Women ski jumpers seek to sue their way into the Olympics

Although ski jumping is one of the oldest winter sports disciplines at the Olympics, it is reserved for men. After the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently decided against including women’s ski jumping in the Olympic program for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, a total of 15 female athletes are now trying to force their way into the competition next winter through the courts. Instead of women’s ski jumping, the IOC declared ski cross a new Olympic discipline, which is set to make its debut in Vancouver.

A decision by a Canadian court in the province of British Columbia was actually expected within the next few days. However, after the judge in charge explained that the case was considerably more complex than originally thought, the uncertainty over women ski jumpers’ participation in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver will drag on for at least another three months. The athletes are basing their lawsuit against the IOC’s decision on a Canadian law intended to guarantee equality between the sexes.

The IOC had originally planned to consider including women’s ski jumping in the Olympic program only in the run-up to the next Winter Games, which will take place in Sochi, Russia, in 2014. Women’s ski jumping achieved its first partial success on the path to greater recognition this year, when the event was held for the first time as part of the Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic.