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Women ski jumper’s lawsuit may grow

Five Canadian jumpers petition to join suit against VANOC

With the hearing just five weeks away, five additional female ski jumpers are seeking permission to join a discrimination lawsuit against the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) over the exclusion of women's ski jumping in the 2010 Games.

The jumpers claim that the VANOC is in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom by excluding women from the Games, given that federal funding was used to build the facility and to host the competition.

For its part, VANOC has maintained that the Charter does not apply to the International Olympic Committee, which sanctions Olympic events.

For their part, the IOC has said that women's ski jumping is not developed enough for inclusion in the Games.

The newcomers to the suit are all Canadian jumpers based in Calgary, led by Nata de Leeuw, ranked fifth in the world. Others are Katie Willis, Meaghan Reid, Jade Edwards and Charlotte Mitchell.

VANOC's lawyers will need to consent to have these five jumpers added, which would bring the number of plaintiffs to 15. The others are retired ski jumpers or jumpers from other nations.

The B.C. Supreme Court has scheduled five days to hear the lawsuit, starting April 20.