Women ski jumpers’ appeal plummets for the Vancouver Olympics

November 13, 10:30 PMOlympics ExaminerTom Burke

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 Women's Ski Jumping - A No-Go for Vancouver   (AP - Douglas Pizac)

The Olympics dreams of 14 female ski jumpers were crushed today by the British Columbia Court of Appeals.

The athletes, representing several countries, left the court in tears, after the panel of three judges decided not to overturn a July 10 decision by the B.C. Supreme Court that did not require the Vancouver Olympics Committee to add women’s ski jumping to the Olympics schedule.

In the courtroom today, legal teams for this ski jumping alliance and VANOC championed their positions and answered pointed questions.

In a replay of the July hearing, lawyer Ross Clark challenged that VANOC is violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by not allowing women to compete in Olympics ski jumping, as has been afforded the men since 1924.  And advancing this cause further, the plaintiffs argued that if the women’s event cannot be added to the schedule, than the men’s event should be removed.

Desperate measures in desperate times indeed.

In response, VANOC reiterated its previous stance that it is not violating this Charter because it is merely hosting the Olympics as contracted with the International Olympic Committee. “Ultimately, the sport program is the IOC’s decision,” said VANOC Communications Vice-Presidenet Renee Smith Valade in a CBC News Canada interview.

And the IOC, operating well outside of these laws, determines the Olympic Games scope well in advance.

For women’s ski jumping to have been included in the Vancouver Olympics, the IOC should have decided four years ago – the same time at which the new event of ski-cross was added to the slate. In defending its stance not to include women’s ski jumping, the IOC declared that the women’s sport had not evolved to an Olympic caliber level, in terms of countries with ski jumping programs, as well as the quality of competition.

Although there wasn’t much of a challenge at the time, dissidents have recently complained that the IOC “old-boy” network is biased and hypocritical. “It’s a textbook case of discrimination. This group of athletes is being told they’re not good enough,” said Anita DeFrantz, the IOC Women and Sports Commission Chair.

However, this complaint, which was filed with the B.C. court system in 2008, was too little (in merely challenging VANOC) and too late (two years after the IOC decision).

Both VANOC and the IOC have praised these women for their spiritedness and perseverance. “We remain supportive of these remarkable young women and of having women's ski jumping added to the roster of future Olympic Winter Games," said VANOC CEO John Furlong in a released statement.

Fortunately, the future looks bright for women's Olympics ski jumping, thanks to these brave trailblazers.  IOC President Jacques Rogge recenlty said that women’s ski jumping will be added to the inaugural Youth 2012 Winter Olympics. Also, the International Ski Federation plans to file a petition to have this women’s event (and likely Nordic Combined) added to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games.