Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Olympics


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced
Quick links: Traffic | Movies | Restaurants | Today's events | Video | Photos | Interactives | Blogs | Forums | Subscriber Services
Contact us

Ron Judd's Olympics Insider

Ron Judd, an Olympics junkie and Seattle Times columnist who has covered Olympic sports since 1997, will use this space to serve up news and opinion on the Summer and Winter Games -- also inviting you to chime in on Planet Earth's biggest get-together.

E-mail| RSS feedsSubscribe | Blog Home

March 9, 2009 12:21 PM

Women's ski-jump lawsuit gains home-turf support

Posted by Ron Judd


In an interesting strategic move, attorneys for female ski jumpers lobbying Canadian courts for inclusion in the Olympics have added five Canadian plaintiffs.

The logic seems to be that the jumpers, who include recently crowned world champion Lindsey Van of the United States, will have more standing in Canadian courts if they have actual Canadians on their side.

It makes sense; the group is suing the Vancouver Organizing Committee for what it says are breaches of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which bars gender-based discrimination. It's unclear whether a Canadian court can -- or will -- attempt to force a new sport upon VANOC and, by extension, the International Olympic Committee.

But the fact is that all relevant facts are on the side of the jumpers. Women's ski jumping seems to meet all the criteria for inclusion. And it is the only sport in the Winter Games competed by men, but closed to women. The ban makes little sense, since women use the same ski jumps as men. Adding what amounts to another discipline for an existing sport would not be tremendously costly to a host nation.

VANOC and the IOC have argued that not enough women participate to make an Olympic medal in women's ski jumping meaningful. But the IOC had no such objection when women's and women's freestyle ski-cross -- a new, TV-friendly sport in an even more fledgling state than women's ski jumping -- was added to the docket for the Vancouver Games.

The trial is set for April 20 and is booked for five days.

Digg Digg | Newsvine Newsvine

Comments
No comments have been posted to this article.
Read all comments / Share your thoughts

Advertising

Marketplace

Advertising

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 
  1. Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
  2. 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
  3. Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
  4. Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
  5. Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
  6. Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
  7. It's Terrence Time: Enigmatic Ross leads Huskies
  8. Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
  9. $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
  10. Club promoter convicted in brutal 2010 murder of Des Moines prostitute
  1. Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature Comments434
  2. Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looming Comments346
  3. Sheriff's office unhappy with 911 dispatcher in caseworker's call Comments282
  4. 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising Comments235
  5. Source: NY, California to sign mortgage settlement Comments213
  6. Oregon live game thread Comments153
  7. Pac-12 picks ... including the UW game Comments140
  8. Lakewood cop accused of taking donations for slain officers' families Comments112
  9. Department of Justice owes the Seattle Police Department an apology Comments88
  10. Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color Comments76
  1. State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
  2. 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
  3. One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
  4. Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
  5. $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
  6. A wandering gene's destructive path | Book review
  7. 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review
  8. UW opening incubator facility for startups
  9. Controversial principal at Lowell Elementary takes job in Tacoma
  10. Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families

Most viewed imagesMore

Advertising

Categories
Calendar

May

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            
Browse the archives

May 2009

April 2009

March 2009

February 2009

January 2009

December 2008

Blogroll and links

www.olympic.org: The official International Olympic Committtee site, with news releases, a searchable Olympic medals database and other archival information.
www.nbcolympics.com: Olympic news site from one of the Games' primary sponsors.
NBC Olympics columnist Alan Abrahamson's column/blog
Chicago Tribune Olympic sports writer Philip Hersh's blog
www.usolympicteam.com: U.S. Olympic Committee's athlete web site.
www.aroundtherings.com: Ed and Sheila Hula's Olympic News Service (subscription).
www.wcsn.com: News service with audio, video and text coverage of Olympic sports, during and between Olympics. Free, but charges for live video feed subscriptions.
www.beijing2008.com: Beijing Organizing Committee Web site.
www.vancouver2010.com: Vancouver Organizing Committee's 2010 Winter Games site.
www.london2012.com: London 2012 Summer Games site.
www.sochi2014.com: Sochi, Russia's 2014 Winter Games site.
www.chicago2016.org: Candidate city Chicago's summer 2016 bid committee site.
Olympic swimmer Tara Kirk's highly entertaining WCSN blog
Bellevue Olympian Scott Macartney's WCSN alpine ski-racing blog
Other WCSN Olympic athlete blogs.