Find a range of resources below to support female athletic health and performance
Warm up programmes can help reduce injury risk by improving joint mobility, blood flow to muscles, limb co-ordination and mental preparation. The warm up is also about preparing the body and mind for optimal performance.
Whether you’re aiming to be a WHITE FERN or just love a game of Smash Yard Cricket with your mates, this series is for you.
We want every wāhine cricketer to feel confident, supported and empowered to play the game they love, and feel their best doing it.
NZC has teamed up with The Healthy Athlete Project and drawn upon existing cricket research, to create this series designed specifically for female athletes. Across six short videos and supporting resources, we break down the everyday habits and key knowledge that help you perform well and stay well.
You’ll explore:
•Daily athlete habits
•The power of the warm-up
•Meeting your energy needs
•The menstrual cycle for health
•Building your support team
The female athlete health series aims to help you own your athlete health journey.
Your Health – Your Power Play.
Female athlete health and performance is the outcome of your daily athlete habits.
Athlete habits include training, nutrition and recovery practices. Learning to develop and execute these good habits early on will set you up for a great future.
A dynamic warm-up is one part of an injury prevention programme alongside your strength and conditioning, bowling workloads, sleep and nutrition and mental well-being.
Nutrition is vitally important for health and performance on and off the fie
With long periods out at the crease or in the field, young cricketers may unintentionally under-fuel for what they need.
- Encourage your team to hydrate and eat something during small breaks
- Be proactive and use the downtime to eat and drink more.
- Pack extra food and snacks for a long day
Young females need a lot more energy than you think!
You need energy for:
- Body functions, including the brain, heart, and lungs
- Supporting sleep
- Growth and development
- Building strong musculoskeletal and reproductive systems.
- Maintain healthy social connections
- Academic study and part-time work
Females grow and develop differently to males. Females make unique hormones during the menstrual cycle, which are important for brain, bones, muscles and heart function. Understanding your menstrual cycle can help support both performance and long‑term sporting goals.
This female athlete health series aims to help you own your athlete journey.
A fun and supportive environment is key to enjoying cricket and developing as a player both on and off the field. Not every day in sport and life will be a good day, and that’s ok.
Build your support team with people you trust and talk to. Your team is there to help you when times are tough and celebrate you in the good times.
Eating regularly over the day and all the way through game days is crucial for maintaining energy stores to play at your best. Eating small and frequent snacks during the batting innings especially, and during fielding drinks breaks, are a great way to do this.
Top Tip: Practise with these foods during training, so on game day they are all familiar.
An active person or cricketer often finds themselves needing top-up fuel during the day AND while exercising, so you can get the best out of the sessions you are completing all week long. BUT the point of carbs, is not to get you out of the hole during training or competition, but to stop you going into it in the first place.
Like petrol tanks, there is only so much carbohydrate your body can hold. You need to top up by eating regularly during the day and during exercise.
Top Tip: Plan out your nutrition from the start of your week
Females grow, develop and move through puberty differently than males. It can make your time in sport and life challenging – but it is temporary. Females make unique hormones during the menstrual cycle, which are important for brain, bones, muscles and heart function.
This female athlete health series aims to help you own your athlete journey. A fun and supportive environment is key to enjoying cricket and developing as a player both on and off the field. Not every day in sport and life will be a good day, and that’s ok.
Build your support team with people you trust and talk to. Your team is there to help you when times are tough and celebrate you in the good times.
Sport NZ recognises that female-specific needs in community sport are unique. As coaches, parents, instructors and administrators, understanding female health is critical to being able to respond and provide support for young people to be active in ways that boost their wellbeing.
Balanced Female Health is a new resource for adults supporting young people in community sport. Developed by health professionals working in the sport sector, this resource covers changes throughout female puberty, the menstrual cycle, and factors that impact the physical health and mental wellbeing of all young people.
Women's cricket is one of the six strategic priorities identified by the ICC. With the health and welfare of female cricketers central to this priority, the ICC has rolled out various initiatives around women’s health under the 100% Cricket movement to educate players and staff, build awareness, and normalise conversations in sporting environments.
The purpose of the NZC Youth Pace Bowling Load Recommendations, is to guide young pace bowlers through their season loading in order to reduce the risk of injury.
