Olympic Committee Scared of Women?

[DirkGently]

So here's a member of the Olympic Committee responding to questions about why the women's ski jump won't be allowed this year (or maybe ever)

"We'll have to wait and see," IOC member Dick Pound said in an interview for an MSNBC.com documentary on women's ski jumping, Frozen Out of the Olympics.

"If in the meantime you're making all kinds of allegations about the IOC and how it's discriminating on the basis of gender," he warned, "the IOC may say, 'Oh yeah, I remember them. They're the ones that embarrassed us and caused us a lot of trouble of trouble in Vancouver, maybe they should wait another four years or eight years.'"

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1963447,00.html?xid=newsletter-weekly

Nasty or what? I'm all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, and I've read the claim that there are "hundreds of factors in play," but some of these Olympic Committee folks give off a distinct whiff of weasel.

Combine Mr. Pound's weird, threatening attitude with that horrible "junior" start position they gave the women's lugers (after moving the men's start in response to the accident) and I do have to wonder:

Is the real concern here just fear of having women's world records exceed men's?

[nashville_brook]

1. wow -- that's so obvious, but it had not occurred to me at all... that, there might be a

weird, knuckle-dragging intent to avoid the unsightly embarrassment of women breaking mens' records.

i've only been half-listening to this IOC stuff b/c it didn't make much sense to me...but, you might have a point here.

[hughee99]

2. They should just let them jump with the men.

Anyone who can qualify should be allowed to, regardless of gender. I'd rather see this than separate mens & women's competitions.

[nashville_brook]

3. i'd really been enjoying seeing women compete, and it not be like ghetto-ized

you know...how some of the most highly anticipated comptitions are womens' events (Vonn, Jacobsson)...it just seems totally out of whack that there'd still be these stupid artificial ceilings.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. One of the long term concerns for the Olympics is judged vs measured

Jumping is judged, and there has been a drive for some time to increase measurable events vice judged events in the Winter Games.

[SoCalDem]

5. I'd like to see less of the judged events too..

They are afraid of women besting the men.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. I don't see that as a fear...they are more afraid of embarrassment like dishonest judging

like happened a few years ago,

[DirkGently]

8. I was more annoyed by the threat

from Sr. Pound. "Don't complain, or maybe you'll never get in." Nice to know the Olympic Committee is running its plays from the Official Bullies' Handbook, 18th Century ed.

[bullwinkle428]

6. That ridiculous starting position they used for the women's luge

event really did destroy the integrity of the competition. They were forced to negotiate a turn at a very low rate of speed that actually was quite unnatural for that sport! The goal of lowering the speeds was barely accomplished, as the final trap speeds were maybe 5 kph lower than the original start chute! The changes in the ice profile along with the retaining wall should have been done before the track ever opened, and the speeds would not have been a problem at all.

The lack of a women's jump competition is pathetic as well...nothing more needs to be said!