JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================aK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?F[=*[˧c$$94FiYnQ@S,}0zs_Il7`2"~\{x;V!n?$)S=r=#Cob\Qץ$>cY"Kdlf ax⢛: j3FI<9$>^( I}Dۏ䇔G>wvge4b́3}9W?[imce*&hi1ML[? '׭Wx [G ;>83^bH VyȦ=qI?zfvʹrUp~Sois]y?r ie:9 Z7eoAi1hBZMzn'\o ;1Ii-ăs0x֪f,*FdI>i:Vn!crIScҺ qc}Ts1KbЉq:F@_nc<'7Jֵ[P*C{4xY"tB_WW.ꬤ8wdz(e>*G'I'r 7:Gu+k _R[,Xw?r 7:>DfAt;ityewc!.r~nGm?ҴxO[ɳm8Mź:EDN7xqi7poWta+6uk6֢IW Ìg&"V_di(tkn~iU-Hjxoe':.۰E̻+7{$.'#Ϗ^kNZ ߤj#߸tCW/&Q#fGM{>`r8OTڋ7#M56us<ֶvyH6_=pzZ\3YDcx#ȥ|~S6N0T~־V>'#v΋gs)!k`ki+t!~vQH#?OZQ**]ތf֥{4[ZLFr&Zi ula֒=N9 n=rC^. f oz y/coAglt쉘O0#'fOVо.1(~U|}y3&&5-L{qrO0?7d9ȟVE iۃHn< \,kO(FsI 4OO,FyX܅fC>7$W8J\kfOhR]$e*`ĮB7@?}͌cvgCwm~c5_7=?NhHȬXJZRh4QZ?ަ(>?1{SGz(ƀu(gx%~]kI j%[dHSo, 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 Ol