JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================nK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?-<+n nR?QWE!jGd?ֵ~0*.)F*9J/CG4BcҼWhUֽ_:6&v^q{\K`H~H-XUVo$6sr|eUBK1q=tx$P=В4p̠!{D-x) 9A8Ws-6-HXʴdl\|)溌78Z竹eT&Õ9YSò?CǵKbF~i~8*dY܈g1 3*;k+ g@\fxRG r&%3" 1E_NmC#l?.55xa*ֳu}pY1~ VRse8j=Ξo@!Whɔ^Gb?4uϡ\יxkMnl&yP66 S?vEDcGQHFNM"ߎ7iPR1w9>@U3Z_ #E` I+d.7S竗?qDZj@1kVu "C\jL4m'{Mb2lh`˄ATIt.5hzǰ  ٠s.Y}sdTӃyFHz9%RExfn޴n 0Sv8VZj0xv9JS/ =?^<Ү Ǔך7-nUڠS[EGRq̓F'~Skos$[/p'UmAÚ$6w;-WΞ$̩q^VhNvć+3J{p}yY.᧖Fi'k*ķ٤Vݣ?ZҰS%1iG\lf)oA[xFL39aW-e`%%Hb4)j@$m~C\9eU:[Kl 6q9+#RnmwLʞwƞ"$vO\֤ ʲ|A)a猟nnZ{N6 CL',N6{^ǦUj˹?g\#))ΧSi߯uy =@*x2{͎]}aŖ@G^Z[%371!''ZOAǕLgX*$k {*p8QYܷ Xz˛i;8=뚥gMm#1VGKa䅸pU,..";UgUF;ۏ{@RvԭTW$zc[W zBƲ[MF*Z5F,2mHZtk!rKDD+K.2Gsx y-ƓEyg+qXV׾ǝ*rxo : . <ɶ#J`+!kΔ3EÕ5Ȗ9ȡ_&=j.G^+H9#hkϋ=\V5[ pfGQ S҈t$Xt5޺Xc / V06*$2p}GJV2RQ,J'«M_D}3R9j]c-%.n(}SD F+;dtVrve"oCQW>P1Djܚ νKb#ӊ49-|>c]:C3 eBAEfZiO.C/ӌ`TBSK?result in relatively little impact on the status quo.<br>So, 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