JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================pK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?5Xsҩɬ+,Y,S:ʛ 9< jEŠȈX[gn*F6`mUw0\`tdu$daӸ? bGs;v18Q{=mciuS4[8 R{絽]al}ʹmȼGbZj NxaU$@6 8+;NȨ!9O^is6H'3ny s3c9fR{X60"6*uՈbe`wtZ~9 >ϕ`T+y "D@|ٚ?9F;qQ5 .;٧ UI{zVO84y"H`c^ NL%̜mqo|xʖc:zΰo;a,2}*ѹԷZMey&P1=c'H,m %q'o#&H|Yl,_y9bu_[e0PW=+u )&m5c?9yI㍧O,/-4ݻ)bdY2vun`yM9sXk_/gK/W9TuEVf&4uJpxS摌#-Qie*y!a)SZ˫ΛZ㳶)wq3t\ T1>7TLf\Zis5g'7ʋ:wZ\ #LJ$ /=`mn#%0Nke4 x֪6xCd [MT8*nhbZs/Zާ*_K-ԟ+d:u6$t9nſryr#qѴr×zOY*gLz`"5VO\Q[e;Kw y+1N[iYn=^lYf bݴ#ak8`_#r鞴Jtt殛=73L] vץIxM=JA#Gs8PW=k&nEm2,l78k8gpV5o6;`63mI$$0 Yc]'oYKhy{W1~RZ\+Kt" GiZ2`GjR0NGjHrx]+|;y2a\;W_zk1Ob1셇=KXR=SLղn40Fȫ#4^iN 1v85{诬I̡[8?:섲^İ i#)m(,0O4{`Ӯ9=jg2/:gIy5v'8!d8D<)uoӗN VdU(5ŕ$3:GbN=3ڲM1ʪ |RU ittle 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 retun 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 ver 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 League coach, who asked if she wanted to be on his team. Sure sh did! But the coach said they'd have to cut her hair short and they'd call her "