Women and the 2010 Winter Olympics

The upcoming Winter Olympics 2010 are quickly approaching. They will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada; one of my all-time favorite places in the world! Though I did read something quite interesting about the Winter Olympics – ski jumping is the only sport in the Winter Games not open to women; that women are not allowed in this competition. There is some law permitting the exclusion of women and there was even a recent lawsuit filed to overturn this law, to no avail.

I am not about the particulars here, though I am about getting my readers to think in a new way. I have several friends, male and female who are skiers and absolutely love it. While this does not ignite my flame, let alone a flicker, I can see where this is a hot issue. In speaking with those friends, the idea of skiing holidays was next to winning the lottery. Give me the lottery ticket and you can go skiing! You see, I have never been much into contact sports. Yes, contact – my body contacting the ground! This just doesn’t quite do it for me.

So, this issue with not allowing women in the ski jumping competition was puzzling to me. If a woman wants to shush down those slopes to whip the pants off of the next skier, let ‘em have at it! Personally, I feel if God intended for us all to ski…well, you know the rest. Now, I am all about empowering and encouraging women, so ski if it floats your boat. Talk about empowering – the feel of the snow against your face as you shushle down those slopes, now that is being in the moment. Yes, I can exercise my imagination and contacting the ground isn’t part of my imaginings. Just shushling!

Coach Carolyn