Women's Ski Jumping in 2010: an issue completely overblown?

[mr.x]

This billboard is right across the street from VANOC's East Vancouver headquarters:
http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20080222/650_bc_ski_jump_080222.jpg


Women's ski jumping billboards add to controversy

Updated: Fri Feb. 22 2008 15:57:26
ctvbc.ca

Billboard advertisements advocating women ski jumpers be allowed to compete in the 2010 Winter Games were put up in Vancouver on Friday, adding fuel to the ongoing controversy.

The signs read 'Just imagine -- implementing the principle of equality of men and women. Let women ski jump in 2010.'

The billboards were erected near the Vancouver Organizing Committee's office and at the base of the Arthur Laing Bridge in Vancouver.

The women's ski jumping team says the International Olympic Committee's decision to exclude women from the sport in the 2010 Winter Games is discriminatory, while the IOC says its decision was based on technical merit.

"This is an awareness campaign," Deedee Corradini, president of Women's Ski Jumping USA, told CTV News. "This is an issue that will not go away ... The Canadian Ski Jumpers, women's ski jumpers, did beautifully in their placement (in the Continental Cup Competition in Germany) last week."

"Not to allow these talented women jumpers from all over the world ... in their own Olympic games in 2010 would be terrible for Canada. It will be a black eye for the Olympics," she said.

The billboards are garnering attention because IOC President Jacques Rogge will be in Vancouver next week to discuss the matter with the Federal Minister of State -- and he will likely have a view of the pro-women billboard as he drives into the city over the Arthur Laing Bridge.

The women ski jumping team and its supporters plan to hold a rally and press conference downtown Vancouver at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

An online petition to support female ski jumpers is nearly 6400 names long. The petition can be found at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/let-women-ski-jump-in-2010, or linked from the homepage at www.wsj2010.com.

In another 2010-related announcement on Friday, an additional $20 million in federal funding is being added to the pool for the opening and closing ceremonies, officials announced.

VANOC CEO John Furlong and Minister of International Trade David Emerson announced the funding after visiting VANOC offices on Friday.







The issue is completely overblown and put completely out of context. It's not like the IOC doesn't have a valid argument. They want to see a World Cup for women's jumping, or at least some sort of international qualifiable event before it is part of the Olympic program. They want the event to have a foundation first; "a foothold in the snow".

It has absolutely nothing to do with the actual sports performance of women. But then, the people who want it to be part of the 2010 program aren't even listening to the arguments and are simply pulling the "sexist" card for everything. I swear, in this country if you don't agree with someone all you have to do is scream out "racist"....in America, it's "communist", and way back in 1600s it was "WITCH!" I guess we can now add "sexist" to Canada's.

Further, the media has worsened the situation by blowing it completely out of proportion. Not to mention that pressuring VANOC to allow ski jumping does nothing, this is an IOC and International Ski Federation decision.

[deasine]

I don't think it's overblown... they have the right to voice their opinions in peaceful ways, unlike the APC...

Or maybe let's just say I don't care =D

[Yume-sama]

I had no idea they weren't allowed to. Why can't they? Does it really matter to let them?

[zivan56]

I had no idea they weren't allowed to. Why can't they? Does it really matter to let them?

Because there isn't a very serious professional league and there haven't been enough world events for the sport to qualify. It's completely overblown, and they are using dirty tactics (saying it is discrimination based on sex) when it is a purely bureaucratic issue. If they spent the same effort actually having enough events and meeting the requirements instead of the propaganda, they might have been able to quality.

[djh]

The reason this issue is even getting any news coverage is because Canadians are soooooo ridiculously liberal that they have constitutional laws that legislate equality for everybody in everything. It's a bit like saying "everybody is exactly the same, colourless, genderless and with no ethnic history". In reality, we are not all equal, we are all different. So as a result, whenever anybody is unhappy about the way they are treated, they run to the Human Rights Commission and claim they are not being treated fairly under the overly-liberal constitution. Stupid. It is so ripe for abuse.

