VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 22 (UPI) -- A ski jumping schism opened Wednesday when some of the world's top women jumpers went to court in Canada over their exclusion from the 2010 Winter Olympics.
While the women ski jumpers suing the Vancouver Organizing Committee say not letting them compete is patently unfair, others, such as Brent Morrice of Ski Jumping Canada, said "it's not the right path," Canwest News Service reported.
"I know the Vancouver Organizing Committee does not set the program for the Olympics in 2010, and they've stated that they support the women, and if they were asked to do so they would accommodate them in 2010," Morrice said. "The program is set by the International Olympic Committee program commission."
The lawsuit, brought in British Columbia Supreme Court by women jumpers from the United States and Europe, alleges their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is being violated, Canwest reported. The International Olympic Committee maintains women's ski jumping has not reached a high enough degree to qualify.
Katie Willis, 17, of Calgary, isn't party to the suit but agrees the IOC is standing in the way of female athletes achieving their goals.
"I see it as unfair," Willis said. "I think it is very unfair, since 1991 they've been including every new sport with both genders (represented) no matter what. I think they should have grandfathered us in there anyway because our sport was already included."