JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================mK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?ǯlClJ9FKG[  ЩV2A!lGKG<O C<[$~q}Zh} ֳRLӔUթ];Uv 5xw$ץ7Z53LAWqɽu=N3{#lٯh$2XcPL,^ Y޶f=`ѹg  8SU(DLvP&l(@Bl630m9j096Taaq!g Br*ݍz%;KDvQǖ=\ld/%};SNh>F_5!^%wG eUVn{-Mp}@@ ?JXK/V0sƄ~ah,JW#WЯLy vVpyP9ocrZI٧۩ ^Jѫd CB&բr@> +3L"U.[%ҙ,j <9#^=/OEaLsT.wukk7Bf1O ?+|9G k#u T9IEgH? syJw>pW$ӼOnKSyoF|˪gޥr4zd8T)|EMyz|ո|Khԁj&KӠ!@F`|ÿGȾ FSsOvi d2Qx#Hnl?ֺ/ t$(cʟ@HʼǗ/uZEc<Ґ_T&?ڪLTV]ȁF9|ZSċ?botaZMop%,H3Tmus<%% 2'cZ CA漁.e29.FNk"hD*GGO5U;'XqcRH'*sv/yp"s=3מTimSo, 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;GY̊P犹Jq2F Ŝ%r T H7EsZ:F y8PyYX2c=