JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================nK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ??Z;YnINkOX6֥OG#rƠzh|Eh8&QC wʗW  'R!0q ĖjxYQ&$sX*ged-%{#Y隌0x~";c-ΡՖPr2}EY_ ޢm&RϺrcݐ%2x4x!Ia#͏HNy}W9FZhJPcq)/Sæ+EqқCW#Nܳsc<#'ᥔ mE8#38j^F\Z+$˞1{ULyJ${PmGSjܣNg Y\EI3ަM>{M&L]򗖍G$>zKam&"w/Z *A@<ӯћ\/í;g2O<{ֽ}# \12~kIYOU$ ^}u%ο:&*uѬG|VǵyHF#/A珛ڡ[c&dbݧ8ں; j]WI A `sduO"n[y̩$ t8$%Ѽ)schF۔!U}MgOg.K/${C1PG4*Vv7yfF_f `V]XG 5Vjc([8*KM!㷭 hYZ!2;pg5\!ANf<'WUS QMY&f EDflPIT " }m:Aڲib:޳w , ۑ޽63@+4d~pqӛ{TIZě*wATԥM\Sk)/BkO-$<.}k#Qc-J O*}χ/]:f"yp>E;6zke.uf8asd8uN6H3\ꮱNs7!a ,> \1X-aW'@I6kf˾)DݥP5r$~}+cG1ǡܰr0* ` ㊘{|U;zp~D- (lhwgz1$o* g tڧ# 듣IDʰ^H]P +LH@œw#_=ઑ?J[ >T)E9JpjecCԊ`t ȏ"1b>EA}âƬDQU(Xkľp(fPQ"Q,3C"1jdF kc? 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 League coach, who asked if she wanted to be on his team. Sure she did! But the coach said they'd have to cut her hair short and th