Female ski jumpers lose battle to compete at Vancouver Games

OTTAWA—Female ski jumpers have lost their battle to compete at the Vancouver Olympics.
The Supreme Court of Canada announced today it will not hear an appeal by the athletes.

The high court, as usual, gave no reasons for its decision.
The women contend the Charter of Rights governs the Olympic Games and that Vancouver organizers are breaking the law by hosting only men’s ski jumping.
They were seeking leave to appeal two lower-court rulings that said the charter cannot dictate which sports are included in the Winter Games.
The lower courts ruled the charter does not apply to the International Olympic Committee, which made the jumping decision.
With the Games less than two months away, the women hoped the Supreme Court would expedite the case.
The women first launched a lawsuit against local organizers in May, 2008—18 months after the International Olympic Committee decided to exclude the sport.
They dropped a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission when the federal government agreed to lobby the IOC.
When that failed, they pursued a court case.
The women wanted the courts to force Games organizers to either add a women’s event or cancel the men’s.
Organizers said they could do neither.
The IOC voted not to include women’s ski jumping at the 2010 Games because, according to rules in place at the time, the sport was not developed enough.
There also are Olympic rules dictating how far in advance of an Olympics a sport can be added to the program.
The women countered they have since held enough international events to qualify for consideration as an Olympic sport.
They also said it wouldn’t be difficult for the organizers to accommodate one additional event.