It could take up to three months for 15 female ski jumpers to find out if VANOC is legally obligated to allow them to compete alongside men in the 2010 Games.
On Monday, their lawyer will be in B.C. Supreme Court to begin opening arguments in their discrimination case against VANOC.
Ross Clark, who is representing the athletes, said the judge will have several months to “absorb it all” and draw conclusions “I think we have a very strong argument,” Clark said.
“We are asking the court for a declaration that, under the law of Canada, if VANOC hosts a men’s event they must also host a women’s event, because to do otherwise would be a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” Clark said.
“(If we’re successful) I think VANOC would go back to the IOC and say … ‘Either you decide to hold the ski jumping somewhere else or you add a women’s event to the 2010 Olympic Games.’”
If the case for the ski jumpers isn’t successful, Clark said, “We’ll look at the reasons.”
