VANCOUVER, British Columbia – A group of female ski jumpers will appeal a court decision that prevents them from competing at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The appeal will be based on the argument that the organizers of the Vancouver Games must abide by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, said Ross Clark, the lawyer representing the jumpers.
"It cannot host events on Canadian soil that implement discrimination," Clark said in a statement.
Katie Willis, one of the women who brought the suit, is encouraged the appeal will go forward.
"We were so disheartened by last week's decision, but we're competitors," Willis said. "We won't give up."
The British Columbia Supreme Court ruled last week the International Olympic Committee is discriminating against the ski jumpers by keeping them from the games. But the judge said the court does not have the power to order the sport be part of the program when the Olympics begin in February.
The 15 former and current female ski jumpers went to court in April, saying their exclusion violated the Charter. The women said the Vancouver organizing committee should either hold women's ski jumping in 2010 or cancel all ski jumping events.
Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon said the IOC, not the local organizers, decides which sports are on the Olympic roster. Fenlon added that the IOC is not governed by the Charter nor does the organization fall under her court's jurisdiction. The decision did say the Vancouver committee does fall under the Charter.
The IOC has said its decision to not to allow women's ski jumping at the games was based on "technical issues without regard to gender."