Betty Baxter

Betty Baxter
Betty Baxter
Born	1952 (age 71–72); Brooks, Alberta
Alma mater	University of Alberta
Occupation(s)	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 was once 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 for a variety of reasons, one of which was speculation about her sexuality 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[edit]

v t e 1993 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[edit]

^ ^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.
^ ^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.

[pride-1] "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.

[roundup-2] "Sports roundup: Volleyball". The Globe and Mail, November 27, 1979.

[3] "Gay sports figures discuss homophobia ; 'What I do in my bedroom is my business'". Toronto Star, June 22, 1999.

[4] Zeigler, Cyd (2011-08-30). "Moment #34: Canadian volleyball coach Betty Baxter fired amidst rumors she is a lesbian". Outsports. Retrieved 2019-09-16.

[5] "Vancouver hosts the third and largest Gay Games". The Globe and Mail, August 6, 1990.

[6] "Lesbian candidate for the NDP [Betty Baxter acclaimed in June as federal NDP candidate for Vancouver Centre". Perceptions. July 29, 1992.

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