:Barbara Ann Scott

Scott was born on May 9, 1928, the only child of Canadian Army Colonel Clyde Rutherford Scott and Mary (née Purves) of Sandy Hill, Ottawa. She had two older half-siblings, from her mother's first marriage.{{cite book |last1=Stevens |first1=Ryan |title=Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice |date=2025 |publisher=Ryan Stevens |location=Halifax, NS |isbn=9781069170507 |pages=5–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aas0EQAAQBAJ |access-date=29 December 2024}}

Scott began skating at the age of seven at the Minto Skating Club, coached by Otto Gold and Sheldon Galbraith.{{cite news | url = https://www.thestar.com/sports/figureskating/article/1264640--barbara-ann-scott-canada-s-sweetheart-dead-at-84 | title = Canadian figure skating legend Barbara Ann Scott dies | first = Neil | last = Stevens | work = The Canadian Press | publisher = CBC/Radio-Canada | date = October 1, 2012 }} At age nine, Scott switched from regular schooling to tutoring two-and-a-half hours a day in order to accommodate her seven hours of daily ice training. At the age of ten she became the youngest skater ever to pass the "gold figures test" and at eleven years won her first national junior title. By the age of fifteen, Scott became Canada's senior national champion, she held the Canadian Figure Skating championship title from 1944 to 1946.

File:Barbara-Ann Scott (Dec 1947).jpg

In 1947, with funding raised by the community, Scott traveled overseas and became the first North American to win both the European and World Figure Skating championships, and remains the only Canadian to have won the European title. This led to her being voted Canadian Newsmaker of the Year in 1947. On her return to Ottawa during a parade she was given a yellow Buick convertible (license plate: 47-U-1); however it had to be returned for her to retain amateur status, to be eligible for the 1948 Winter Olympics.

During the 1948 season, Scott was able to defend both the World Figure Skating and the European Skating Championships, and reacquired the Canadian Figure Skating Championship, becoming the first North American to win all three in the same year and the first to hold consecutive world titles. She was featured on the cover of Time magazine on February 2, 1948, one week before her Olympic debut in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

File:Scott and Gerschwiler.jpg practice together before the 1948 Winter Olympics. Both went on to win medals - Scott gold and Gerschweiler silver.]]

At the 1948 Winter Olympics, Scott became the first and only Canadian in history to win the ladies' singles figure skating gold medal. After the Olympic win she received a telegram from Prime Minister Mackenzie King, stating that she gave "Canadians courage to get through the darkness of the post-war gloom." When Scott returned to Ottawa on March 9, 1948, the car that she originally relinquished in 1947 was given back (license plate now: 48-U-1), and she also received the "Key" to the city. She was commonly referred to as "Canada's Sweetheart" in the press at this time, so much so that a collectible doll (accompanied by a letter from her) was issued in her honour in 1948. According to figure skating writer and historian Ellyn Kestnbaum, Scott "brought polish, glamour, and feminine delicateness"{{Cite book |last=Kestnbaum |first=Ellyn |title=Culture on Ice: Figure Skating and Cultural Meaning |publisher=Wesleyan Publishing Press |year=2003 |isbn=0-8195-6641-1 |location=Middleton, Connecticut |pages=108}} to figure skating. She was described as "a cover girl", inspiring Canadian girls to become skaters. She was also one of the first skaters to specifically choreograph and to musically interpret her free skating programs, instead of using music as a background accompaniment.

Scott officially relinquished her amateur status in the summer of 1948 and began touring North America and Europe, headlining in a variety of shows over the next five years. Among her early successes was Tom Arnold's Rose Marie on Ice at the Harringay Arena in London, UK. She went on to replace her childhood idol Sonja Henie in the starring role with the "Hollywood Ice Revue" in Chicago, which became the subject of a Life cover story on February 4, 1952. The grueling schedule of a professional skater took its toll, and at the age of twenty-five she retired from professional skating.

File:Olympic flag carried into BC Place at 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony (cropped).jpg, Jacques Villeneuve, Anne Murray, Bobby Orr, Donald Sutherland, Barbara Ann Scott-King, Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, Julie Payette.]]

In 1955, aged 27, she married publicist and former professional basketball player Tom King at Rosedale Presbyterian Church in Toronto. The couple settled in Chicago, where she opened a beauty salon for a short time, then became a distinguished horse trainer and equestrian rider by her forties. During this time, Scott founded and became chancellor of the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Toronto. In 1996, the couple retired to Amelia Island, Florida. She remained an influential figure in skating throughout her life; she appeared in films and TV, published books, served as a skating judge, and was formally recognized for her educational and charitable causes including donating a percentage of her earnings to aid crippled children.

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| video1 =[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gThRzNvrihc" Barbara Ann Scott opens her gallery at Ottawa City Hall"] – VideoManOttawa -YouTube(7:11 min)

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As a Canadian sports icon {{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/canada-150/canada-150-barbara-ann-scott-1.4046249|title=Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the ice |publisher=CBC Sports|year=2017}} and marking the fortieth anniversary of her Olympic win, she was asked to carry the Olympic torch in the lead-up to the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. In December 2009, she again carried the Olympic torch, this time to Parliament Hill and into the House of Commons, in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics. She subsequently was one of the Olympic flag bearers during the opening ceremonies in Vancouver on February 12, 2010. In 2012, the city of Ottawa announced the creation of the Barbara Ann Scott Gallery, which displays photographs, her championship awards, and the Olympic gold medal that Scott formally donated to the city in 2011.

Scott died on September 30, 2012, at her home in Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Florida at age 84. Her obituary listed her name as Barbara Ann Scott King.{{cite web|title=Barbara Ann Scott King|url=http://yourlifemoments.ca/sitepages/obituary.asp?oid=644379|website=Your Life Moments (Canada)|access-date=September 12, 2016}} A local arena was named after her in Nepean, Ontario, as part of the Pinecrest Recreation Centre.{{cite web|url=http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/parks-and-recreation/recreation-facilities/recreation-centre-locations/pinecrest|title=Pinecrest Recreation Centre|publisher=Ottawa |access-date=February 18, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103003557/http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/parks-and-recreation/recreation-facilities/recreation-centre-locations/pinecrest|archive-date=January 3, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.arenamaps.com/arenas/1399.htm|title=Barbara Ann Scott Arena|publisher=ArenaMaps.com|access-date=February 18, 2014|archive-date=February 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203043326/http://www.arenamaps.com/arenas/1399.htm|url-status=dead}}

Barbara Ann Scott's star on [[Canada's Walk of Fame|thumb]]

Scott was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1991 (OC), and a Member of the Order of Ontario (OOnt) in 2008 for her contributions to sports and charitable endeavours.{{cite web |title=Mrs. Barbara Ann Scott-King |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-3626 |website=Governor-General of Canada |access-date=9 November 2023}}

She was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1948, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1966, the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 1991, the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and in 1998 was named to Canada's Walk of Fame.{{cite web|title=Barbara Ann Scott|url=http://oshof.ca/index.php/honoured-members/item/80-barbara-ann-scott|website=oshof.ca|access-date=September 24, 2014|archive-date=December 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229012021/http://www.oshof.ca/index.php/honoured-members/item/80-barbara-ann-scott|url-status=dead}} The Barbara Ann Scott Ice Trail at Toronto's College Park is named after the skater.{{cite web |url=https://dailyhive.com/toronto/college-park-revitalization-complete-2019 |title=Revitalized College Park is the urban oasis downtown has been missing |website=Daily Hive |first=Ainsley |last=Smith |date=July 11, 2019 |access-date=November 4, 2019 }}

Her first major honour came in the form of the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Top Athlete of the Year in 1945, which she subsequently won in both 1947 and 1948.

• {{cite book|author=Cay Moore|title=She Skated Into Our Hearts: The Story of Barbara ann Scott|year=1948|publisher= McClelland & Stewart Ltd}}
• {{cite book|author=Barbara Ann Scott|title=Skate with me|year=1952|publisher=A. Redman}}
• {{cite book|author1=Barbara Ann Scott|author2=Michael Kirby|title=Skating for beginners|year=1953|publisher=Knopf|edition=1}}
• {{cite book|author=Ryan Stevens|title=Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice|year=2025|publisher=R. Stevens}}

{{Portal|Sports|Canada|Ontario|Olympics}}

• Canada at the 1948 Winter Olympics
• Petra Burka
• Karen Magnussen
• Elizabeth Manley
• Kaetlyn Osmond
• Joannie Rochette
• Marilyn Ruth Take

{{Reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite news | url= http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/sports/skating/canadas-figure-skating-greats/ottawa-cheers-for-barbara-ann-scott.html | title= Ottawa cheers for Barbara Ann Scott | date= March 7, 1947 | publisher= CBC | format= audio 3:38 min | access-date= January 1, 2012 }}

{{cite news | url= http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/figureskating/canadian-figure-skating-legend-barbara-ann-scott-dies-1.1224565| title= Canada's Sweetheart dies at 84 | work= The Canadian Press | date= October 1, 2012 | access-date= October 1, 2012}}

{{cite news|url=http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/09/30/olympic-champion-figure-skater-barbara-ann-scott-dies-at-82/ |title=Olympic champion figure skater Barbara Ann Scott dies |first=Matthew |last=Pearson |newspaper=National Post |date=September 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129154918/http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/09/30/olympic-champion-figure-skater-barbara-ann-scott-dies-at-82/ |archive-date=January 29, 2013 }}

