Edwards left wondering what could have been

Former Canadian ski jumper, Jade Edwards. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Nolais, Cochrane Eagle.

by Farhan Devji

Jade Edwards will be at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C. next month. But much to her chagrin, she’ll be there as a spectator rather than a participant.

Edwards, 19, says participating in the 2010 Olympics as a ski jumper was a realistic goal for her. But with the recent ruling that women’s ski jumping will not be included in the Games, Edwards is left wondering what could have been.

“It would have been so much fun,” said Edwards, via phone from her home in Cochrane, Alta. “It just would have been great. That was everyone’s goal, and now they’re telling us we can’t achieve our goals.”

Last March, Edwards joined a lawsuit with 14 other elite women’s ski jumpers from around the world, petitioning to get the sport into the 2010 Olympics.

“When I heard that they needed more Canadians, I thought, ‘heck yes, I’d join,” she said.

In her written decision, Madam Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon of the B.C. Supreme Court acknowledged that the women were being discriminated against. But she also said this matter was out of the court’s reach because the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who ultimately determines which sports are included in the Olympics, is not bound to Canadian law.

“It’s so frustrating,” said Edwards, without hesitation. “They’re basically saying that the IOC is above everything. What if the IOC said they didn’t want religion in the Olympics? Then what would we do? It’s kind of scary that they can do whatever they want.”

The women, led by their lawyer Ross Clark, then took their case to the B.C. Court of Appeal and after a two-day hearing, which Edwards attended last November, the case was dismissed. The Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the case in December.

Edwards started ski jumping when she was eight years-old. She was originally attracted to the sport when her Brownies group had a sleepover at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, where she was able to see all the towers. Since then, she has grown to love the sport.

“It’s hard to describe; there’s nothing like it,” said Edwards. “It’s like no other feeling.”

More than 10 years, several concussions, a broken foot, and a torn meniscus or strained MCL – depending on which doctor you believe – after taking her first jump, Edwards is ready to call it quits.

“Maybe if it was guaranteed that women’s ski jumping would be in the 2014 Olympics, I would continue,” said Edwards, who now hopes to attend medical school. “But I can’t put my life on hold for another five years.”

And quite frankly, she shouldn’t have to.