OT - Women's Ski Jumping Faces Superior Court Decision For 2010 Winter Olympics
Berf
Apparently, men are allowed to compete in ski jumping, but the IOC says that
women are not allowed! It's now a 'charter fight', which means that it's
about constitutional rights.
Decision expected Friday in women ski jumpers' battle to compete at Games
VANCOUVER, B.C. ? The B.C. Supreme Court will hand down a decision Friday that
could lead to women's ski jumping being included in the 2010 Winter Olympics,
or even result in the International Olympic Committee moving the men's event
to another venue.
A group of 15 former and current women jumpers have argued that not being
allowed to compete at the Vancouver Games violates the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iUWjhJCFP7LuFNjC4
p8DCFC5nfHw
Brafield
> Apparently, men are allowed to compete in ski jumping, but the IOC says that
> women are not allowed! It's now a 'charter fight', which means that it's
> about constitutional rights.
>
> Decision expected Friday in women ski jumpers' battle to compete at Games
The court said no. However, it will happen in the future; the old
committee grouches will give in. The counter-argument this time was
based on the claim that "not enough" women skiers worldwide compete in
ski-jumping.
The skills are there, God knows: have a look at the Freestyle and
Moguls women (who oddly WILL be competing in the 2010 Winter
Olympics), who do far more dangerous and difficult moves than straight
jumping.
Brian Huntley
I still find it bizarre that the court basically said the IOC is
beyond the law. What's next, Javelin Catching in the Summer Games?
Brafield
So an Englishman, and Irishman, and a Scotsman were uanble to get
tickets for the most recent Olympics; they set off round the perimeter
of the grounds, hoping to cadge a way in. No luck.
Finally they saw athletes being allowed in a small gate, each athlete
merely identifying their sport. Aha!
The Englishman looks round, sees some bamboo rods supporting notices,
grabs one and walks up to the guard.
"What sport are you competing in?"
"JAVELIN, see?"
Okay, go in.
The Scotsman looks round, grabs a frisbee from a distraught child, and
walks up to the guard.
"What sport?"
"DISCUS, obviously!"
Okay, go in.
(Look, you can always switch nationalities to favour or condemn
according to your pref's)
The Irishman, not to be left out, carefully picks up a roll of barbed
wire from among the construction debris, and walks up to the guard.
"What sport?"
"FENCING?"
Berf
> > The skills are there, God knows: have a look at the Freestyle and
> > Moguls women (who oddly WILL be competing in the 2010 Winter
> > Olympics), who do far more dangerous and difficult moves than straight
> > jumping.
>
> I still find it bizarre that the court basically said the IOC is
> beyond the law. What's next, Javelin Catching in the Summer Games?
>
Who knows?
And don't forget the least successful hero of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in
Calgary. It was England's Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards. A ski jumper!
The worst male ski jumper that I have ever seen in my life! Next to me, but
I'm too scared to do that a second time.
But, he came out of the games as a well recognized and famous person!
I recall being up at Mosport in 1989, having a beer at turn 5, and somebody
said to me "Did you see Eddie race trucks up here last week?"
I was shocked! He's also a racer!
And in those days, truck racing wasn't like that stuff they show on NASCAR,
they were full blown "lorries", we call them Rigs. And he was driving one!
I saw one of those races later on, and it was a typical tractor trailer rig,
without the trailer. And when the brakes needed to be cooled down, there
were these water spigots that sprayed mist on them.
It was not what I was accustomed to.
Berf
LOL!
I'm a fan of Hurling, and a former Lacrosse (and ice hockey) player.
I see Hurling, and some say that what I've played is a tough game?
Not compared to the Irishman's game.
Chad
news:MPG.24c32e42a...@News.Individual.NET...
V8 Supercars have that water spray brake cooling system.
It's not so much just to improve cooling. Sensors monitor temp and spray
water mist onto individual discs in an attempt to keep a uniform temp
differential across all 4.
Eddie The Eagle was huge news at those games! Can't even recall why anymore.
Canuck57
> This is really strange.
>
> Apparently, men are allowed to compete in ski jumping, but the IOC says
> that
> women are not allowed! It's now a 'charter fight', which means that it's
> about constitutional rights.
I am a male, and admit this sure sounds like sexual discrimination against
the fairer sex. WTF is going in in their heads?
If the reason for the rejection was there is no market for the event, I
would say OK, no event. But I would watch a mens AND a womans jumping
event. Just because some muslim country does not want to enter a woman in
such an event does not make it a valid reason.
What a disgrace, courts being ruled by dysfunctional politics once again.
If this goes on in Canada, it is a disgrace to us as a nation. While most
countries in the world are sexist, I guess Canada is too. Our hypocracy
shines.
Don Del Grande
> Brafield wrote:
>> > Apparently, men are allowed to compete in ski jumping, but the IOC says that
>> > women are not allowed! � It's now a 'charter fight', which means that it's
>> > about constitutional rights. �
>>
>> > Decision expected Friday in women ski jumpers' battle to compete at Games
>>
>> The court said no. �However, it will happen in the future; the old
>> committee grouches will give in. �The counter-argument this time was
>> based on the claim that "not enough" women skiers worldwide compete in
>> ski-jumping.
>>
>> The skills are there, God knows: have a look at the Freestyle and
>> Moguls women (who oddly WILL be competing in the 2010 Winter
>> Olympics), who do far more dangerous and difficult moves than straight
>> jumping.