{{cite news | title= Canadian figure skater Barbara Ann Scott enters the church and weds Chicago publicist Tom King in Canada | url= http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675071439_Barbara-Ann-Scott_Tom-King_well-wishers_fans_wedding | format=video 0:45 min | date= September 19, 1955 | publisher= Universal International News }}

{{cite book | first1= Mark | last1 = Kearney | first2= Randy | last2 = Ray | title= Whatever happened to-- ?: catching up with Canadian icons | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=eU-iNvwywHQC&pg=PA166 | date= September 30, 2006 |publisher=Dundurn Press Ltd. | isbn=978-1-55002-654-2 | page=166 }}

{{cite book | first = Edward | last = Zawadzki | title= The Ultimate Canadian Sports Trivia Book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0jV_tdolWAcC&pg=PA163 | date= September 27, 2004 | publisher=Dundurn Press Ltd. | isbn=978-1-55002-529-3 | page=163 }}

{{cite news|url=http://www.fbnewsleader.com/articles/2009/12/02/news/00newsolympicgold.txt |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122212355/http://www.fbnewsleader.com/articles/2009/12/02/news/00newsolympicgold.txt |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 22, 2013 |title=Olympic gold - Canadians still carry torch for local woman |first=Heather A. |last=Perry |newspaper=News-Leader |date=November 30, 2009 |access-date=January 26, 2012 }}

{{cite web|title=Barbara Ann Scott |url=http://www.historica-dominion.ca/content/heritage-minutes/barbara-ann-scott |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115141654/http://www.historica-dominion.ca/content/heritage-minutes/barbara-ann-scott |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |format=video 1:06 min |publisher=The Historica-Dominion Institute |year=2009 |access-date=January 1, 2012 }}

{{cite book | first1=Darryl | last1 = Humber | first2= William | last2 = Humber | title= Let It Snow: Keeping Canada's Winter Sports Alive | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v2bmSfX0c9sC&pg=PA16 | date= November 16, 2009 |publisher= Dundurn Press Ltd. | isbn=978-1-55488-461-2 | page=16 }}

{{cite book | first= Margaret Ann | last = Hall | title= The girl and the game: a history of women's sport in Canada | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1uDqj_75q4C&pg=PA105 | year= 2002 | publisher= University of Toronto Press | isbn=978-1-55111-268-8 | page=105 }}

{{cite book | first= James R. | last = Hines | title= Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating | url= https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000hine | url-access= registration | date= April 30, 2011 | publisher= Scarecrow Press | isbn=978-0-8108-6859-5 | page= [https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000hine/page/201 201] }}

{{cite book | first1= Mark | last1= Kearney | first2= Randy | last2= Ray | title= The Big Book of Canadian Trivia |url= https://archive.org/details/bigbookofcanadia0000kear | url-access= registration | access-date= January 25, 2012 | date= January 6, 2009 | publisher= Dundurn Press Ltd. | isbn=978-1-55488-417-9 | pages= [https://archive.org/details/bigbookofcanadia0000kear/page/302 302]– }}

{{cite web | url= http://globalnews.ca/news/192274/selections-run-the-gamut-over-the-history-of-cps-newsmaker-of-the-year-2/ | title= Selections run the gamut over the history of CP's Newsmaker of the Year | publisher= The Canadian Press | year=2011 | access-date= January 1, 2012 }}

{{cite book | first1= David | last1= Wallechinsky | first2= Jaime | last2= Loucky | title= The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6EThoEOnGuUC&pg=PA60 | date= October 9, 2009 | publisher= D&M Publishers Incorporated | isbn=978-1-55365-502-2 | page= 60 }}

{{cite news | url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1XYtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gpgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5976%2C1162649 | title= Barbara Ann Scott's Car To Be Returned | newspaper = Montreal Gazette | date= May 7, 1947 | access-date= January 1, 2012 }}

{{cite web|url=http://www.skatecanada.ca/en-us/aboutus/history.aspx |title=Our History - CFSA Milestones |publisher=Skate Canada |year=2011 |access-date=January 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123005842/http://www.skatecanada.ca/en-us/aboutus/history.aspx |archive-date=January 23, 2012 }}

{{cite news | url= https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,855930-2,00.html | title=Ice Queen |volume=51 |issue=5 | date= February 2, 1948 | magazine=Time | access-date= January 1, 2012 |page=2}}

{{cite book | first=Ron C. | last = Judd | title= The Winter Olympics | url= https://archive.org/details/winterolympicsin0000judd | url-access=registration | date= February 28, 2009 | publisher= The Mountaineers Books | isbn=978-1-59485-063-9 | page=[https://archive.org/details/winterolympicsin0000judd/page/27 27] }}