As somebody else stated before, this sport is not in the Winter Olympics because there is not enough interest - also, there are not enough international competitors of Olympic standard. Period. Not because of discrimination.

Next, should we allow every single "sport" to be included in the Olympics even if nobody watches it or is even good enough for them to be worth watching? Snow-tiddlywinks, anybody? Let's make that Male Snow Tiddlywinks and Female Snow Tiddlywinks? Oh, and Male Paralympic Snow Tiddlywinks and Female Paralympic Snow Tiddlywinks? "WE ALL HAVE TO BE EQUAL!!! RA RA" (yawn)

[Nutterbug]

Is there any advantage to having a male physique in a sport like curling? If not, why not combine the men's and the women's?

[Nutterbug]

The reason this issue is even getting any news coverage is because Canadians are soooooo ridiculously liberal that they have constitutional laws that legislate equality for everybody in everything. It's a bit like saying "everybody is exactly the same, colourless, genderless and with no ethnic history". In reality, we are not all equal, we are all different. So as a result, whenever anybody is unhappy about the way they are treated, they run to the Human Rights Commission and claim they are not being treated fairly under the overly-liberal constitution. Stupid. It is so ripe for abuse.

As somebody else stated before, this sport is not in the Winter Olympics because there is not enough interest - also, there are not enough international competitors of Olympic standard. Period. Not because of discrimination.

Or is it because humans have a greater natural aversion to seeing women wipe out and break their necks than they would with men?

Why is women's boxing not encouraged? Why don't we let female hockey players bodycheck?

[mr.x]

This is turning into something like what you'd see in South Park.


'Nothing like flying'
Athletes, politicians lobby IOC to let women compete in Games

Kent Spencer, The Province
Published: Monday, February 25, 2008

Women should be allowed to soar off an Olympic ski jump in the 2010 Winter Games, a Vancouver rally was told yesterday.

American Karla Keck, who has been jumping for 27 years, said women have poured their "hearts and souls" into a shot at Olympic glory.

"There is nothing like the feeling of flying," Keck, 32, said at the Vancouver Art Gallery. "It's an amazing thrill."

A half-dozen MPs, MLAs and Vancouver city councillors turned up for the rally, which preceded a visit to Vancouver this week by International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.

The IOC says there are not enough female jumpers and they have not held two world championships, as is required. It has been adamant that they will not be allowed to compete at the 2010 Games.

Keck said IOC officials have not seen what the expert female jumpers can do.

"Women are competing at an Olympic level. They hold a number of hill records. They have put their hearts and souls into it," she said.

"It's the people who haven't seen women jump who aren't letting them into the Olympics," she said.

Women's Ski Jumping U.S.A. president Deedee Corradini told about 100 people at the rally that ski jumping has a broader base than some other Olympic-sanctioned events, including bobsleigh, skeleton and ski-cross.

"This is a no-brainer," Corradini said.

One placard-carrying supporter, Melanie Kobayashi, said "the IOC would let them jump if they wore bikinis."

"The old excuse that it jostles women's internal organs doesn't cut it any more," she said.

Supporters said female jumpers would put to shame the performance of Michael Edwards, dubbed Eddie the Eagle. The Brit was long on personal antics at the 1988 Calgary Games but short on talent, although his lack of success endeared him to millions.

"All the women make Eddie the Eagle look foolish," said Peter Jerome, Women's Ski Jumping U.S.A. vice-president.

"We're not talking about marginal athletes dribbling off the end of the ramp. The top women are comparable to men," Jerome said.

Canadian Atsuko Tanaka took first place at the Continental Cup competition in Germany last week.

Motions of support are to be introduced in Parliament, the legislature and Vancouver city council this week.

The motions will be made by MP Peter Julian (NDP, Burnaby-New Westminster) in Parliament, MLA Harry Bains (NDP, Surrey-Newton) in the legislature and Coun. Raymond Louie (VISION) at city hall.

