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Women Won't Ski Jump in 2010 Olympics
Judge agrees it's discrimination, but has no power to help
By Harry Kimball
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Posted Jul 11, 09 12:48 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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A Canadian judge says the International Olympic Committee is clearly discriminating against female ski jumpers by not including their event in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics—but there’s nothing she can do about it, NPR reports. A group of women jumpers had sued the organizing committee, hoping to have their event added. “I'm shocked and disappointed,” a jumper said, but “there is a moral victory here.”
“The IOC made a decision that discriminates against the plaintiffs,” the judge wrote. But “only the IOC can alleviate that discrimination,” as Canada has no jurisdiction. Don't look for the IOC to budge: "Our decision was based on technical issues, without regard to gender,” it said in a statement. But if the IOC had applied the same criteria to men’s jumping, which is “grandfathered” in, the judge said, “neither group would be competing in the 2010 Games.”