Introduction: Professional Australian Football League Women's (AFLW) clubs recruit players annually through a draft process from the AFLW junior talent pathway program. Participation in the draft process includes a comprehensive medical evaluation to ensure optimal medical management of future players by providing clubs with medical and injury history prior to recruitment to the professional level. The study aimed to investigate the extent to which self-reported menstrual and dietary issues exist in young, emerging professional AFLW players. Methods: All female players (n=297) who participated in the AFLW National Draft Combines between 2020 and 2023 completed a standardised pre-draft medical screening questionnaire and semi-structured interview conducted by an experienced football doctor. De-identified individual responses to women`s health and dietary questions were analyzed using Chi-Square or Fisher`s exact tests. The retrospective cross-sectional study was approved by the University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics Committee (ID: 27896). Results: Of the participants in this study (age 18.1+1.0 years), 81.5% reported a regular menstrual cycle (MC), 71.4% were not using any form of contraception and 21% reported that their MC had an effect on their performance. Players using hormonal contraception (HC) had similar rates of MC regularity (76.5%) and no effect of the MC on performance (84.7%) to those not using HC (83.5% and 77.4% respectively). The group of players who were using HC other than the combined oral pill reported the lowest effect of their MC on performance (5.9%). A relatively low rate of special diets was reported (11.4%), but diagnosed nutritional deficiencies were reported in 27.2% of players. Additionally, 11.6% of players admitted to trying to lose weight or meet weight or image/appearance aspects of sport. Those who reported that menstruation affected their performance also reported higher rates of trying to lose weight to meet weight or image/appearance aspects of the sport (p=0.03). Discussion: These findings indicate that young, emerging, AFLW players report relatively few menstrual and dietary issues. However, those who report that menstruation impacts performance report higher-levels of weight-loss desires for aesthetic reasons, despite participating in a team sport with no aesthetic considerations for participation. In junior talent pathways programs where time, resource and financial constraints are prevalent, these results suggest that targeting individuals who report challenges with additional support, rather than focusing on the global population, is critical. Furthermore, with lower trends reported within this young study population compared to those in other adult sport competitions, further research is recommended to ascertain whether these positive trends continue through the career of AFLW players and if so, what the protective factors might be. Appropriate support can be improved to optimise athletic outcomes, psychological wellbeing and enjoyment for all female AFLW players. Impact/Application to the field: A greater understanding of the unique challenges faced by female athletes, such as MC and dietary habits, may be beneficial in enhancing the medical care, health, and performance outcomes for women competing in professional sporting competitions as well as directing limited resources (education, medical, nutrition, psychology) most appropriately in any identified areas of need. Declaration: My co-authors and I acknowledge that we have no conflict of interest of relevance to the submission of this abstract.
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