JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================jK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?Ms"ThBnN#5nA{`ʡ%it6HEr2-LODg$9S kIs`;+K]Y۝YW;']$`xSu LFA;_q7fjIp섩W~rхBGhkS]R= ]xUgg5P]ߐzk lpQ#Rr0?X[[wFBpFZmr1v.u1pR@`lu\vȪ r;OEݬjuXm rǧR^YM9^7վq ֦-2Sp~E/̫fDngFXcѨkW:mG8{id Bc*}bEF-ʖT*{K{c8kM,VF=AyҭmR06Źe^rԚ|4f/1gQo@jt.2, v$N;Tnz͎b32v:M_iV)gu$q+N1ot8l෴v9R dg$~5lϩJ%q1W!$E^ r]bWMb2jKW?ʈ+1Twх&%2\Fv+;}u$)WoUag?9.dѬ{>*kI 3vy UZ+8 삲'vHfvĀlI mY§6]J-krX;YN7{5қH^T2'Ҭ#G,;a$MC2m&y%kѼr`Tzψ΁rpc+°=ڞ孭W$zzobj&^3'lw^Yxb <y۽7EIe ]mPd+G551{o{KBKz0<;]wZ!U+g-XJP?xkVK$YRN12%~k0OС~}[КPLx(|ŕ:Ifi---mS?sgl[i5pXc:ng{E$Қ0Ol)9 ? jo"$ec{]-쮮圫OV :5jV%1q(I)X6kjz!qq+ިpqGK Ŭn 0:TS@YƳeb}hˌ攡l&zF Au7QwHjT\&-99"4G=Yo-SʮGke`7x߀#1r9b'᫜qҩ)i;A>(p}*cZ-PJzSڠD]6*#\+cME,<>[#atus 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 Cahy 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 noticd by a Little League coach, who z0QVR]j/jl.)x$[<:zĵ-P?mrPirMj9fdc>I