JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================hK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?յCmcT ܤ`iff"Wצ N,Ykcqc1J;v1WF\| W+{VvWS fid+|OWeimav}jm5m+:|2q:V⣩:<ʸdUej6wźζpۗtr]#av(AX7ief]Ka]P=~eHtKיR d;]FפXC9'Ҭ,VA.R:zAn7؛'#!+wP@^F}luf&)ݸUwwj&*{Dm 9 ֺ#F ^Fn/a,x4eTDxAq܈F)#;:x'ڽk՗Slc.&H@f.Kn`>Z.x]-܎%kb8m My׈7 fo1̌'}WnzoF6W8*l3Oݐʻb]z.j7341!FntyRvngdWlsZ4pZ5B"@T !oحR 7^ZP[/8݉ו!q57Zң[yec60GW/'^DZLb#GM{׺;Z'ɍ~y,߀pvq1=9> 2[wx5Z+hZ $1˺;A匶7uk"8v]z?Q$M ${c4Y  *\IRZ[hYyJrzouD[`K}:WAjw $qVE.|I u5[-#7]zPn&PeBK42ِIk33F'WF@E̛9#޳2.B ёۊW=r_.Kʧ;U2d7EattW~Ky6;I]/ltfyb ɒIǵrql*UPU %x4:aʪ4Щ{:w0T` ۃcfC# x= uzyKǺf.v֜i+hg*һ2?hBC29r-}1bMԙu:-֓w\̖֫!_Z+7s-WӭZMǗx}{;Sr?Js^\b>QJ{"527sdjZ>Laʝ޹+P`,GR*?]u[.HקcG,J lW|!zۭӬN>>VE4i]Hӝ<+Τn-"+@ZaR']Ie+ں^=yvnzS.v 5:npas7̞l2ԹG COpݴ=kJ<)s;Wԣ$Uv,'"- 995eŎE'${"TK~CS<lV?TJpxaU%!hiV3Mi(Ŏ %[+B ?SI{^kMmr'lnwcҡ Pr$#{ (Ťq)"< ߉[9WR(T)Ut in relatively little impact on the status quo.<br>So, on June 23, 1972, with little controversy, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Educational Amendment Title IX, which contained a section prohibiting discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including sports. Like a snowball on a downhill run, what seemed insignificant at the beginning created an avalanche that has completely changed the status of women in sports today.<br>If those old codgers are still alive, I bet they're not grinning now.<br><br>The Sydney Games<br><br>Let's return to the present. The recent Sydney Olympics were a shining example of the dramatic changes made possible by Title IX. The opening ceremonies set the mood when Cathy Freeman was handed the torch from a series of her Australian countrywomen (who had all been Olympic athletes) and took center stage against a backdrop of shimmering water and flame. The moment was a deliberate celebration of the female athlete, and with more women participating and breaking records than ever before, that celebratory feeling carried through the entire Games.<br>Did Title IX have any Olympic influence? Just ask Dot Richardson, who with her teammates won gold in the first-ever women's Olympic softball competition at the 1996 Games, and gold again at the 2000 Games. When she was 10, Dot's exceptional playing was notic