A historical study of the internal conflict of the IOC and the advocacy of the IAAF on women's participation in the Olympic Games ； through the analysis of the proceedings of the 9th Olympic Congress in 1930 and the correspondences of J. S. Edström

Kyoko Raita
（Aichi Gakusen University）

Abstract

　 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) repeatedly discussed restriction of women's participation in the Olympic Games at the various meetings, including the Executive Committee, Annual Sessions and an Olympic Congress from 1928 to 1932. In one of these meetings, the 9th Olympic Congress in 1930, some studies have interpreted the discussions and decisions in several ways. The purpose of this study is to examine the internal conflict of the IOC in the 9th Olympic Congress and the advocacy of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) on women's participation around 1930. The main historical materials used are the proceedings of the 9th Olympic Congress and the correspondence written by J. S. Edström, the then president of the IAAF.
　 The result of this study are summarized as follows:
　 1） In the 9th Olympic Congress, the restriction on women's participation in the Olympic Games was supported by the Executive Committee of the IOC taking the initiative of Baillet Latour. However, other participants who were representatives of International Federation (IF) or National Olympic Committee (NOC) judged women's participation more affirmatively.
　 2） As the president of the IAAF, J. S. Edström declared the positive advocacy of women's participation, especially in the athletic (track and field) events, when the IOC decided the official program of 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.
　 3） After repeated discussion by the IOC, following expression of support by the IAAF, the critical opinions of the IOC gradually diminished.
　 4） The interpretation of the correspondence written by J. S. Edström suggested that the grounds for the advocacy on women's participation were formed by the influence of rivalry between IFs.


Key words: women and sport, Olympic Games, IOC, IAAF, gender


Journal of Sport and Gender Studies, 1: 39-53, 2003.