{{cite book | first= Byron | last= Rempel | title= No Limits: the Amazing Life Story of Rhona and Rhoda Wurtele | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nxHPUtLVvxgC&pg=PA213 | year= 2009 | publisher= Twinski Publications, SHGPH |isbn=978-2-89586-055-6 | page= 213 }}

{{cite web | url= http://ottawa.ca/rec_culture/museum_heritage/archives/history/sports/scott_en.html | title= Barbara Ann Scott | publisher= City of Ottawa Archives | year= 2011 | access-date= January 1, 2012 }}

{{cite book | first= Doug | last= Lennox | title= Now You Know Big Book of Sports | url= https://archive.org/details/nowyouknowbigboo0000lenn_j6r9 | url-access= registration | date= September 30, 2009 | publisher= Dundurn Press Ltd. | isbn=978-1-55488-454-4 | page= [https://archive.org/details/nowyouknowbigboo0000lenn_j6r9/page/217 217] }}

{{cite web | url= http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/dolls/dobar01e.shtml | title= The Barbara Ann Scott Doll | publisher= Canadian Museum of Civilization | year= 2010 | access-date= January 1, 2012 }}

{{cite web | url= http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/women/030001-1516-e.html | title= Celebrating Women's Achievements | publisher= Library and Archives Canada | year= 2007 | access-date= January 24, 2012 }}

{{cite web | url= http://www.canadashistory.ca/Magazine/Online-Extension/Articles/Barbara-Ann-Scott.aspx | title= Interview with Barbara Ann Scott | magazine=Canada's History | format=audio 06:22 min | date= January 20, 2010 | access-date=January 1, 2012 }}

{{cite magazine | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fVQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA46 | title= LIFE "Barbara Ann Scott Her Rivalry with Sonja" | magazine= Life | date= February 4, 1952 | publisher=Time Inc | page=46 |issn=0024-3019 }}

{{cite web | title= Scott brings Olympic torch to Parliament | publisher=Canwest News Service |url= http://www.calgarysun.com/videos/entertainment/comedy/671177285001/scott-brings-olympic-torch-to-parliament/56066798001 | date= December 10, 2009 | format= video 1:18 min |access-date= December 17, 2010 }}

{{cite web | url= http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/01/25/state-of-the-city-in-our-own-hands | newspaper = Ottawa Sun | title= Scott legacy finds home at city hall | date= January 25, 2012 | access-date= January 26, 2012 }}

{{cite web | url= http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=2910&t=12&ln=Scott-King | title= Officer of the Order of Canada | publisher= The Governor General of Canada | access-date= January 24, 2012 }}

{{cite web | url= http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/citizenship/honours/orderofontario_appointees.shtml#2008 | title= Order of Ontario Appointees by year of Appointment | publisher= Queen's Printer for Ontario | access-date= January 24, 2012 | archive-date= November 28, 2018 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181128223316/http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/citizenship/honours/orderofontario_appointees.shtml#2008 | url-status= dead }}

{{cite web | title= Barbara Ann Scott should light Olympic flame | url= http://www.ottawasun.com/news/columnists/earl_mcrae/2009/11/26/11944446.html | website= Ottawa Sun | date= November 26, 2009 | access-date= December 17, 2010 | archive-date= February 7, 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110207194909/http://www.ottawasun.com/news/columnists/earl_mcrae/2009/11/26/11944446.html | url-status= dead }}

{{cite book | first= Victor J. | last= Danilov | title=H all of fame museums: a reference guide | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VUO_J0YzpP0C&pg=PA220 | date= November 1, 1997 | publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group | isbn=978-0-313-30000-4 | page=220 }}

{{cite book | first= Edward | last= Zawadzki | title= The Ultimate Canadian Sports Trivia Book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0jV_tdolWAcC&pg=PA135 | date= September 27, 2004 | publisher= Dundurn Press Ltd. | isbn=978-1-55002-529-3 | page= 135 }}

}}

{{commons category|Barbara Ann Scott}}

• [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/women/030001-1516-e.html Barbara Ann Scott] - Library and Archives Canada (archived content)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140416193041/http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital+Archives/ID/1836233679/ Canada's Sweetheart] - CBC video archives (January 2, 1964 - 11:06 min)
• [https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/women/interview-with-barbara-ann-scott Interview with Barbara Ann Scott] - Canada's History (February 24, 2010)
• [http://ottawa.ca/en/liveculture/barbara-ann-scott-gallery Barbara Ann Scott Gallery] - City of Ottawa
• {{Canada's Sports Hall of Fame}}
• {{Team Canada}}
• {{Olympics.com profile|barbara-ann-scott|org_archive=20190710013514}}
• {{Olympedia}}

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