JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================K" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?j( *>mq>Q|E2i\m{قrkf-oM[C{dG2 2QLAEPE%Qր8jwkg&LV杧qR 5(%xs]Lצ^ !^\Dau!T 㓼:v'}]z[]ab) od-,Nut#C}>/n$m>KHnnf7s'M)8 Z(() -%q-NeRR{Wu݌z 3{Ċ GWe*YHKt\Wh;)5w^5\I|Uy}Oz^6K/.maf^GC+šGYj|vo_ޓV[sn(()(:v B|ٿvu烏~x"{}%Q6. =VĘ4z|O+J*? V4J-ݕ]bvrmEWw1wȘ&MЧnp}~&IJ$CuN?G+?Z5;7:@ HۯSPi"R"E-isdPߥ(qiM{3$𤱜e>ԕsQ@Q@ .-(杼َRE#k)ZOx15x51R"|}[jQ\ܠtOun==ybZ=H?1YTލ#.>7Zq!^d` Ċݪ[ˆq?\I#&3!BkPBXH? {?_duY]^C/uJ*yc& HE{ϊ6&HP(:))iQE%Eu WC8'RyoW63O!YT݈Pu,U qU7- VoEJѳgqcoB)W2O>lNܤd{WgہGlx~WeT_[+] - 5d{yxee8 Tp'xdXأB Uk>f 'Hm[Xh9Q]aA~fL 5SVOkN5U#%ǝ?瘹X \FWޛa_A,XI"3OEsZ#n)]7 kY$AQ(ǯFGX.} J;6y8 ½Ixԗ>)ʈ˴m?Oֻ/EӴK#L>4?S5AUs̩ngb/ {Zd'r?&袙!EPIKE`xG'+ܹ_*Olud5hve˩n溙ZIv) ?yLj5 .oFe-fȐ6 0 oU%nTJg9c-w'Vs/4>yuwA<խaESQEUk,kh a$gqEsilҮbSQ}RɓPxA\,h2vz?l@ KEQEng balls, making goals and vaulting over 14-foot-high bars. Such thinking likely caused many an old codger to grin in secret delight that a "little" educational amendment would placate the feminists yet 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 OҼ)&קI &ED99e8hining 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