|
The private Kasumigaseki Country Club took the decision to
change its bylaws at an extraordinary board meeting on Monday
after being told last month that the IOC would find another
venue if the policy remained unaltered.
"As we have said all along, gender equality is a fundamental
principle of the Olympic Movement and an important part of
Olympic Agenda 2020, and we believe this decision now reflects
this," Coates, the head of the IOC coordination commission which
advises Tokyo Games organizers, said.
"While we had made our position on non-discrimination clear as
soon as we became aware of their rules, it was important that
the members of the club be given the opportunity to make the
change in their good time.
"It is their club and at the end of the day we had to be
welcomed by them."
The club in Saitama prefecture, which is scheduled to host both
men's and women's tournaments in July and August 2020, had
forbidden women from playing on Sundays or becoming full
members.
Several notable golf clubs have changed their policies to allow
female members in recent years.
In 2014, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews decided
to allow women to join following 260 years of exclusion, after
Augusta National, home of the U.S. Masters, had ended its
men-only membership two years earlier.
Last week, Muirfield voted to admit women members, scrapping a
policy that led to the historic Scottish links course being
stripped of its eligibility to host the British Open.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
