Commen Sense prevails, Women's ski jump attempt falls short!

[Locked In]

Female ski jumpers court decision to be released Friday
By Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun - July 8, 2009 5:01 PM


Deedee Corradini, head of Women’s Ski Jump USA, at Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan Valley last year.
Photograph by: Bonny Makarewicz, Vancouver Sun files

VANCOUVER — Ski jumpers around the world will find out Friday whether any of them will be able to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Fifteen current and former female jumpers went to B.C. Supreme Court nearly three months ago challenging the International Olympic Committee’s decision to continue to hold the event for men only.

Citing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the women asked the court to either force the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (Vanoc) to hold an event for them or cancel the three men’s events.

Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon’s decision is scheduled to be released Friday.

“Now, I’m really on pins and needles,” Deedee Corradini, head of Women’s Ski Jump USA, said Wednesday.

“I’ve always been cautiously optimistic [of winning] because I believe that we are on the right side of this,” said Corradini, who was largely responsible for gathering female jumpers from seven different countries to put the issue before the court.

Although only the IOC can sanction Olympic events, the women only named Vanoc in the lawsuit.

Their lawyer Ross Clark argued in court that “Vanoc’s blind acceptance of the IOC’s decision effectively incorporates these historical prejudices into its own organization, staging and financing of the 2010 Games.”

He told the judge that the women were being denied the right to compete “simply because of their sex” and not because they aren’t sufficiently skilled.

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Source: Vancouver Sun

[Spork]

I'm going to fight for a men's synchronized swimming in 2012... gadzooks.

[Alex Mackinnon]

I'd be entertained if they simply let the women compete against the men.

[WaxItYourself]

If I recall Vanoc stated that there would never be another Olympics in Canada if this went through. I have mixed feelings about this.

[Distill3d]

Not that I'm against women's ski-jumping, but they didn't meet the requirements of the IOC prior to the admission date for the 2010 games. They've had sufficient enough time to present themselves as a sport prior to then, and did not. The courts should take this into account and uphold that the Olympic governing body has the final decision in this process.

[GeeCee]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/07/10/bc-olympic-women-ski-jump-decision.html Thankfully, the court agreed with VANOC.

Can a mod change the title of the thread? It's sort of misleading.

[Yume-sama]

This gives them 4 years to prepare and strengthen their sport for what may, hopefully for them, be an inclusion in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Though I don't think Russia would have let these appeals even go half as far!

[mr.x]

Logic and common sense prevails!

[zivan56]

Instead of spending money to get in the "unlawful" way, they could have put it towards having more world events and perhaps even being able to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

[twoNeurons]

I would hesitate to say that "logic and common sense" prevailed. Regardless of one's stand on this matter, the IOC does NOT like to be embarrassed and they do NOT like to be told what to do.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some external pressure which aided this decision.

[Spork]

Originally Posted by mr.x

Logic and common sense prevails!

CELEBRATE! The world isn't crazy anymore!!

[jlousa]

Title changed.

[204]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Title changed.

er... Common?

[GeeCee]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Title changed.

rofl

Thanks!

[jlousa]

*l* the Commen was meant as a pun.

[usog]

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/2010wi...ion+jumping+exclusion/1782892/story.html

LOL who didn't see this coming >.>"

[Yume-sama]

It's extremely hard to claim discrimination against women when every other sport has Men / Women, which they are able to do because it is actually competitive.

Women also will make up 40% of the athletes at the 2010 games.

Unless you are going to say the IOC has a thing against these particular 10 women who happen to be able to jump off a ski jump.

Just because 10 women think they are competitive enough bring a lawsuit, doesn't mean the IOC has to agree.

The NDP, as usual, is wrong.

[mr.x]

^ folks like the NDP are putting on a blind fold, flashing out the gender card without looking at the facts and throwing out logic out the window.

I actually despise these girls.

[mrjauk]

Originally Posted by mr.x

^ folks like the NDP are putting on a blind fold, flashing out the gender card without looking at the facts and throwing out logic out the window.

I actually despise these girls.

You "despise these girls?!?" Wtf?!? What have they ever done to you? If I were in their position, and now knowing the facts, I'd have filed suit as well.

Look, I initially thought that they were in the wrong and were not being discriminated against as their sport didn't fulfill the technical requirements set down by the IOC. But you know what? Neither does men's ski jumping fulfill those same requirements. [Bet you dint' know that, mr.x.] The IOC continues to allow men's ski-jumping mens' ski-jumping at the Olympics only because it has been a sport since the 1920s, and was "grand-fathered" (not grand-parented, or grand-mothered) in.

[whatnext]

How exactly is this "common sense". What valid reason is there for not having a women's version of the men's event?

Just one more reason this circus should never have been invited into BC.