JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================qK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?E4k%# 1(pU~ 1ڸrqNԚL;p=^Oҡa\5ޥo lrst˝N=EiQgw1kq^q|L}jO)CTBTC85#)iʭMIwg..zL'@q\u^j34S0+&9Gs̸qs7E*g H3kFMn̘1`Win /֨:4TH ݃Qܐalg D_VhkW2oe*CN{hpR'GC^q S]+^2G#fE,Gj-};2:AQ9ׯ>kE{n9}s^ ɳϼO|,)"-3e|C&ĉrϭmOnҹa&^W"Uс=C]zj\kxo%'a{<\#_wA*AĦ{Dr5 kS͜D5Eyq+&us BIJ;rT$pyzP0<̏ǚHԧW7>oqpcǍ TJ'Mٞ]5u# [=Gj }< d=zW|9u2@ʜgt^dlwHrsߥgR2bRuGppO\Vl~ ~ɟ|ԑxKr*Grǩ<&y,e[g]bQ'LO) -nbb'C !ة3#ouqJ˾׮"u̝tm< ͩ΋O]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 till 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 reaking records than ever before, that ce