MP Hedy Fry (Liberal, Vancouver Centre) said the only reason for the IOC's inaction is "plain discrimination."

"We in Canada will not stand for it," Fry said.

[jlousa]

Gee and I thought Hedy Fry was still busy putting out all those crosses on fire in Prince George. ;)

[mr.x]

Everybody keeps throwing the word discrimination around too much in regards to the Ski Jumping issue. The IOC has technical requirements that have to be met before inclusion into the games and female ski-jumping has not met that. Why should they be allowed to go in the Olympics if they have not even held a world championships? Read the IOC's side of the issue before throwing out words like that.

Secondly, Canada is paying the costs and hosting and event that is NOT solely for Canadians. They signed a contract to host an event for the IOC, not for themselves. By signing a contract, they are agreeing to host the event by the protocols of the IOC. The Olympics are run by the IOC not the individual nation that hosts them.

[Mikemike]

While they're protesting the wrong people, it seems to me that Shi-jumping would be an ideal integrated sport. Sathere than adding women's competition and no-one watching the women or the men, why not have them compete together, and actually build some public interest?

[mr.x]

Women ski jumping would `water down' Olympic medals, Rogge says

Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, February 28, 2008

VANCOUVER — Countries like Canada that are investing millions of dollars in sport in the quest to “own the podium” are not subverting the Olympic ideals of equality and celebrating humanity, the president of the International Olympic Committee said today.

But if he had his way, Jacques Rogge would have athletes who win medals stand under an Olympic flag, rather than the flag of their country.

“If you let me choose today freely, without any interference, whether I would prefer a podium ceremony with the Olympic flag rather than the national flag, I would go for the former, easily,” Rogge said in a one-on-one interview with The Vancouver Sun.

“Unfortunately, the reality is that if you do that, 80 per cent of the funding of sports in developing countries would disappear, because the funding is there because countries want to show the flag.”

Rogge, who was wrapping up a three-day visit to Vancouver, said the medal race helps to ignite the dreams of youth and spur governments to invest in sports.

“The quest for medals is not everything, but it is important,” he said. “It is important for many countries because medals are what drive kids to sport. Medals create dreams, and without dreams you have no participation. Medals are the biggest incentives for governments to fund sports in their countries.”

Rogge’s comments came after a press conference closing the sixth Vancouver Coordination Commission inspection of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Games.

Although he visited several Vancouver venues and met with civic and provincial politicians, bad weather prevented him from achieving one of his major goals, a tour of the new Whistler Sliding Centre and Whistler Olympic Park. A more complete report of the interview will be carried in Monday’s Sun.

Of all the visits by the commission, this one was understated and the 10-member committee raised no significant concerns about how Vanoc is preparing the Games.

But that did not prevent controversy from overshadowing the press conference, where Rogge testily fielded a number of questions about human rights in China and why the IOC won’t permit women’s ski jumping in 2010.

The IOC has been under a barrage of criticism from the women, media and a number of governments after the committee decided last year not to include the sport in 2010.

Rogge flatly denied that the women ski jumpers are being discriminated against. With only 80 recognized women ski jumpers in the world, he said, allowing them to participate in 2010 would dilute the value of the medals.

“We don’t want the medals to be diluted and watered down, that is the bottom line.”

Rogge later delivered the same message in a telephone call to Helena Guergis, the federal secretary of state for sport, who had offered her backing to the ski jumpers.

Canadian women ski jumpers launched a complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, but Rogge denied gender had anything to do with the decision.

“Let me be very clear,” he said, appearing irritated at the media’s persistent questions. “There is no discrimination whatsoever. The decision of the International Olympic Committee not to include women’s ski jumping was on technical grounds, not on gender issues.”

Pressed further by reporters, he said women had not proven their case. “I would like to ask you if 80 [competitors] is a significant number. I think not.”

On human rights issues in China, he said changes being made there might not come fast enough for some, even with the attention of 25,000 members of the media in Beijing for the August Games.

