Dawn Knowles

{{short description|Canadian curler}}

{{Infobox curler

| name = Dawn Knowles

| gender = F

| image =

| image_size =

| other_names = Dawn Harris

| birth_date = {{birth date|1953|4|25}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{death date and age |2006|3|29 |1953|4|25}}

| Curling club = North Shore WC, North Vancouver, British Columbia

| Skip =

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| Member Association = {{BC}}

| Hearts appearances = 2: ({{STOH|1976}}, {{STOH|1979}})

| World Championship appearances = 1 ({{WWCC|1979}})

| World Mixed Doubles Championship appearances =

| European Championship appearances =

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| show-medals = yes

| medaltemplates=

{{MedalSport | Curling}}

{{MedalCountry | {{CAN}} }}

{{MedalCompetition | {{WWCC||World Championships}}}}

{{MedalBronze | {{WWCC|1979|1979 Perth}} | }}

{{MedalCountry | {{BC}} }}

{{MedalCompetition | {{STOH||Scott Tournament of Hearts}} }}

{{MedalGold | {{STOH|1976|1976 Winnipeg}} | }}

{{MedalGold | {{STOH|1979|1979 Mount Royal}} | }}

}}

Dawn Kathryn Knowles (born April 25, 1953,{{cite web |url=https://vancouversunandprovince.remembering.ca/obituary/dawn-harris-1065341976 |title=Dawn HARRIS {{!}} Obituary |website=Vancouver Sun and Province |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623173715/https://vancouversunandprovince.remembering.ca/obituary/dawn-harris-1065341976 |archive-date=2023-06-23 }}{{cite news|title=Infant Christened at North Shore Home of Parents|date=July 25, 1953|page=28|newspaper=Vancouver Sun|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun/126969643/|access-date=June 23, 2023}} died March 29, 2006; in marriage also known as Dawn Kathryn Harris{{cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/dawn-harris-obituary?id=46647345 |title=Dawn Harris Obituary (2006) |website=Legacy.com |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623173122/https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/dawn-harris-obituary?id=46647345 |archive-date=2023-06-23 }}) was a Canadian curler.

She was a {{WWCC|1979|1979 World bronze medallist}}{{worldcurling}} and two-time {{STOH||Scott Tournament of Hearts champion}} ({{STOH|1976}}, {{STOH|1979}}).

In 2006, she was inducted into Canadian Curling Hall of Fame together with all of the 1979 Lindsay Sparkes team.{{cite web|url=https://www.curling.ca/hof/people/harris-dawn/|title=Harris, Dawn (Knowles) – CCA Hall of Fame | ACC Temple de la Renommée Virtuelle|website=curling.ca|accessdate=2019-09-15}}

Knolwes was a teacher, and in the late 1970s, she used her knowledge and training to assist in the advancement of curling as one of the first members of the Curl Canada Coaching Program. The first-ever set of curling instructional films was developed in 1980 and Knowles was one of the models used in the six-part series. In 1982, the Canadian Curling Association introduced the National Team Leader Program and Knowles was the first person to assume the role, travelling to the women's world championship with Canada's representative, the team of Colleen Jones, Kay Smith, Monica Jones and Barbara Jones-Gordon.

In 1979, she and her sister and teammate Robin Wilson, who worked as a manager at Scott Paper company, began the push to have Scott paper sponsor the Canadian Women's Curling Championship.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/curling/author-tournament-of-hearts-name-lauds-1.5926144 |title=Author of Tournament of Hearts name lauds its endurance |website=CBC |date=2021-02-24 |quote=Wilson and Knowles had the idea in 1979, pitching it to Scott Paper president ... Robin Wilson and sister Dawn Knowles ... The story of why the Canadian women's curling championship is named the Tournament of Hearts starts over 40 years ago with sisters drinking wine. |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418222742/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/curling/author-tournament-of-hearts-name-lauds-1.5926144 |archive-date=2021-04-18 }}