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Deep Dive: Ready To Fly (2012)

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Ready To Fly
Ready to Fly is a documentary by William A. Kerig that follows the struggle of American women's ski jumping athletes, including Lindsey Van and her teammates Jessica Jerome, Alissa Johnson, Abby Hughes, and Sarah Hendrickson, to gain the right to compete in the Olympic Winter Games. The film discusses the history of women's exclusion from ski jumping events since the sport's Olympic debut in 1924 and the athletes' determination to change this by participating in the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games. The documentary features a significant lawsuit filed by elite female ski jumpers from five countries against the International Olympic Council, aiming for inclusion in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Although they were not able to compete in 2010, their efforts contributed to the eventual inclusion of women's ski jumping in the 2014 Olympics, where Carina Vogt became the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.

Why Watch

  • •Meet Lindsey Van and her teammates fighting for Olympic rights.
  • •Find out about the historic lawsuit against the IOC.
  • •See the first women's ski jumping competition at the Olympics.

Did You Know

•Women were banned from ski jumping in the Olympics since 1924.
•The documentary was first screened at the 2013 Banff Mountain Film Festival.
•Carina Vogt won the first Olympic gold medal for women in ski jumping in 2014.
•The lawsuit was initiated by athletes from five different countries.

Perfect For

Women's sports historyOlympic enthusiastsSki jumping fans