“It might not be immediate, it might be something that is exactly on the opening day of the Games. But there will be a positive influence of the Games,” he said.

Recently, filmmaker Steven Spielberg quit as an artistic consultant for the Beijing ceremonies over human rights concerns.

Rogge said China has already reformed its press freedom laws, but reiterated that it wasn’t up to the IOC to put political pressure on the country.

“We are not working in terms of pressure. We are working in bringing to China all the values of the Olympic Games. We are not a political body. Political bodies or states might do pressure, but the International Olympic Committee is a sports organization.”

Vanoc CEO John Furlong said the commission raised no serious concerns with his organization. In the past, the IOC has worried about whether Vanoc had secured enough accommodation in Whistler and how the thousands of athletes, visitors and officials will be transported.

Furlong said Vanoc is still working out its transportation program and that a detailed plan will be issued this fall.

[crazyjoeda]

It seems silly to put that billboard up next to VANOC because I thought they support women's ski jumping, but it was the IOC which would not allow it. The issue is some what overblown, but they should have the right to compete.

[mr.x]

Video of what Rogge had to say about women's ski jumping. Sounds quite reasonable to me, but the media keeps trying to make this molehill into a mountain....especially CTV. Their report on this the other night completely ignored all of Rogge's reasons, they didn't even mention it. They reported him saying "No" and that was it....extremely biased.
XvoTC5s72lg

[mr.x]

What does this have to do with VANOC? This is the IOC's decision, their constant whining about how this is all sexism is beyond ridiculous and the media is only fanning the flames for them.

And besides, the odds are that the event will be entered 4 years later in Sochi 2014.





Group of women ski jumpers plan to file lawsuit against VANOC

14 hours ago

VANCOUVER — A group of 10 women ski jumpers are going to court in an attempt to have their sport included in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

A statement of claim will be filed in B.C. Supreme Court Wednesday against the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee, Deedee Corradini of the lobby group Women's Ski Jumping USA told the Canadian Press.

The jumpers are frustrated the International Olympic Committee did not include women's ski jumping on the program for the 2010 Games.

"It will be filed by some of the top women ski jumpers in the world," Corradini, who was mayor of Salt Lake City when it won the right to host the 2002 Winter Games, said in a telephone interview.

Included in the group are female ski jumpers from Norway, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and the United States. Marie-Pierre Morin, a retired Canadian ski jump national champion and Karla Keck, a retired American champion, are among the plaintiffs.

A Vancouver law firm has agreed to take on the case pro bono, said Corradini. At issue is whether women ski jumpers are being discriminated against by not being allowed to compete at the Games.

"The lawyers feel that we do have a case here that is compelling," said Corradini.

Officials with the Vancouver organizing committee, known as VANOC, declined to comment.

Corradini's group is not a plaintiff in the case.

Canadian ski jumping officials also made it clear they are not involved in the suit.

"I don't believe this lawsuit will have any affect on us because we have nothing to do with this lawsuit," Brent Morrice, chairman of Ski Jumping Canada, said in an interview from Calgary. "It's a lawsuit that we do not, quite frankly, support."

Morrice said the IOC, not VANOC, decides which sports will be included at the Olympics. He praised VANOC's efforts to grow the sport of women's ski jumping and was surprised anyone was considering going to court.

"I think they are going down the wrong path," Morrice said. "Vancouver has supported the women's cause publicly and by hosting events.

"They are not showing any signs of discrimination. They are supporting the cause and are trying to grow the circuit."

Some Canadian women ski jumpers have argued they are being discriminated against because the IOC won't allow their sport at the Vancouver Olympics. The women took their case to the Canadian Human Rights Commission and they have the support of the federal government.

The IOC has said its decision not to include women's ski jumping at the Vancouver Games is based on "technical merit" and isn't discriminatory.

The IOC voted in 2006 not to allow women's ski jumping into the 2010 Games, saying the sport has not developed enough and that it didn't meet basic criteria for inclusion.

