Janice Rose Lingerie and Newark Town Ladies Football Club talk about the importance of getting the right fitting sports bra

Footballers and a lingerie business teamed up to empower women with the knowledge of the health benefits of a supportive sports bra.

The owner of Janice Rose Lingerie, Janice Holmes, hosted an educational session for Newark Town Ladies Football Club and other sporty guests at the YMCA Community and Activity Village.

The aim of the session was to educate women about how to reduce breast movement while undertaking physical activity.

Two years ago, the sports team hosted a similar session, to educate the team’s ladies about the importance of breast health in sports.

Sarah Robinson, chairman of Newark Town Football Club said: “Getting the right fitting bra for sports is as important as getting the right football boots or the right shin pad because it is all to do with your well-being and your health.

“If you are running up and down a football pitch for 90 minutes, your breast tissue and the skin around your breast is obviously under a lot of pressure, so it's really important to have the correct undergarment on to keep you from not being distracted by pain because you could be in pain if you're not wearing the right sports bra.

“If there's something on your body that moves more than it should do, and you're going to be not concentrating on your game, you're going to be concentrating on actually how you're running and how you're moving.”

Janice highlighted that depending on the type of sports, from high impact such as running, football, netball, and rugby, to low impact such as yoga and pilates, the style and shape of the breast tissue are so important when choosing the correct sports bra.

There were ladies from the cricket club, the netball club, and a horse rider, representing different kinds of sporting activities.

The session took place on Tuesday (December 3) just before the ladies’ training session at the YMCA.

“Getting a good fitting sports bra is vital, it is a real investment, particularly for young girls, going through puberty, so when they're maybe 11, 12 and 13, that's a really important stage in their life, if they're doing sports, to be wearing the right bra as well,” Sarah added.

In the future, the football team chairman is planning on organising more events like this and inviting women from other football teams around the area.

Janice Holmes said: “Breast education is still not widely available including the importance of getting professionally fitted.

“We visit the dentist and optician and will get our feet measured during our younger years, however, breast shape and size changes throughout our lives.

“There is a big increase in cosmetic procedures for breasts including, breast lifts, reduction and enhancements.

“If the knowledge of how to correctly support the breast was more widely known, this could reduce the impact on ladies’ discomfort and body image and confidence.”