VANCOUVER — A group of female Canadian ski jumpers is preparing to file a human-rights complaint, saying that the International Olympic Committee is discriminating against them by allowing men, but not women, to jump in the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
The complaint will target the federal government for providing public funds to something that allegedly discriminates on the basis of gender, and denies females a chance to compete when they reach peak age.
Lawyer Nina Reid, who is pursuing the complaint on behalf of the young women, said it will likely be filed in January. She said she has heard from the Human Rights Commission that it would hear the complaint.
"I was shocked when I heard; I was so disappointed," said Katie Willis, a 15-year-old ski jumper training in Calgary who is ranked the best in Canada and sixth in the world, about how she felt when she heard the IOC's decision in late November.
"I started ski jumping because it's the closest I can get to flying. I want to compete in the Olympics and maybe win a gold medal," said Katie, who last year won a Continental Cup, women ski jumping's highest honour, in Klingenthol, Germany. "It's terrible that in the 21st century women aren't getting equal treatment."
The complaint could set the IOC at odds with Canadian courts. But Katie says it's to be a "last resort" if concerted efforts by the four jumpers fail. They are the female members of Canada's nine-member national team; the other three are Atsuko Tanaka, 14, Nata DeLeeuw, 15, and Zoya Lynch, 15.
Once a complaint is filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the commission can either dismiss it or attempt to mediate between the parties. If that fails, the commission sends the case to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, a quasi-judicial body whose rulings can be enforced by the Federal Court.
But it's unclear what jurisdiction the court has over the IOC. Though tribunal spokespeople would not comment on the specific case, an international decision that has ramifications in Canada can be served with a cease-and-desist order of a discriminatory practice, an order to correct the practice and compensation that doesn't exceed a $20,000 fine, they said.
If the cease-and-desist order is applied to the Vancouver Games, then it's possible the court might order VANOC to make way for the women to jump, Ms. Reid said.
But if the tribunal orders federal funding to cease supporting a discriminatory event, then much more money is at stake, she said. The complaint itself will likely target the funding from Heritage Canada which is being used to build the ski jumps, said Ms. Reid. "These are public funds, and VANOC is holding an event that not everyone can be a part of, based on gender," she said. To change the Olympics beyond Vancouver, the decision would have to come from the IOC, she said.
In May, the International Ski Federation voted 114 to 1 to recommend to the IOC that women be allowed to jump in 2010. The Olympic Charter, which governs the Olympics, demands that new sports allow both sexes to compete.
But the IOC returned from its Kuwait meeting on Nov. 28 with a decision that the new sport of men's and women's ski cross would be included in the Games, while ski jumping -- the only Winter Olympic sport that has been men only since competition began in 1924 -- would continue to exclude women. Ski cross is a freestyle sport in which four skiers race down a steep, winding course at the same time.
The Vancouver Organizing Committee spokeswoman Mary Fraser said that VANOC had supported the request by Ski Jumping Canada that female athletes be allowed to participate.
But in the end, VANOC had to respect the IOC's decision, and its reasoning that there were not enough nations with a sufficient number of participants to justify the addition of ski jumping, she said. According to Ski Jumping Canada, women jumpers from 14 nations currently compete in 20 events staged by eight countries. It's not clear how many of them would compete in Vancouver if the rules were changed.
"This has nothing to do with gender," Ms. Fraser said. "It has everything to do with the levels of competition. The IOC has certain guidelines for a certain level of competition and this sport didn't measure up. It doesn't mean that for every year it will be no, but this year, it will be no."
Messages left with IOC executive members were not returned yesterday. No minutes or vote records of that meeting are available.
In letters to IOC president Jacques Rogge, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the chairman of Ski Jumping Canada said that by 2010, women ski jumpers from over a dozen nations on three continents will be competing on a women's elite competition circuit.
By comparison, Women's Ski Cross has half the number of athletes, competing in fewer than half the number of competitions on just one continent, Brent Morrice said.
"Women have been jumping for as long as men have," said Gregor Linsig, the women's coach for the national team. At the Germany Continental Cup last year, 67 women competed, compared to only 43 men at the World Cup last year, he said.
The young women have very little to lose by doing all they can to change the mind of the IOC, he said. "What's it going to hurt? Why not ruffle some feathers and see what we can get out of it?"
Katie Willis said she was proud of the waves her team was making as they fought to compete.
"It's good that we're doing all this, and I hope the IOC will come around to see our point of view," she said. "They have to understand their decision is affecting us, as athletes; it's affecting our dreams."
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