In order to be considered for inclusion in an Olympic Games, a sport must have held at least two world championships. The first women's ski jumping world championships will be held next year in Liberec, Czech Republic.

The Olympic charter also won't allow new sports to be added within four years of a Games.

Earlier this year Jacques Rogge, the IOC president, said because there are so few women ski jumpers in the world, including them in the Games would dilute the medals being handed out to other athletes.

Supporters of women's ski jumpers argue there are 135 women ski jumpers in 16 countries. This compares to other sports already in the Games like snowboard cross, which has 34 women from 10 countries, skier cross, which has 30 women from 11 nations, and bobsled, which has 26 women from 13 nations.

They also say the women's marathon was added to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles after a single world championship in 1983.

[Nutterbug]

So much more reason I'd like there to be an Olympic atheletes' union, so that they and the IOC executives can fuss about these things between themselves, and keep our courts and governments out of it.

[Canadian Mind]

I have to make up my mind based on the fact that through a friend training for the 2014 Olympics that I know several female ski jumpers. Seeing what they work for it kind of hurts to see them not able to compete here at home, which I think is a big part fo the issue.

[mr.x]

Rather sad and pathetic:



Female ski jumpers continue fight for spot in 2010 Games

Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, November 18, 2008

VANCOUVER - Female ski jumpers will have their lawsuit to be included in the 2010 Olympic Games heard in B.C. Supreme Court on April 20.

On May 21, nine current and former ski jumpers from the United States, Norway, Austria, Germany and Canada launched a lawsuit against Vanoc alleging violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The women, including six of the 10 top-ranked female skiers, are also seeking an injunction against Vanoc from holding men's ski jumping if women continue to be barred.

[sacrifice333]

...launched a lawsuit against Vanoc...

This might have a hope if they sued the right people. VANOC just puts on what they're supposed to put on.

This is an IOC issue, but more importantly, this is a Womens Ski Jumping issue. Get the appropriate World Cup circuit with a World Championship and you'll be in. Voila.

But p.s. you're too late for 2010.

[LeftCoaster]

While I empathise for the women who have devoted their lives to this sport, I do have to agree with the IOC's decision. The IOC sets out a guideline for which sports comoply with olympic competition standards and Women's Ski Jumping does not meet these standards, plain and simple.

Claiming this is a violation of the charter of rights and freedoms not only trivializes the charter, but makes the ski jumping faderation look utterly asinine. Trying to drag the men's ski jumping down with them is not going to make them any friends either... they really seem to be shooting themselves in the foot here.

[twoNeurons]

Trying to drag the men's ski jumping down with them is not going to make them any friends either... they really seem to be shooting themselves in the foot here.

No... that would be the biathlon.

[wrenegade]

I really really hope this case is thrown out before it can actually begin. It's an IOC issue and I don't want to see time or money spent on this ridiculous lawsuit.

[mr.x]

i think it'll be rejected....clearly, this is an IOC issue and even at that it's nearly like complaining why someone can't compete in a certain weightlifting competition (or taekwondo or w/e) because they don't meet the certain weight category, yet they make a huge fuss about it how it's discrimination and such and such. There's a rule book, plain and simple.

[SpongeG]

Because there isn't a very serious professional league and there haven't been enough world events for the sport to qualify. It's completely overblown, and they are using dirty tactics (saying it is discrimination based on sex) when it is a purely bureaucratic issue. If they spent the same effort actually having enough events and meeting the requirements instead of the propaganda, they might have been able to quality.

thats what i hate about the olympics - they remove the humanity from them and make them just another stop in a professional athletes yearly rounds

[mr.x]

^ and sadly, much of it is also overblown by the media. I know for sure that CTV has only been reporting a one-sided story, the women's ski jumpers. When Rogge was over here to talk about it with local media awhile ago, CTV completely ignored his points on the decision to not include it - no mention whatsoever, just blah blah blah charter human rights equality sexism blah blah blah.