A Life Lesson From the Women Ski Jumpers

In life, one doesn't always get what one wants...

In the case of the women ski jumpers endeavoring to get their sport included in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the biggest mistake they made was to embarrass the IOC. The women took VANOC and the IOC to court, and for a short time they were heartened by a lower court decision that, yes indeed the IOC was practicing discrimination in their exclusion of the women ski jumpers. However, their elation was soon deflated by the decision reached by an appeals court's unanimous decision to throw out their case.

There is a life lesson here about relationships, community and the course of action to be taken to achieve a purpose.

Firstly, while there may be some merit in taking legal action against the organization (and hence the Olympic community) that one wants to be a part of, the women ski jumpers quest for inclusion does not bear any comparison to the civil rights movement of the past. (In case you haven't noticed, there are women participating in the Olympics.)

Embarrassing the object of one's disdain is not good stratagem; nor was calling for the cancellation of the men's ski jumping event since the women could not participate. (The optics were terrible as the women ski jumpers came across as childish spoiled brats.)

The legal action taken by the women ski jumpers probably has done more harm than good in relationship terms. My advice to them: work harder behind the scenes to lobby and sell their sport and influence the people who matter and who can effect change.

Life lesson: Mature individuals build and foster relationships to get want they want in life.