JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================lK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?nH.dg?7j,ۘzjsg.mSz9o$o缛o<#crhFL4Yj6HDKgqB{p? H٭}դKG7s1UvFJՔM UFF_:ڶ$v!n=NGӎ+_We]}Ȁҽy49:,NזxQ<|Ts/6#ON-E$%d?*Mݤ+-W)ޥ:pfS\]C_.W=N^FxVKXo=+#}iL@ۤ(dU3*ϴuyeݵbH֩C17͜' 3 H<#b@rIQ?\?Ox]W cԞ+oSK|2ŴNqL=6K(nVTfE0f ;GmmCq )E;KD ?:u*AwF &.gv9NWLZ+W X0ŔLFEW24.mI J"¢˨$^D5-clatively 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 noticed by a Littl