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Women ski jumpers paving the way for others

Having grown up surrounded by women at an all-girls high school and as one of three women in a four-person family unit, I have become used to feeling that women can do absolutely anything. So it still feels strange to think that there could be an event at the 2010 Olympics that will feature men and bar women, even though there are dedicated and talented female athletes who have been committed to the cause of seeking inclusion.

Last month, the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed the complaint from 15 elite female jumpers who have been battling to try to get their sport into the 2010 Games and compete in the Callaghan Valley. On Sunday (Nov. 29), the Whistler Forum renewed my thoughts on the issue by staging an event about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and lessons learned from the case of the female ski jumpers.

I have been involved in organized sports for about as long as I can remember, starting with mini-soccer games where little girls and boys together, sprinting around the field chasing the ball, position play be darned.

In my high school years, I played for all-girls hockey, basketball, skiing and tennis teams, while competing for many years in figure skating. While I myself wasn’t particularly good at any of these athletic endeavours, I never had any feeling that these women’s sports and leagues were in any way less worthy than those of male counterparts.

When I started writing this column, I thought I was going to say that as a young woman, I was always encouraged to get out there and try whatever sports I wanted. But on further reflection, I don’t think I was being encouraged as a young woman in particular — I was just being encouraged, full stop. The female/male considerations never really entered the equation, and I rarely spent any time thinking about it.

I hung around a lot of girls; lots of us played sports; that was normal. So, I sort of thought we were getting past all this stuff. And being around Whistler and Pemberton has certainly reinforced that idea for me, with the huge number of overachieving female athletes in the corridor wowing everyone with their talents and dedication in so many disciplines.

Now, International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials insist that the decision not to include female ski jumpers in the 2010 Olympics has nothing to do with gender, and everything to do with reasons such as technical merits.

In a statement released in July, at the time when B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon did not give the female athletes the declaration they wanted but did find discrimination by the IOC, the international officials said women’s ski jumping hadn’t developed enough to be ready for the 2010 Games. There weren’t enough elite athletes from enough countries, the background statement said, and at the time of the decision, there had never been a women’s ski jumping world championships, though the first was held this year.

Moreover, it said, the IOC “strongly supports gender equality in sport” and is open to considering women’s ski jumping for future Games.

Fair enough. But on a personal level, I have a hard time accepting there should be a men’s event in 2010 without a corresponding women’s competition, given that there are committed elite athletes chomping at the bit to get in.

And I find it tough to believe that the women ski jumpers are as far behind the men’s competitors as the decision seemed to indicate.

In 2006, the FIS voted 114-1 to approve a request to the IOC for women’s ski jumping to be on the slate for the 2010 Olympics, and American Lindsey Van – one of the plaintiffs – set a record for men and women for the distance and overall points scored on the normal nill in the Whistler Olympic Park at the Canadian National Championships in January 2007, according to Court of Appeal brief filed for the 15 women.

Keeping these women out feels unjust and detrimental to the development of the sport.

Furthermore, it feels wasteful. The jumping hills will be sitting there in the Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park, and men’s events are scheduled for five of the 17 competition days in 2010.

Much of this has been said before by speakers more eloquent and knowledgeable than I, as reactions to and coverage of the case have been widespread. And now it may be too late for 2010 for these female jumpers. At this point, I can only say that I will feel strange and sad to watch the phenomenal men’s competitors soar in the Callaghan without events for female athletes alongside them, knowing these 15 women have fought so hard for their sport and for those who will follow.

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