Vermont lawmakers hear resolution urging gender parity in Olympic Nordic combined
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Summary
The Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development heard testimony on JRS 37, a Senate-adopted resolution urging future Olympic sports to include both men’s and women’s events. Lieutenant Governor John Rogers and a state ski-association representative described the gap in Nordic combined and urged support; no formal House vote was recorded.
The Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Tuesday heard testimony on JRS 37, a Senate-adopted resolution urging the International Olympic Committee to ensure gender parity when introducing or continuing Olympic sports.
Lieutenant Governor John Rogers, who said the resolution was brought to his attention by Vermont athlete Tara Gerriti Moats, told the committee the measure aims to press for equal opportunity in events such as Nordic combined. "If men are able to compete in an Olympic sport, there should be an equal chance for women to compete," Rogers said, urging quick legislative action and plans to use the Lieutenant Governors Association to build support.
Sen. Lisonbee Clarkson, chair of the Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee, said the Senate added an explicit recognition of Vermont athletes and a request that any newly introduced sport include gender parity going forward. Clarkson said the Senate committee approved the resolution 4-0-1 (one member absent) and the full Senate passed it unanimously.
A representative of the state Ski Association identified in the transcript as Molly summarized the athletic context, saying Nordic combined is "the only Olympic discipline that lacks gender parity." Molly noted women have competed in Olympic Nordic skiing since 1952 and in ski jumping since 2014, and that the first women's Nordic combined FIS World Cup season was 2020–21. According to Molly, the International Olympic Committee has cited limited "depth of the field" and audience metrics as reasons for not adding a women's Nordic combined event.
No formal House vote or committee motion on JRS 37 is recorded in the transcript. Committee staff and members discussed logistics and next steps; the committee planned to hear another witness later in the morning. The Senate-originated resolution therefore remains a request for parity and advocacy at this stage rather than a binding change to Olympic policy.
The committee did not reach a final decision on the resolution during the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript; the next procedural step recorded was a scheduled follow-up presentation at 09:30.