In the Olympic Charter, the basic law of Olympic sport, the “mission and role” of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also defined. Point eight states: “To strengthen and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures in order to enforce the principle of equality between men and women.” And with that to the schedule of the alpine ski races.
Eleven competitions have been scheduled for these Olympic Games at Xiaohaituo Mountain in Yanqing. Five for the men, five for the women and one for the team (men and women). On the weekend days, by far the most attractive dates from the TV point of view, only three races were scheduled: the men’s downhill run (first Sunday; had to be postponed because of the wind), the men’s giant slalom (second Sunday) and the team competition (third Saturday). And if you ask around before the women’s departure this Tuesday in Yanqing (4 a.m. CET in the FAZ live ticker for the Olympics, on ZDF and on Eurosport), you will find quite a few who ask themselves: why none of the women?
When asked by the FAZ, a spokeswoman for the World Ski Federation said that the Olympic Games would be consumed differently by the TV audience than World Cups, for example, and that one should therefore not think in terms of weekdays. But the ratings speak against it. At least in Germany, where the highest quota of these Winter Games was reached on a Sunday (5.14 million people in men’s tobogganing). Has the FIS set the dates for ski races in China? No, says the spokeswoman, you have a say, but the IOC is primarily responsible.
A spokesman for the IOC responded to the FAZ request. He says that the principle of equality between women and men cannot be tied to one sport, but must be evaluated as a whole. Counting the medal decisions scheduled over the three weekends of the Winter Games, there are 20 men’s and 16 women’s competitions. Among these, however, there are few that receive as much attention worldwide as alpine ski racing. Why wasn’t a women’s race scheduled for one of the first Saturdays? The IOC spokesman cannot say in detail either.
He points out another point. The time difference must also be taken into account in this discussion. The women’s giant slalom was held on the first Monday of the Games. In the USA you could see it on Sunday evening. This trail leads to the next big player: the American broadcaster NBC, which paid around 7.75 billion dollars for the broadcasting rights to the Olympic Games from 2014 to 2032. For that much money you buy influence. And possibly a giant slalom with Mikaela Shiffrin, America’s number one winter sportswoman, at prime time. So why wasn’t there a race with Shiffrin this Monday morning in China? Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday in the United States.
