Most girls drop out of sport by puberty. Teenage athlete Issey Kyson is on a race to change that

Nearly two-thirds of girls drop out of sport by the time they reach puberty – but teenager Issey Kyson is on a mission to change that.

The 17-year-old athlete has spent the last few years balancing meetings in parliament with races and school exams, alongside self-funding a documentary exposing the barriers faced by girls in sport.

Out of the Race, which features world-famous former athletes including Jessica Ennis-Hill and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, follows Kyson from local tracks to schools and parliament.

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“When I was really young, I remember thinking: ‘Where do all the girls go?’ It wasn’t until I was around 13, when I started going through puberty myself, that I realised the struggles I was having were the reasons teenage girls were dropping out of sports,” Kyson says.

“It was because of puberty and that we weren’t educated about it.”

Out of the Race is released as Kyson launches a national toolkit for schools, giving recommendations to ensure girls are better supported to stay in sport through puberty and beyond.

The toolkit is set to reach 20,000 PE teachers and more than one million pupils across the UK.

Kyson says there are a number of factors pushing girls out of sport. “The menstrual cycle is a big one,” she says. “If you’ve got cramps or you’re not feeling great on your period, it can be tricky. But there’s a lack of knowledge that doing sport can help relieve those symptoms.

“It’s quite easy for us girls, and I’ve done this quite a few times, to think: ‘Ugh. I’m on my period. I feel just awful. I’ve got cramps.’ And then you just sit there on the side and don’t do anything. But it’s good for us to be told that doing sports actually helps with these symptoms. That’s an educational thing that we’re not necessarily taught about.”

Research cited in parliamentary reports shows that 64% of girls have dropped out of sport by the time they reach puberty.

Another issue that girls often face during puberty is changing bodies and weight gain, which can be damaging for their mental health and make them feel uncomfortable doing physical activity. It can also impact their performance in sport.

“Your hips widen and that changes the way that you run. Your centre of gravity is now completely changed. You’re having to essentially relearn how to run, and relearn how to coordinate your body. That can be a big thing that can then hold you back from some goals and from progressing in sports for a little while,” Kyson says.

“You end up plateauing or going backwards. That stagnation in performance and possible reversal in progression can put girls off sports. If they’re training all the time and not seeing results, it’s understandable to stop. But it’s another educational issue. We’re not told about this plateau. We don’t get told that that’s going to happen.”

Kyson experienced this personally as a young teenager. She had always loved running. When she was five years old, she asked her dad to take her with him on long runs. She felt free when running. She went to park runs and joined her local running club in Essex, and while there she discovered hurdles – the sport she’s stayed in since.

When she was 13, a few months after she had her first period, Kyson faced rapid weight gain. She put on around six kilograms in the space of six weeks.

“I went from a prepubescent stick-thin cross-country girl to a body that was slightly heavier. I felt heavy and slow compared to light and bouncy. My running style changed because my body was adapting to the new weight distribution and centre of gravity.”

Kyson went through a period of a couple of months where she recalls thinking: “I hate this sport. I don’t know why I’m doing it. I’m sick of this. I’m not getting any better.”

At a similar time, she suffered a stress fracture which meant she was forced to take time off sport. She realised then how much she missed it. Her passion and drive rekindled when she returned to the track, but it gave her an understanding of why girls drop out of sport – and she has campaigned for change ever since.

Kyson was invited to share her thoughts on the curriculum by the Department of Education under the Conservatives, and she was close to getting changes secured – but then the government changed after the general election and she had to start again. She is now in the process of working with the Labour government to make changes to the curriculum. 

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said Kyson’s work “will undoubtedly aid many girls in managing the impact of puberty on their sports activities” and has invited her to collaborate on a national curriculum review.

Kyson’s toolkit, which she has created alongside the Association for Physical Education, is a significant start. It features advice for schools alongside personal anecdotes from Kyson about her experiences.

As an example, if a girl is struggling with menstrual cramps, Kyson recommends that teachers do not “sideline her” or tell her to “sit in the corner and do nothing”. They could encourage that girl to take part in different ways, such as engaging with coaching or doing more gentle activities like yoga or stretching or walking.

“I hope there is an environment where teenage girls don’t have to struggle with going through puberty and sports and feeling like no one understands them. I’d also like to see a space where girls’ sports and boys’ sports are treated with the same importance,” Kyson says.

“It’s about equity, and making sure we have the right equipment and right supplies for us to do whatever we want. It’s these inequalities that really eat away at me. I want to see equality in the way that we’re treated, for funding to be equal, and for there to be spaces for teenage girls to feel safe.”

Out of the Race is available on Youtube now

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