Saying they are to be admired for their tenacity, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has nonetheless rejected a personal appeal from 15 female ski jumpers to allow them to jump in the 2010 Winter Games.
Rogge’s rejection now leaves open only a slim, almost impossible chance for the women, who in November will proceed with an appeal of a B.C. Supreme Court ruling denying them standing in the 2010 Olympics. Earlier this year, the court agreed that the women were being discriminated against but that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms didn’t apply to the IOC.
In a gentle letter written last Friday but released Monday, Rogge said the IOC has not changed its view that their sport does not meet the minimum requirements for inclusion in the Olympics.
But in an effort to assist them, he said women’s ski jumping is being included in the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
In
But Rogge responded, saying the inclusion of women’s boxing “highlights the fact that the IOC is working hard to reach gender parity in winter and summer Games. It also underlines that the reason why we took the decision not to include women’s ski jumping was made strictly on a technical basis and absolutely not on gender grounds and was part of a process employed across all sports in the programme.”
“As you know, I admire your passion for your sport and your ability as athletes. This is underlined by the tenacious way in which you have campaigned for inclusion in the Vancouver Games,” he wrote.
The women’s appeal is scheduled to be heard by a
Deborah Folka, a spokeswoman for the ski jumpers, said they knew when they wrote the letter there was little chance Rogge would change his mind.
“We’re not delusional, but we are determined,” she said.
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