JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================dK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?H\ 4anPgSީY*cr2䚿`7uL?Put['(hf0Bn@p2+ wgtҴmL=WH#cK[!w(`=I Z)"te)GoE2ɴp]W)m[Ydy2>{rյEW2l9'|E\B;~~:dSm t-*;H܎9=[En,u`7pOJ[MgtMsH# ù\$_dHY'-0?_OKiV6:+D$ >sI?tԜYY9H/ri`# +f\^߷.%"M8SڽJX9ܸ ~5Z7W]LKPsէdV&&8j{.<h䷐[;)ryfgQN61j?Xrm" &NK#ۏ6KIQr8?G,>t) {}kҴo+uNȷi"W1l܌ic;\>/kCA0O]==MD0-Mbİ-ף)YC2NXi#m,3$7KucEnbxC9P>o\Ͻp6_%ܥbݼ݅v6sX\0nJޅF[ϼ|8>xV N9EuO3h=kc%ԉs n5:A撁:{ ݴpIP9=S,͜# ~ҴcCK-]B.]vZ,m9%K9`bDbi˟<]Q-lyJx\0mXR_n*$U~:T-.Y!<W]aׅݾ(?@?7x$m4TpԊovuZ eRkx6EAcvÌFNqzKkRFk!$컘"* -ܷ\˷4V{r]TfIvgz.Yo|'@ 2c'GA'RŊ>nLڤ7")~:Tѹ|!≾BZBCr8EɰI" jJ(HO]>&Ml(涱=6sCʓj񻹹y-5,n;<ׄNo]ڝxzQt$.A_a=InucNN]Wt>mAUIgb6(\'=\BΪe$c#ERTHVUXg$tK h 1UtuG^eijۍ$xdcҢhЎjK(m$$H:ahsydֿIv7Mۺp"IB@Vۦ{UΝZjȕR5dZ`e>=M:vGtkmҌ'kSo, 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 competiti