Let them jump

Little girls are told they can do anything -- become president or drive a truck.
Women are even going to be allowed to serve on submarines.

But try telling the roughly 250 registered female ski jumpers who compete at a top international level that they can do anything. They can't -- because they are not allowed to participate in prestigue competitions such as the Olympic winter games.

 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) feels that ski jumping is not a sport in which women can participate.

There is a long list of reasons the IOC has given for this policy. Women ski jumpers are told they are not at a high enough level. The sport is not popular enough to be in the Olympics It is too dangerous for girls to ski jump.

In Europe, ski jumping is like football here -- everyone watches it. Here's an interesting fact: the hill record on the Olympic ski jumps in Vancover  was held by a girl until beaten by only one athlete in this year's Olympic games. An another: There are more registered females ski jumpers women than females participating in ski cross.

These women have done everything they can to plead with Jaqques Rogue, the president of the IOC, and his board.

They even filed a lawsuit against Canada claiming that not allowing women to jump is discrimination under Canadian law.

But all of these efforts failed. The women were told the IOC is a separate entity and the nation of Canada didn't have any control over what the IOC did, wherever the Olympics are held.

The plight of women ski jumpers has become an issue widely reported throughout the world, being covered by media such as ESPN and MSNBC.

 There are videos available to all online of the women pleading their case. There's even a world champion who beats the men with no special extras such as higher speeds or a different judging scale.

These women deserve to be Olympians. They deserve deserve the sponsorships that are not available to them becasue they cannot participate at the Olympics.

 For more about women's ski jumping in the Olympics go to www.wsj2010.com. There's an online petition to sign to encourage a change in the policy.

And look forward to a story in a future coming issue of the Guidon where we will speak with athletes such as World Champion ski jumper Lindsey Van about how she feels, as well as many other athletes perspectives.