The Diva Team is excited to welcome Rebecca to the DivaCup blog today! She’s a world traveller and professional volleyball player! Find out how discovering the DivaCup has provided her with the freedom she needs to be successful on the job.
My name is Rebecca and I am a professional volleyball player.
My job affords me many opportunities from traveling the world and making friends from countless countries to playing in front of crowds of fans in all different cities. Sadly for me, I have always struggled with dealing with playing while on my period. While playing volleyball for the University of Kentucky, where I earned my Mathematics degree, I was constantly terrified of having to play a three hour game for fear that my tampon would fail me. Later while playing in Germany, France and for the Canadian national team, I not only feared because of our small, tight uniforms but also because I had the joy of now playing in baby blue and red shorts.
Not ideal attire for a girl on her period.
A year ago my mother told me about the DivaCup after reading about it online. I told her there was no way I could use one. I felt as though it would be too difficult to adjust to and feared more problems than I already had. Luckily she was relentless and eventually convinced me to try it when she delivered one to me in France where I was living. While I admit that my first few days were an awkward struggle, I quickly got the hang of it and now refuse to ever go back to using anything else.
Volleyball is not only a sport of tiny uniforms. We jump, run, dive and collide on a regular basis and the DivaCup has provided me with a feeling of freedom that I can do all these skills without fear of leakage.
On top of the benefits I have found while playing, the DivaCup has become an essential item for me to pack while traveling between countries. In volleyball we can have travel days ranging from 12-30 hours. The DivaCup has been great for when I know I will be starting my cycle since I can wear it longer than a tampon and it helps me avoid any uncomfortable bag searches through security.
The DivaCup has removed at least one stress from my busy travel schedule.
Since becoming a fan of the DivaCup I take every chance I can to tell my teammates about it. Periods are a constant point of conversation when on a team full of females. It is a particular point of conversation when choosing which colour uniform we have to wear for an upcoming match. Over the last six months I have had more than a few teammates make the switch and they too are never turning back.
I am so happy to have tried the DivaCup and hope that my story can help other young female athletes be comfortable while doing what we love! We can be strong, athletic and confident no matter what time of the month it is.
Rebecca Pavan
Rebecca was born in Kitchener, ON and is currently a world traveler. She spends her summers in Winnipeg, MB playing for our national volleyball team trying to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. She graduated from University of Kentucky in 2012 where she played volleyball and studied mathematics. After college she began her professional volleyball career. Since then she has lived and played in Berlin and Stuttgart Germany and Béziers, France. She is now waiting to sign her next contract to see where she will be playing this fall. Follow Rebecca on Instagram and Twitter.
