CAS give Australians dream ticket

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Australia's women's bobsleigh crew were given an Olympic ticket to ride on Tuesday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled they must be allowed to compete at this month's Winter Games.

The CAS panel called for organizers of the Feb 12-28 extravaganza to expand that competition to 21 teams so the last-qualified Irish team would not be denied their place as a result.

The frosty fight hinged on the wording within the sport's ruling body's (FIBT) qualification criteria.

Australia claimed FIBT had not applied its qualification system correctly and should have admitted Astrid Loch-Wilkinson and Cecilia McIntosh on the basis that they were their continent's only entrants and met minimal performance criteria.

The Irish crew of Aoife Hoey and Claire Bergin was the last team qualified on the basis of performance and the Irish Olympic Council argued that the continental representation rule was applicable only at reallocation of unused quotas.

A CAS panel heard the case on Monday afternoon in Vancouver and found that "the clear wording of the qualification system implemented by the FIBT reflected the intention of representation by one men's bob team and one women's bob team from non-represented continents and could not be interpreted otherwise than as formulated."

CONTINENTAL REPRESENTATION

Consequently, CAS ordered the FIBT to allocate a "continental representation quota place" to the Australians.

"Nevertheless, considering the situation of the Irish athletes, who expected legitimately to be entitled to participate in the Olympic Winter Games 2010 after their entry had been validated by the FIBT and the IOC, the CAS Panel has recommended to the IOC and VANOC the inclusion of a 21st team in the women's bobsleigh event."

Reacting to the news the FIBT issued a statement defending its qualification criteria.

"The FIBT accepts the court decision willingly. FIBT President Robert Storey has recommended to the IOC that an additional slot be opened for the women's bobsleigh competition and that it be granted to Australia.

"The FIBT always strives to get the highest number of qualified teams into the Olympic Winter Games, but it must work within the rules.

"It has been a proponent of further participation for women in its sports which is why the fields for women's bobsleigh and women's skeleton both increased by five teams since Turin."

The row had provoked Olympic Council of Ireland president Patrick Hickey into comparing it to Ireland's controversial failure to qualify for the World Cup finals.

"It would be outrageous if those girls were stripped of their accreditation and sent back home to Ireland," he told Olympic publication, Around the Rings.

"We're already suffering from the football (situation) of (France's) Thierry Henry scoring a goal with his hand and eliminating us from the World Cup finals. And if something like this happened it would be a catastrophe altogether."

The women's bobsleigh competition is on Feb 23-24.

(additional reporting by Martyn Herman)

(Editing by Jon Bramley)