Why are There No Olympic Women Ski Jumpers
Disappointed Female Athletes Claim it's a Human Rights Issue
Sep 24, 2009
Ski-jumping and a related Nordic-combined event remain the only two Olympic sports in which women are not allowed to participate. There are currently 130 female athletes from 16 nations registered to compete as jumpers with the F.I.S. The world champion, 24-year-old American Lindsey Van holds the female record, flying 171 meters.
At one of the ski jumping sites that will be used in the 2010 Olympic Games, the K-90 hill at Whistler, Lindsey Van set the overall distance record for either sex.
Discrimination Against Women Ski Jumpers
In a bid to be allowed to compete, 15 top ski jumpers from five countries, including Lindsey Van, brought a lawsuit against VANOC, the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, which is planning the 2010 Winter Games. The lawsuit was made on the grounds that preventing them from competing at the 2010 Games violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In Canada it is against federal and provincial law for the government to use public funds for venues that exclude women.
According to the WSJ2010 Petition website, the Olympic Charter specifically states that a mission and role of the IOC is "to encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women".
The IOC has said its decision not to allow female ski jumping at the Games was based on "technical issues, without regard to gender."
According to Elizabeth Eaves reporting for Forbes.com, in her ruling released on July 10 2009, Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon of the Supreme Court of British Columbia agreed that the women were being discriminated against on no other grounds than their sex. She observed: "If the IOC had applied the criteria for admission of new events to both men's and women's ski jumping events, neither group would be competing in the 2010 Games."
The IOC and not VANOC however, decides which sports will be included in the games.
By recognizing the discrimination the judge granted a 'moral victory' to the athletes if not a literal victory that would allow them to jump.
A Brief History of Ski Jumping
The following is a time-line of statistics gleaned from the Women’s Ski Jumping USA website.
- 1924 ski jumping (men only) is one of the eight sports at the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France.
- 1994 Austria's Eva Ganster is the first woman to fore-jump in the Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
- 1994 FIS establishes the Women’s Ski Jumping Working Group.
- 1998 first FIS ladies Summer Grand Prix Ski Jumping Series (17 athletes, 17 nations).
- 2006 FIS adds women’s ski jumping to the Nordic World Championships by a 114 to 1 vote and recommends women be included in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.
- 2008 Women jumpers from six nations file a gender discrimination lawsuit in British Columbia to be included in the 2010 Games.
- 2009 FIS Nordic World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic. First Championships to host a women’s ski jumping event. American Lindsey Van crowned first ever World Champion.
- 2010? Women Ski Jumpers await inclusion in the ultimate sports event — the Olympic Winter Games.
Women Ski Jumpers Appeal Court Decision
At the WSJ2010 website there are currently 11,186 signatures supporting the petition to allow female ski jumpers to compete at the Vancouver Games.
After the BC Supreme Court turned down the request to include women's ski jumping in the 2010 Olympics the jumpers decided to appeal. As reported on CBC News, Katie Willis, one of the women who brought the suit, said she's thrilled the appeal will go ahead.
"We were so disheartened by last week's decision, but we're competitors," Willis said. "We won't give up."
The full decision in the Supreme Court can be read on the website of Women's Ski Jumping USA.
The appeal will be heard in November 2009 in the BC Court of Appeal.
Related articles about female winter athletes are Making a Living From Skiing and Ski Fitness Training. Read another article in this series about preparation for Vancouver's 2010 Olympic Games.
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