When leaders at a western NSW school heard that discomfort and pain was stopping female students from participating in sport, they stepped in to offer every one of them free sports bras.
It resulted in a 20 per cent lift in female participation at Gilgandra High School's athletics carnival.
"We've had so many positive conversations from some of the female students where they've actually come back and spoken about how they're feeling now that they are wearing their new bras," acting deputy principal Ilana Austen said.
According to Sports Medicine Australia, 88 per cent of female adolescents wore a bra during sport that did not fit correctly.
"We wanted to do something to support more engagement from female students in all areas of sports and athletics," Ms Austen said.
Finding the right fit
Mobile bra fitter Philippa Mitchell was approached to help.
"They had a boxing program that the girls weren't participating in because they said that it hurts their breasts and they didn't have the right bras," she said.
"So it kind of ignited an idea for the executive team at the school to say, well, we need to get the girls in sports bras and we've got this money left over, can you help?"
She said she had been approached by four other schools since she posted on social media about her visit to Gilgandra.
Each bra was valued between $75 and $100.
"Money for many families is really tight at the moment, so an expensive bra isn't really high on the agenda," she said.
She said the girls were nervous and awkward at first but were all very respectful.
"The first girl who was fitted, she had a larger bust and I put her into a really lovely sports bra.
"And it's got a hook at the back where you can make it into a racerback.
"So I hooked it up and she went, 'my God, it's amazing'."
The school said 59 girls took up the offer, with each being given two bras.
"For us to be able to bring that into the school and enable families to access via that method is was just a really great opportunity," Ms Austen added.
"We couldn't have been happier with the process, the girls all felt very comfortable and it was extremely professional."
Positive results
The students received their bras a few days before the school's athletics carnival earlier this month.
"We saw a 20 per cent increase in female participation at the carnival, which was fantastic," Ms Austen said.
"They're talking about being more comfortable, having less back pain, all those little things they weren't aware of before but now they can see with the right bra, they're actually all OK.
"If we did have the opportunity to do this again I think we would see a greater uptake because there's been so much positive feedback in the community."
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