What do figure skaters do when they have their period?
Daniel Johnson
Published May 17, 2026
While getting her period and dealing with cramps may add stress to an already stressful situation, female athletes like Nagasu have learned to stay focused. “It's really not that big of a deal. You just stick a tampon up there,” says Nagasu. She also finds that skating is a therapeutic exercise to alleviate cramps.
Can you figure skate on your period?
"It's really not that big of a deal. You just stick a tampon up there," she says, adding that exercising on the ice during her period tends to be therapeutic. "Periods can induce cramps for me, which I find exercise helps [alleviate]."Do figure skaters wear pads?
And FYI: Butt pads, also known as crash pads, really aren't common in performance for any figure skater. While some skaters might use them in practice as a cushion for when they fall, it's not even that common in that context.What do figure skaters wear under their dresses?
Feel free to embellish your bodysuit just as you would a skating dress! Wear beige-colored tights under your skating dress. Tights will allow you to move freely while protecting your legs from the ice.Do female figure skaters wear tights?
To figure skaters, tights are no small thing. Besides matching with a skater's skin tone, flexibility in tights enables a skater's ease of movement and provides warmth in cold temperatures.Is it okay to figure skate when I'm on my period?
Why do female figure skaters wear skirts?
Few female figure skaters wear trousers at Olympic competitions, though nearly all practice in them. No rule dictates the decision, but cultural expectations of femininity and tradition make skirts the de facto competition uniform.Why is it called kiss and cry?
The nickname is based on the fact that skaters and their coaches (and sometimes loved ones there in support) often react emotionally when scores are revealed, with high scores often resulting in kisses and congratulations, while low scores result in commiseration and sometimes crying.Why do figure skaters dress so skimpy?
Today, the ISU's official handbook says only that competitors in ladies' singles must wear something “modest, dignified, and appropriate for athletic competition” and rules out that which is “garish,” “theatrical,” or gives “the effect of excessive nudity inappropriate for the discipline.”Can figure skaters wear their hair down?
Half Up, Half DownSome figure skaters can wear some hair up and also leave some of the hair down. For figure skating, this style works best for short or medium length hair.
Why are figure skating outfits so revealing?
Sheer panels and figure skating costumes go together like peanut butter and jelly, but the pairing didn't happen by accident. The International Skating Union forbids theatricality and the effect of excessive nudity. Sheer panels are 'modest' and adhere to the dress code.Do ice skaters wear bras?
During competition, some wear them and some do not. Skating outfits are quite form-fitting, so many smaller-busted skaters receive sufficient support from the costumes themselves and find bras unnecessary. Those women with larger busts do wear bras.How do ice dancers not get cut?
Figure skating blades aren't like knives.The blades also have two edges with a grooved, concave center. This means that the female skaters' weight is distributed over a slightly larger area than if the blades had a single, super-thin edge, like knives do.