Ho, Sept. 11, GNA - Mrs Helena Williams, a Sports Coach at the University of Ghana, Legon, on Wednesday derided the notion that girls in sports were bad performers in the academic field.

" With good time management, discipline and healthy life styles women in sports can attain their ultimate in both sports and education." Mrs Williams was addressing female participants at the 23rd Inter-Regional Schools and Colleges Sports Festival in Ho as part of a programme of the Women's Sports Association of Ghana (WOSPAG) to sensitise girls in sports.

The French Embassy in Ghana is sponsoring the programme which involves lectures on dieting and sports, personal hygiene, sexuality and sports and opportunities for sports women.

Mrs Williams recommended that people in sports take five meals a day -- the three main meals and two snacks.

She advised them to always undertake physical exercises and not only when preparing for competitions.

Mrs Williams said generally physical exercise was beneficial to women since it could make menstruation fluid and less painful. She, therefore, recommended formation of clubs in schools and communities for exercising.

Mrs Williams advised the girls to dry their pants in the sun to avoid fungal infections which is the result of wearing moist pants. She advised them against douching and vigorous washing of the vagina with all kinds of detergents saying "God in his own way is keeping the place safe for us."

Mrs Williams recommended a neat piece of cloth for protection whilst menstruating "if you cannot afford the expensive pads" but spoke against toilet rolls and cotton wool.

She said whenever they used toilet rolls or cotton wool, they should be wrapped with medical gauze.

Mrs Jamira Mahama, an executive member of WOSPAG said the organisation which will be 10 years old next year prepares women in sports to withstand sexual harassment and counteract problems at their work places.