‘We want to compete!’
Fenlator-Victorian takes IBSF to court
Published:Sunday | February 6, 2022 | 12:11 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
CLAIMING UNFAIR treatment regarding the allocation of places for the two-woman bobsleigh event, Olympian Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian is taking legal action in a bid to compete in the discipline.
Fenlator-Victorian, who is competing in her third and final Winter Games, has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), contesting the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation’s (IBSF) final rankings, which saw Jamaica miss out on a place in the two-woman event.
In a statement released yesterday, Fenlator-Victorian, who is represented by Toronto law firm Try LLP, called the IBSF’s decision “arbitrary and improper”, accusing the federation of showing bias towards European bobsleigh programmes and excluding Jamaican athletes. The statement also outlined that the appeal has the backing of other bobsleigh federations, including Canada.
In a New York Times interview yesterday, Fenlator-Victorian said that underfunded countries were disadvantaged and their concerns were not being taken seriously.
“We fight so hard on a consistent basis to be heard, and, oftentimes, we’re looked down upon because of our resources, potentially because of the colour of our skin or because we’re not able to trailblaze dominance from the get-up because of the lack of resources,” Fenlator-Victorian said.
The appeal alleges that the IBSF did not follow its own rules in calculating athlete points which were used to determine the qualification rankings. The suit surrounds a two-day Europa Cup event in Germany last year.
The first day of the event was cancelled because of inclement weather and the suit alleges that, rather than lose points from that day, the IBSF doubled points on the second day of the event.
“The results displayed by the IBSF for that race are in fact a copy of the race that was held the next day on December 5, 2021. As a result, athletes who participated in the December 5, 2021 race earned points for the December 5, 2021 and the same points for the December 4, 2021 race that never actually occurred,” the statement read.
“If this retroactive double counting is excluded, Ms Fenlator-Victorian ranks ahead of her French competitor and Jamaica would be awarded and entitled to the last quota spot for the two-women bobsled. That would allow Ms Fenlator-Victorian and her teammate and brake person Audra Segree to represent Jamaica in the two-women bobsled adding to the already incredible participation of the Jamaican team.”
FINAL RANKINGS
The final rankings saw Fenlator-Victorian tied with 674 points with France’s Margot Boch but the latter was ranked 23rd, while Fenlator-Victorian ranked 26th. Jamaica are first in the allocation rankings, should a team be deemed unable to compete.
Jamaica made history this year by fielding the most bobsled disciplines at a Winter Olympic games in its history with three (women’s monobob, two-man and four-man bobsled teams).
While hoping for a favourable resolution without disenfranchising Boch, Fenlator-Victorian is adamant about the need for equitable change for the women’s events, given disadvantages of countries not being able to compete regularly in Europe.
“The cost of travelling to Europe with our equipment is prohibitive, and we are already financially excluded from the World Cup where point earnings are higher, whereas our European-based competitors can easily move between competing in the World Cup and Europe Cup races. For the IBSF to now retroactively ‘double count’ one of those European races in which we had no real opportunity to participate is too much. It is simply unfair and unacceptable,” Fenlator-Victorian said.
“Representation matters so much; we need to raise silenced voices as well as make space for diversity. I hope seeing a brown and black female athlete fighting for fairness inspires others, and I hope that my story ignites more open conversations that lead to change.”
The appeal has the backing of the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (JBSF).
“I have seen so much progress in gender equity and diversity in bobsleigh and skeleton since my first Olympics. We made it because someone stood up for us, and now the JBSF will stand beside Jazmine so her voice may be heard,” JBSF president Chris Stokes said.
Fenelator-Victorian has a weeklong window for a final resolution as training for the two-woman event starts on February 16, with the actual competition commencing on February 18.