JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================bK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ? .u=u"ReQ`f;saaTZm#Y 1pg̋g,dOWj~o#sWa}5ꄄ2Xvn8+ ab4l?>?κYlnE\'6c=Ƶ٢-""\1v Ha:SJuI##?zךxxG캕N_ =S힋[_iS2`221c: n\\99uiwiqwڤ0Idu\*xL#-WԤVIQ}m\"0kau;CsrZA1=Y'Х]6[VD##䓁}j/ 4Z% !!԰wb;<5j4-к ;u#}6s!R䒰<]NTku)]bhrFœQ˙<-mػ\Ir {'[OZIG'A^sp<2 GEpUkg̒\)oB&qzW1i ʱ\N$S,Y(!g"7v,q9rsRM;wHP*8ی J%q0 N3޺cV,s[_ĚbIvUy8T53'̾gi01iY9'>Bq$}P g'wsZ 4p$UWqO֛X\8⍣rLa;Hf%]޽^Kp6nyh6lih ]O>:؞{BFRs?JwAo{YzNs04w*&)#RRA_@N6-4i-5D0!g<JN` h0@,9Z oy.$x?7g$k{o&Ch 2>Uh,.Hw`z?›]<˕HqDc)IPҴL"y&RŁW5;kح] iq 9$]p|VȢ\6H{rG55SЪ)9+I<)288{淗zs !n#9pW"_Y?k}@G!F#SǑw:E*\ q˦ 20Tzq] p j% iL mQS0Iu-xvWu;9S'VBI^>^h|Aր]j( >V!hoE/#H%h!Fx/ǃ>!?*tQEL[WvOZ(; latively 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 was noticed by a Little