Group 5: Kristina Cromwell, Ross Hammer, Fayaz Habib, Jennifer Worley, Jessica Zubrod,

Erin Riser, & Sean Im

•The International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.) will not allow women to compete in Ski Jumping .

• - In 1991 a rule was implemented stating that whenever a sport/game was added for men, it will be open to female competitors as well. • However this rule did not apply to games that existed before

1991. - The I.O.C. states there are not enough quality female ski jumpers

in the world and medical reasons for women.

SOME BACKGROUND…The I.O.C. was founded in 1894 in France. Current I.O.C. President is Jacques Rogge. I.O.C. is the supreme authority in all the decisions

made for the Olympics. They have many stated roles, two of which include…

To act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic Movement.

To encourage & support the promotion of women in sport at all levels & in all structures with a view to implementing the principles of equality of men & women

Women’s rights in the OlympicsIt wasn’t until 1978 when the Amateur Sports

Act was passed that required the U.S. Olympic Committee & their governing bodies to conduct events in a nondiscriminatory manner for each sport. To this date the majority of athletes that compete

are still male Out of 58 executive members of the U.S.

Olympic Committee on 21 are female. Only 3 out of 11 members of the Board of

Directors are female.

• Is it legal? • They are denying females from entering into an already

existent sport due to their gender – discrimination. • The majority of the world has laws that prevent

discrimination of any kind so the I.O.C. is in violation of most of the competing countries laws.

• Is it balanced? • The passing in 1991 of the rule stating if a sport was added

it would be open to men and women but it not applying to already existing games shows the unbalanced ethics favoring males

• How would you personally feel making the decision?

Conventional Approach The rule implemented in 1991 shows that

society’s changing norms were impacting the I.O.C.

Lindsey Van (seen in video) holds the record in the sport proving that women are just as good as men.

When women filed a lawsuit with the British Columbia, the judge ruled the I.O.C. was discriminating against women, but held no jurisdiction over the I.O.C. to enforce the ruling.

• Principle of Utilitarianism: positives far outweighs the negatives in all regards

• Principle of Rights & Principle of Justice: obviously women are receiving unfair and deserve otherwise

• Ethical Due Process: the women were not given any input during the process & the I.O.C. refuses to elaborate their reason or answer questions

Hopes for the Future…In 2012, the Youth Olympic

Games will have female ski jumpers for the first time, hopefully a precursor to full I.O.C. acceptance for the 2014 games in Russia.

However, the I.O.C. seems to have the power to openly discriminate and may choose to do so if they continue to feel embarrassed by the situation.

• Quit hiding – own up to their mistakes. • Allow women to compete in the 2014 games.

• make this declaration as quickly as possible to avoid more debate and negative press!

• Update their rules and policies in order to better adapt and change with the rapidly changing environment.

• APOLOGIZE TO WOMEN SKI JUMPERS!