Vermont schools switch to darker shorts to boost girls’ sports confidence

Vermont schools are replacing white shorts with darker alternatives in girls’ sports uniforms to tackle period anxiety, enhance comfort, and support increased female participation in school athletics, driven by a broader push for inclusivity and confidence.

Vermont schools are beginning to rethink a small but persistent part of girls’ sports uniforms: white shorts. The change is being driven by the Vermont Principals’ Association, which says it wants to reduce period anxiety and make school athletics more comfortable for girls who worry about leaks showing through light-coloured kit. The effort is part of a broader push to keep more girls in sport, after the association noted that participation often drops sharply in the early teen years. According to the VPA, the issue is not cosmetic. It is about confidence, retention and whether athletes feel able to focus on the game rather than their uniforms.

Lauren Young, the association’s executive director of activities and athletics, said the idea grew out of its monthly Girls and Equity discussions, where coaches, athletic directors and student-athletes have raised concerns ranging from harassment to the pressures around body image. The VPA has begun offering small grants to help schools switch girls’ teams to darker shorts, with support from the National Federation of State High School Associations and the GRL Initiative. BSN Sports is also giving schools a discount on uniform bottoms. Young said the response has been strong, but the association still needs about $20,000 to meet requests for this year.

Several Vermont schools have already signed on. At Lamoille Union High School, athletics director Tim Messier said the school moved quickly to order darker shorts for the fall season, choosing black to match existing uniforms. He said the goal was to give students options and to make sure what they wear is driven by comfort rather than habit. At Stowe High School, girls’ soccer has already switched to black shorts, while the school is now looking for a similar solution for girls’ basketball. Coach Tyler Post said the change was an easy one after he raised the issue with the athletic director, especially given that wet white shorts can become see-through in rain.

Champlain Valley Union High School is also replacing shorts for girls’ soccer and basketball, while other girls’ teams there already use black bottoms. Activities director Renee Breault said the discussion has gone beyond colour and into fit, cut and comfort for all athletes. She pointed out that some sports uniforms are not designed with girls’ bodies in mind, citing wrestling singlets as one example, even as girls’ wrestling grows in Vermont. The state is adding girls-only wrestling competition for the first time this year, a sign that participation is expanding even as uniform standards remain under review.

Young said the shorts issue is only one part of what needs to change. She wants schools to talk more openly about menstrual health, training and injury prevention, and to give girls better information about their bodies. The VPA has also heard reports of misogynistic and homophobic remarks at games, which Young said reinforces the need for safer, more supportive environments. The association’s wider initiative, described in recent posts as a three-phase effort, also includes menstrual care products and a student-athlete speaker series. For Messier, the larger lesson is that school sports should help students feel seen, supported and connected to at least one adult in the building.