"pioneer" woman athlete opens ski jump

[shootingstar]

Ski jumping decision

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2...760/story.html B.C. Supreme Court decision explained

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/skijumpin...omen-scoc.html Apparently the women wanted to take their case to Supreme Court of Canada, but court refused to hear their case.

[Bike Chick]

I hate to see that politics are playing such a big part in the Olympic games. I guess they always have and I just didn't realize it. I preferred it when I was ignorant of the fact. It ruins the spirit of the games for me. It's beginning to sound like the Tour de France. Whining and complaining.

Tell the Jamaican Bobsled Team they shouldn't compete because they wouldn't stand a chance at winning a medal. Many people did and they did it anyway. I will remain naive and believe that's what the Olympic games and competition is all about.

[lph]

I don't know about the tracks, but since one can jump on/from a synthetic/composite surface I'm guessing they're a permanent fixture, and just covered with a thin layer of artificial snow.

I'm not afraid of heights, but looking up, and down this jump made my head spin! And this jump is built to be "jumperfriendly", in the sense that the slope follows the jumpers most likely trajectory so that he or she is rarely that high above the surface. But it's amazingly steep.

I've seen on other events that there's a kind of bar in front of the jumpers as they move onto the bench, that is lifted once they're ready to go.

[malkin]

I remember feeling incredulous and queasy looking up at the old Holmenkollen ski jump! It also had a bit of that rickety look that old roller coasters have.

[sfa]

Aaack! My stomach dropped just watching that video. I always wonder, watching these things, who thought to do that the *first* time?

Count me among the people who didn't realize that women's ski jumping wasn't in the Olympics. I assumed it was. And it sounds like they're going to be running out of excuses for keeping it out (numbers participating, established world championship, etc.) in the future.

It bugs the crap out of me when they eliminate sports because they are dominated by just a couple of countries. How do they expect other countries to start to participate in the sports if they remove them from that level of competition? I'd think the IOC would instead want to spend their time doing outreach and education for those sports in countries that are trying to start or strengthen programs.

Sarah

[beccaB]

I believe a female actress who's fairly well known, can't remember the name, and don't know where I saw the information- is making a documentary about women's ski jumping being left out of the Olympics.