Women banned from Olympic ski jumping event

For 25-year-old Lindsey Van, it was a dream to be an Olympic ski jumper for the United States of America.

When Van started the sport 18 years ago at the age of 7 she had dreams of being the best there was.  At age 24 she made that dream a reality, becoming the first ever female world champion in 2009 at Liberec, Czech Republic.

Another female ski jumper, Abby Hughes, a 20-year-old from Park City, Utah, said, "I started jumping when I was 7 years old. I followed my older brother into the sport and fell in love with it."

Van's personal record jump of 171 meters or 561 feet (nearly two football fields), plus her distinction of being a 13-time national champion, having 40 international podiums and eight wins in the Continental cup, wasn't enough of a resume to be considered able to compete at an Olympic level. Despite her dedication to the sport and proven ability, she could not compete at the just completed winter games held last month in Vancouver, Canada.

For Hughes, her resume is also more impressive than many men on the World Cup Circuit. 

Hughes has 21 international top 10 places. She has placed third at nationals six times and has three junior national championships. Her top finish is silver on the Continental cup level.

At age 14 Van had her dreams of being an Olympic athlete crushed when she was informed that women's ski jumping was not an Olympic sport. Her dreams, along with many other women's dreams, have been continuously stomped on over the years.

"When the Olympics came to Salt Lake, I attended all of the jumping events. I didn't even think twice about not watching any women jumpers. I didn't realize until 2006 that there were no women. I never felt the heartache until these Olympic Games," Hughes said.

In 2002 in Park City, Utah; 2006 in Torino, Italy; and 2010 in Vancouver, women ski jumpers were turned down for two main reasons: Safety and insufficient numbers of women ski jumpers worldwide.

Attempts to get a comment from the Olympic officials were unsuccessful; numerous e-mails were sent to International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, but none were returned.

A National Public Radio story quoted a statement from the IOC to explain the decision not to include women's ski jumping in the 2010 Winter Games: "Our decision was based on technical issues, without regard to gender."

Those technical issues, said NPR, include the number of women ski jumping at an elite level and the number of countries competing in the sport. IOC officials have argued that too few women and countries compete to justify Olympic competition.

 "It's the way it's gone down. I don't agree with it. It seems like they have been skipped over and over for events for years now.  They say women's ski jumping has lacking participation," said Olympic downhill skier Steven Nyman from Sundance, Utah.

The women ski jumpers even filed a lawsuit against the Canadian Province of British Columbia stating that not allowing women's ski jumping fell under discrimination by Canadian law.

But that avenue resulted in a dead end.

According to NPR, a justice at the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that failing to hold a ski jumping competition for women constitutes discrimination — but Canadian courts cannot remedy the problem.

A group of women leraned the decision from a phone call while at a teammate's home over the summer in Park City, Utah.

"When we got the call, Lindsey Van, Jessica Jerome, Alissa Johnson, Avery Ardovino, Sarah Hendrickson and I were all over at Jessica's house waiting for the call together, and when we heard ‘no' it sent chills through my bones," Hughes said.

"It did affect me, along with the rest of the 240 registered female jumpers. We felt really good going into the decision. We had an awesome argument that didn't seem to have any falters. I was furious, and couldn't believe it. It didn't seem real. Yet, by then, I think we were all numb to hearing ‘no' and being denied. I still can't believe it and I still don't understand why we weren't there," Hughes said.

Andy Newell from Shaftsbury, Vt., 27, a cross country skier on the U.S. ski team and an Olympic athlete, said that the level between the men and the women is so close and the IOC is making decisions based on dollar signs.

"For anyone who has ever seen a competition knows that the level of skill in women's jumping is very close to that of the men. I really can't believe that it's 2010 and there still is no women's ski jumping in the Olympics. In the end the IOC is making decisions based on ratings and dollar signs which is basically the opposite of what the Olympic spirit should be," Newell said.

Van's performance at the Vancouver Olympic jump venue suggests that the women's performance comes close to the men's.

In 2008 Van was at the opening of the Vancouver Olympic jumps.
She competed from a start where the men in the competition would start from and jumped 105.5 meters on the normal hill, setting a hill record.

This hill record would not be beat until the Olympic competition, by Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann, who won a gold medal on the normal hill at the 2010 games.

Newell, who is the boyfriend of U.S. ski jumper Jessica Jerome, said that there is a high level of interest among women worldwide, much higher than other Olympic sports.

"There are more women ski jumpers competing worldwide than a lot of other winter Olympic sports, the numbers don't lie," Newell said.

"I think it's a bold issue the fact that they can't jump where women are accepted in all other Olympic sports is a shame," said Andrew Weibrecht, Olympic downhill skier from Lake Placid, N.Y.

Taylor Fletcher, 19, who is a Nordic combined skier on the U.S. ski team and a 2010 Olympian, said, "I feel they should be working on getting a World Cup level to go along with their Continental cup level, to see the two levels and deeper fields of skiers would be a great way to select the best in the world for such an event like the Olympics, I love the dedication that the girls put forward and truly hope that it pays off."

"All I can do is hope for 2014; the four extra years can help me grow as an athlete to reach my optimum potential to medal. I look forward to world championships to come as well," Hughes said.