73 percent of Canadians want women's ski jumping in 2010 Olympics, poll finds

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      Most Canadians believe women’s ski jumping should be included in Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics, a new poll has found.

      Seventy-three percent of Canadians support the inclusion of women’s ski jumping as a medal sport in the Games, according to an Angus Reid Public Opinion survey released today (December 18).

      Ten percent are opposed to seeing women’s ski jumping in the Games, while 17 percent aren’t sure where they stand on the issue.

      On December 1, a group of female ski jumpers asked the Supreme Court of Canada to hear its appeal of two B.C. court rulings that found the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms doesn’t apply to the selection of Olympic sports.

      Those rulings determined that the International Olympic Committee made the decision to exclude women’s ski jumping from the Games, which will include men’s ski jumping.

      Support for women’s ski jumping is highest in Quebec, at 79 percent. British Columbians’ level of support is the same as it is nationally, at 73 percent.

      Asked if they would support cancelling the men’s ski jumping competition if the women’s event isn’t added, most Canadians (55 percent) and British Columbians (71 percent) disagreed.

      However, 51 percent of Quebeckers said they’d support this move.

      In addition, 63 percent of Canadians and 75 percent of British Columbians oppose moving the men’s ski jumping contest out of the country if the women’s competition isn’t included in the Olympics.

      Sixty-three percent of Canadians and 62 percent of British Columbians support the female ski jumpers asking the Supreme Court to hear their case.

      In a July ruling, B.C. Supreme Court justice Lauri Ann Fenlon called the exclusion of women’s ski jumping “discriminatory” but found it wasn’t a breach of the charter.

      In response, the IOC issued a statement denying it had discriminated against female ski jumpers.

      The IOC stated its decision was “based on technical issues, without regard to gender”.

      Angus Reid polled 1,006 Canadian adults from December 7 to December 8. The results of its on-line survey have a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

      You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.

      Comments

      18 Comments

      Beth

      Dec 19, 2009 at 7:19pm

      I want to (a) watch women's ski jumping; (b) watch the worthy, internationall-renowned athlete Rick Hansen be revealed as the person to light the flame; (c) hear music actually being performed live by the musicians we're looking at and (d) be able to attend one event. Why do I have a hunch I will be disappointed on every single count? And I was born and raised here, work and play here, and pay taxes here, but the Olympics are not for me. They reek of discrimination, unfairness, deception, and elitism.
      Beth

      RickW

      Dec 19, 2009 at 7:25pm

      Justice Fenlon opined that exclusion of women in ski-jumping was: “discriminatory” but found it wasn’t a breach of the charter

      Isn't this "duck speak"?
      http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/ns-dict.html
      RickW

      Why is IOC/VANOC disobeying our laws?

      Dec 20, 2009 at 1:34am

      23% of Canadians are either misogynists and or IOC / VANOC lackeys.

      RickW

      Dec 20, 2009 at 7:19am

      “based on technical issues, without regard to gender”.

      The only "technical issue" the IOC could come up with was the historical fact that men's ski jumping has been on the books since 1924, while the women's haven't.
      That;s stretching it pretty thin, n'est pas?
      RickW

      alana korek

      Dec 21, 2009 at 2:29am

      Its rather ironic; the olympic committee funds heavily the sports that they know will be on the podium and have given little to ski jumping in Canada. Our group of women in Canada are within the top ten of the female ski jumpers in the world and would likely be on the podium. Yet, the Olympic Committee wont allow them to compete for no other reason than they are female. I believe it is called sexual descrimination. Surely ski jumping is more feminine than wrestling and hockey!! For a country that boasts equality Canada has failed miserably representing their own athletes. To think the world has stood by accepting this behaviour is absurd. Alana Korek

      Pozzi

      Dec 21, 2009 at 9:57am

      And the remaining 27% do not use internet.. I could not be more FULLY DISGUSTED with the IOC, VANOC and the BC Liberals.

      Pink33

      Dec 22, 2009 at 8:19am

      Our top court has now refused to hear the case.

      They've been told again and again - Canada is the wrong venue. This should be taken up in The Hague, they knew that.

      Instead, their stubborn behaviour just wasted a whole bunch of BC and Canadian taxpayer dollars and because of that, I am glad they lost on both counts.

      no skis in my kitchen

      Dec 22, 2009 at 10:01pm

      But if there out ski-jumping who's going to cook my dinner?

      Simply Discrimination!

      Dec 28, 2009 at 8:48pm

      enough said!

      Dan.e

      Dec 30, 2009 at 6:05pm

      "their stubborn behaviour just wasted a whole bunch of BC and Canadian taxpayer dollars and because of that, I am glad they lost on both counts"...
      I thought that the liberals and vancouver's mayor were the one's wasting the taxpayers money...makes me wonder if you were supporters of these wasters, because I know I never voted for either of them so I can't help but wonder how they got in to make the decisions that they have been made regarding the owe-lympics?
      WOULD LOVE TO SEE WOMAN'S SKI JUMPING IN 2010!