>
>I still find it bizarre that the court basically said the IOC is
>beyond the law.
Are they?
Was the problem "women can't qualify for 'men's' ski jumping" (and is
this even true?) or "there isn't a separate women's ski jumping
event"?
(As for the "not enough" argument, couldn't the same be said for
women's ice hockey?)
-- Don
Gunny_2009
They should have made a decision based on logic just as valid as the reasons
they used, i.e. there were no women allowed to participate in ski jumping in
the ancient Greek Olympics so there should be none allowed today. ;-)
BVB Fan
country skiing and ski jumping. It's very late for the challengers to
come forth. The Olympic schedule will need to change, qualifying
competitions set, etc. However, this act will lay the groundwork to
allow the women to compete in Sochi, Russia in 2014.
For more details about the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver,
check out www.olympicproportions.net .
Gunny_2009
"BVB Fan" <boo...@orderonthecourt.com> wrote in message
news:1007018f-892e-40e1...@d4g2000vbm.googlegroups.com...
The IOC could simplify many events by making them open competitions, not
divided by sex. You either are the fastest, strongest, etc, or you are
not. Separating into sex categories is artificial. It's kind of like the
patronizing statement, "You're a pretty fast runner, . . . . for a girl."
Olympic Props
or otherwise, segregate. And I'm sure most all women athletes prefer
that separation for all sorts of reasons. Ya gotta be kidding!
Gunny_2009
"Olympic Props" <olym...@olympicproportions.net> wrote in message
news:41c5f2e7-eba4-436d...@g19g2000vbi.googlegroups.com...
> Why would you want the IOC to simlify?!??! Most all sports, Olympiic
> or otherwise, segregate. And I'm sure most all women athletes prefer
> that separation for all sorts of reasons. Ya gotta be kidding!
OK. Lets not segregate by sex. Let's do it by major racial groups or by
age, in 10 year blocks. That is just as defensible. Saying, "You are the
fastest athlete, for an Asian man" is no more condescending than saying,
"You are the fastest athlete, for a woman". If the purpose is truly to find
the best amateur (yeah, right, amateur, LOL) athlete in a sport then the
competition should be open to anyone. Natural selection will determine the
winner, not the artificial reservation of trophies for athletes by sex,
race, hair color, height, etc. But, if the goal is theatrical
entertainment and maximizing the number of events in order to sell more TV
time, then yes, let's just admit it openly and let's find as many ways as
possible to segregate the athletes. The problem with the segregation of
the athletes is that it devalues the award.
Olympic Props
We all agree with the theories of evolution, survival of the fittest,
etc.. But these are not at all applicable at all to this controversy
- nor to 99.9% of the women who would prefer to compete against their
own gender.
Put your biology and origin of man books aside for this topic --
PPUUHHLLLLEEEZZZE !
Gunny2009
Contrary to your assumption, it has nothing to do with evolution or biology.
What I am trying to point out is that when you win a gold medal, you don't
want to have to equivocate that it was in an artificial category that
increased your odds of winning. It's as simple as that. As I explained
before, it is condescending to make women compete in a separate category,
like we are not equal to the task of competing against men. Several events
are open, more or all should be. If a woman can beat a man and win a medal,
fine, she should. If she can't, that's fine too. You either earn the award
or not. Don't segregate just to let slower or weaker athletes win an award.
For example, figure skating. Women can do all the techniques that men can
do, and may even score higher for artistry. Yet, they are not allowed to
compete against each other. Ski jumping - women's leg strength is as good
or better in proportion to their body size as men. The average body weight
being lighter, women may even achieve a longer float time than the male
jumpers. How about bobsled or luge? What is the difference between 4 men
at 180 pounds per man and 4 women of the same weight. Again, if the point
is to find out the best athlete in a sport let's get rid of the artificial
segregation. If the goal is to make money, then just admit it and segregate
and sell more tickets to more events. How about the analogy of a school
that had a different grading scale for boys and girls, just to ensure that
there were just as many A grades for boys as for girls. It's degrading and
insulting for the person who gets the same reward as someone who did better,
simply because of an artificial category.
Gunny2009
Oh, and another thing, PPUUHHLLLLEEEZZZE don't be throwing out statistics,
such as 99.9% when you know perfectly well you made it up. If you didn't,
please give a cite for the data. I could have used the same statistic.
99.9% of women want to compete equally and don't want to be segregated just
to ensure we get a medal.
The women athletes I have discussed this with agree that they don't need or
want any favors in order to win against men. We either earn the win or we
don't. Yes, there are some events that favor one sex over another because
of the physical attributes of our species. So what? In some sports, women
may have an advantage, in others, men.
Olympic Props
the real world, let us know!
Gunny2009
> When you come down off of your pontification soapbox and join us in
> the real world, let us know!
How about answering the questions at hand? That is the final tactic when
faced with logic, the loser starts making personal attacks. Face it. You
couldn't address the logic so you fell back on personal attacks. Loser.
Gunny2009
I understand what you really meant to say and that you were actually begging
my forgiveness.
It is granted.
Patricia
Olympic Props
"Gunny2009" <patmag...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:yuedna_U280HG-vX...@posted.cccommunications...
You are right. I apologize. It is sexist to create special categories in
athletics just so women can win medals.
I admit it.