JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================^K" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?}6v-mA;aRio젲nV[v>LImiu0 st?bWE._ "mbsxԣu6hac-YA#׃ֱ&֢M*{d ?U<9i;i'޸?g$帻-u!1.z8r&]yp sZX5Zٞ3(F2ϥaص9mgc;,;; ķ4,`V1yqNt mi1FY cmeDFFO*ǣ;Ag<7Aޠ˅*E,7{G ICU<{pO4X.uvww]hysNk[-迉szw-dhl`AWA35k؅Ŷ%Lnh_z&k=3VHyA0Um4Ug.n'c-ƭ%ʫsMg7 ew]cG}EKZ~H(10,NK03Qdat$E 9}MiܴmG,e?v6##''qWV[6R}|GxEAcaMA"[|^go>'3)a(cOKO#% sQ69gRA{1$&XH 8|ǟJxzP0%ޒۗH&@rONGL]|᠊ uc>1gJj7"B(SZ]ޙ.o Cʤe@g#>=b0K?SPgsHkB -cYE0~JS峴@Yd,fR>$b-.(dHϰy{bi6:$mCHϸҕ^*XLaʑ߮sIi}(<q 3:|xc1,qoPs,XmXylylOmN{pAäg?1^Pdg#ively 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 Little Leagu