VANCOUVER - A group of female ski jumpers hopes to take their fight to be part of the 2010 Winter Games to the Supreme Court of Canada.
But with the clock ticking down to the opening ceremonies, Vancouver Olympic organizers say that's not where it belongs and a legal expert says it's unlikely to help.
Lawyers for the women filed a request with the country's highest court Tuesday, seeking leave to appeal two lower court decisions that found the Charter of Rights does not apply to which sports are included in the Olympics.
The women say the charter does govern the Games and by hosting only men's ski jumping events, Vancouver organizers are breaking the law.
With the Olympics just over two months away, the women are asking the Supreme Court to expedite their decision on whether they'll hear the case and then also make a fast decision.
"I recognize that this is a tough road," said Ross Clark, the lawyer for the women.
"We may not succeed, on both grounds. Even getting leave is a tough thing, one in 10 are successful."
One of the more recent speedy decisions out of the Supreme Court came in a May 2008 case revolving around the now-dead $52-billion privatization deal for BCE Inc. The clock was ticking down on the deal and the Supreme Court gave leave to appeal, held a hearing and gave its decision within a month.
But that was the exception, rather than the rule, said William Black, professor emeritus at University of British Columbia's law school.
The court usually takes months before it decides whether it will hear a case and then months more before an actual hearing date is set.
"In light of the fact that the issues are relatively complex and unique (in ski jumping), I'd be a little surprised if the court gave an instant ruling," said Black.
Even if they did, giving the women what they want might be difficult, said Black.
"Given the timeline, it's probably going to be pretty hard to include the women. You can't tell countries you have a week to come up with a team," said Black.
But Clark said the men's ski jumping teams aren't picked until late January so if the court gave a decision in mid-January, a women's team could be assembled.
In their submission to the court, organizers reiterated that they are powerless over the sport program for the Games.
The women have asked the courts to force Games organizers to either add a women's event or cancel the men's. Organizers say they can do neither.
And since the women took 10 days to decide to file their appeal, they're asking for the same to put together their arguments -- a Dec. 15 deadline.
"The applicants base their motion to expedite on the fact that the Games will begin in only 73 days, but they delayed in both commencing litigation and in bringing this motion," says a submission to the Supreme Court.
The women first launched a lawsuit against local organizers in May 2008, 18 months after the International Olympic Committee made the decision to exclude the sport.
In the interim, they had filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission that they dropped after the federal government agreed to lobby the IOC. When that failed, they pursued a court case.
The women chose to appeal to the Supreme Court in part because the issue is bigger than one event at the Games, said a spokesperson for the group.
"It's even bigger than women's rights. It's human rights," Deedee Corradini, the president of Women's Ski Jumping USA, said in an interview.
"Internationally, it has implications for whether organizations can come into a country, such as the (International Olympic Committee) and ignore the constitution of that country."
Olympic organizers have said they have no contingency plan in place in the event that a court rules women's ski jumping must be held or that men's cannot be held.
"With 73 days remaining until the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, we remain fully focused on our preparations to stage the 2010 sport program as set out by the International Olympic Committee," said a statement from Cathy Priestner Allinger, executive vice-president of sport and Games operations for the committee.
The women are also appealing the decision that the choice over which sports are included at the Games is made by the IOC, who is not governed by the charter either.
The IOC voted not to include women's ski jumping at the 2010 Games because according to the rules in place at the time, the sport was not developed enough. There are also Olympic rules around how far in advance of an Olympics a sport can be added to the program.
The women counter that since then they have held enough international events to qualify for consideration as an Olympic sport and that they are asking for only one event at the Games, which wouldn't be difficult for the organizers to accommodate.
