JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================OK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?k|i0*4Tr3[,y5͜"ERۡr3֦jZU&nqVt ̖CGnN1׷Es,]Yu{=O%VbEaM56kYѶX\b<}.}gq+ȲBCd3Gþ!4m:[S p'jo9sZ͵+WC$Dm _j嶽%G_F}kPvze岣]ƫ$NH${ Y֢[ 9*ҥm/F#{vʀ+[Ą'$'`=K?#I p# b]C Y\rX TV%hQ۶&W1mmp11!G=߶~}˞H<ԑB7c[–5ĒFm܄&BrԱ;*tjG sr[== (mAxY֖ oY\ ~uHœGrcK=a$X՘(,qz Uyo.5O+c8#5^IdRzKֹ̠)msЀ`3ɫk嗋{ƈv~yqQvlk]bOq5F;YT dYWhҁi9U)r\tT'aNh܊g$zj>"l)\ot3J9cr7r1VK ld(a)7lUFVi5C( [Oܻ(+eլlO5p0;P57V%F5BdXfJ6B Tmee$R!7Ջ'K/]I% {HbKͨ^Aq  ;>ɦQ\f4 1 kHK*g;.8nXrLÏzSo, 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 wa