Betty Baxter
Betty Baxter | |
---|---|
Born | 1952 (age 68–69) |
Alma mater | University of Alberta |
Occupation | athlete, activist and politician |
Known for | CIAU coach of the year; Canadian national volleyball team coach |
Betty Baxter (born 1952)[1] is a Canadian athlete, activist and politician. Baxter is currently a school trustee for the Sunshine Coast District 46 in British Columbia.[citation needed]
Baxter was a member of the women's national volleyball team at the 1976 Summer Olympics,[1] and was later named the team's head coach in 1979.[2] Prior to being named coach of the national team, Baxter was a women's volleyball coach at the University of Ottawa,[2] and was named the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union's coach of the year.
However, she was fired from that role in 1982 after the media began to report rumours that she was lesbian.[3][4] Baxter was not actually out as lesbian at the time, but subsequently came out and served as a board member of the 1990 Gay Games in Vancouver.[5] She also cofounded the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and the National Coaching School for Women. Baxter subsequently worked as a professional volleyball coach.
Baxter ran as a New Democratic Party candidate in Vancouver Centre in the 1993 federal election,[6] in a high-profile race against Prime Minister Kim Campbell, but was not elected. Baxter later was elected as a school trustee in 2011.
Electoral record[]
hide1993 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
Liberal | Hedy Fry | 19,310 | 31.19 | +8.38 | ||||
Progressive Conservative | Kim Campbell | 15,510 | 25.05 | -12.19 | ||||
Reform | Ian Isbister | 10,808 | 17.46 | +16.08 | ||||
New Democratic | Betty Baxter | 9,397 | 15.18 | -21.63 | ||||
National | Thorsten Ewald | 4,949 | 7.99 | – | ||||
Natural Law | John Cowhig | 643 | 1.04 | – | ||||
Green | Imtiaz Popat | 586 | 0.95 | +0.14 | ||||
Christian Heritage | Darren Lowe | 242 | 0.39 | – | ||||
Libertarian | Tunya Audain | 220 | 0.36 | +0.11 | ||||
Independent | Brian Godzilla Gnu Salmi | 114 | 0.18 | – | ||||
Independent | Scott Adams | 83 | 0.13 | -0.07 | ||||
Commonwealth of Canada | Lucille Boikoff | 25 | 0.04 | – | ||||
Independent | Peter C. Nuthall | 24 | 0.04 | – | ||||
Total valid votes | 61,911 | 100.0 | ||||||
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | +10.28 |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "A matter of pride; Firing for being gay, Betty Baxter turned political; now she's out to win B.C. riding for federal NDP". Montreal Gazette, August 17, 1992.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Sports roundup: Volleyball". The Globe and Mail, November 27, 1979.
- ^ "Gay sports figures discuss homophobia ; 'What I do in my bedroom is my business'". Toronto Star, June 22, 1999.
- ^ Zeigler, Cyd (2011-08-30). "Moment #34: Canadian volleyball coach Betty Baxter fired amidst rumors she is a lesbian". Outsports. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
- ^ "Vancouver hosts the third and largest Gay Games". The Globe and Mail, August 6, 1990.
- ^ "Lesbian candidate for the NDP [Betty Baxter acclaimed in June as federal NDP candidate for Vancouver Centre". Perceptions. July 29, 1992.
- 1952 births
- Living people
- British Columbia candidates for Member of Parliament
- Canadian sportsperson-politicians
- Canadian women's volleyball players
- Lesbian politicians
- Lesbian sportswomen
- LGBT sportspeople from Canada
- LGBT politicians from Canada
- LGBT rights activists from Canada
- New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
- Olympic volleyball players of Canada
- Sportspeople from Vancouver
- Women in British Columbia politics
- LGBT volleyball players
- Volleyball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Sportspeople from Alberta
- People from Brooks, Alberta
- 20th-century Canadian women politicians
- British Columbia school board members
- UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball players