December 28, 2006 – The executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently rejected a proposal to include Women’s Ski Jumping at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. That decision resisted an initiative by the International Ski Federation, which had voted 114-1 to recommend adding women’s ski jumping to the Olympics.

Mary Fraser, a spokesperson for VANOC (Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee), said the IOC decision was based on a level of competition guidelines that women’s ski jumping fails to meet. In rendering its decision the IOC cited the small number of women ski jumpers and the small number of countries participating in the sport.

The decision is being challenged before the Canadian Human Rights Commission although it is unclear what jurisdiction Canada’s courts or tribunals have over international bodies such as the IOC.

According to the Olympic Charter, “Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit….” Excluding women is certainly a form of discrimination, but because ski jumping has been an Olympic event since 1924 (only for men), it earned “grandfather” status, allowing it to continue in contravention of the Charter.

Protesting the IOC’s decision, Brent Morrice, Chairman of Ski Jumping Canada (SJC), recently wrote to Dr. Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC in Switzerland, stating, “In North America we have been struggling to promote and grow the sport of ski jumping, inclusion of the ladies would greatly enhance the profile of this traditional Olympic event.”

The women’s ski jumping circuit includes 20 events in eight countries, featuring participants from 14 countries. Canada participates in the sport, but does not host any events on the SJC calendar.

Earlier in 2006 – perhaps now seen as a consolation prize – the International Ski Federation decided to open the 2009 Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic to women jumpers.

In other ski jumping news, Trevor Morrice, Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes, Gregory Baxter and Stefan Read represented Canada at Continental Cup events in Rovaniemi, Finland, in mid-December. The women’s team of Katie Willis, Atsuko Tanaka, Nata DeLeeuw and Zoya Lynch were to have competed at a Norwegian jump in early December that was cancelled due to lack of snow.