Female ski jumpers have petitioned for a spot alongside men in the Winter Olympics since 1998, but have been denied each time — and were again denied for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Such discrimination hasn’t been allowed by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for new Olympic sports since 1991, but the rule doesn’t apply to existing sports. (Men’s ski jumping has been an Olympic sport since 1924.)

Not enough nations participate women’s ski jumping, argues IOC chief Jacques Roggeand, and that’s why it remains the only Olympic sport without a women’s competition.

Other sports that do allow women, like ski cross, have a smaller competitive pool, argues ski jumper Alissa Johnson, who advocates aggressively for her sport’s inclusion in the Olympics.

Read  Seattle Times and New York Times coverage on the issue.

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Don’t miss this month’s cover story, “R U Ready To Rock?” in which Mira Copeland gives the rundown of the 2010 Winter Olympics venue in Vancouver and profiles participating athletes from the Northwest. She interviews former Schweitzer Alpine Racing School Will Brandenburg, who had just made the final cut for the Vancouver Olympics as we went to press. (The official roster is announced tomorrow.)

To read more stories online, or to view the entire issue as a PDF file, click here.

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