confidence is found to have been directly linked to an increase in education on their body, self-compassion and having a coach work one on one with them around their menstrual cycle.