Betty Baxter
| Betty Baxter | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1952 (age 63–64) in Brooks, Alberta |
| 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.[2]
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.[3] However, she was fired from that role in 1982 after the media began to report rumours that she was lesbian.[4] Prior to being named coach of the national team, Baxter was a women's volleyball coach at the University of Ottawa,[3] and was named the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union's coach of the year. 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.[2]
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.[2]
Electoral record
| Canadian federal election, 1993 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Hedy Fry | 19,310 | 31.19% | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Kim Campbell | 15,510 | 25.05% | |||||
| Reform | Ian Isbister | 10,808 | 17.46% | |||||
| New Democratic | Betty Baxter | 9,397 | 15.18% | |||||
| National | Thorsten Ewald | 4,949 | 7.99% | |||||
| Natural Law | John Cowhig | 643 | 1.04% | |||||
| Green | Imtiaz Popat | 586 | 0.95% | |||||
| Christian Heritage | Darren Lowe | 242 | 0.39% | |||||
| Libertarian | Tunya Audain | 220 | 0.36% | |||||
| Independent | Brian Godzilla Gnu Salmi | 114 | 0.18% | |||||
| Independent | Scott Adams | 83 | 0.13% | |||||
| Commonwealth of Canada | Lucille Boikoff | 25 | 0.04% | |||||
| Independent | Peter C. Nuthall | 24 | 0.04% | |||||
References
- 1 2 "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.
- 1 2 3 "Betty Baxter/School District 46". Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- 1 2 "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.
- ↑ "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.