Claire Lovett (née Ehman; 1910 – 26 November 2005) was a Canadian badminton and tennis player who competed from the 1940s to 1990s. As a badminton player, she won singles and doubles titles at the

Canadian National Badminton Championships The Canadian National Badminton Championships is a tournament organized to crown the best badminton players in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pa ...

from 1947 to 1949. She later won at the mixed doubles event during the 1963 Canadian Open. Apart from badminton, she won 16 Vancouver Lawn Tennis Club championships between 1946 and 1967. She was inducted into the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Canad ...

in 1972 and

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's spo ...

in 1975.

Early life

Lovett was born in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

. She began playing basketball during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s with the

Edmonton Grads The Edmonton Grads were a Canadian women's basketball team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada active from 19121940. The team continues to hold the North American record for the women's sports team with the best winning percentage. The Grads won th ...

Career

Lovett started her badminton career at the Wascana Country Club in Regina before moving to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, in the 1940s. Her national title wins were from 1947 to 1949 at the

, where she won the singles division from 1947 to 1948 and the doubles title in 1947 and 1949. In international events, Lovett played at the

1957 Uber Cup The 1957 Uber Cup was the inaugural Uber Cup; a women's international team badminton championship promoted by Betty Uber. Eleven nations took part competing first (as in Thomas Cup competition) within zones to qualify for interzone matches. The fi ...

and was one of the mixed doubles winners at the 1963 Canadian Open. When Lovett continued to play badminton from the 1970s to 1990s, she won championships in the seniors and masters division, which included multiple doubles and mixed doubles masters titles held by

Badminton Canada Badminton Canada is the national governing body for the sport of badminton in Canada. The association is composed of 13 member associations representing all of the provinces and territories of Canada. History The association was founded as Cana ...

. Outside of badminton, Lovett was a tennis player during her badminton career and won her first tennis championship at a 1934 Regina event. After she had moved to Vancouver, Lovett held sixteen Vancouver Lawn Tennis Club championships between 1946 and 1967. During this time period, she won the 1952 Western Canada Grass Court Championships in mixed doubles and the 1966 Canadian Senior Ladies Tennis championship in singles competition.

Awards and honors

Lovett was inducted into the

in 1972. In provincial hall of fames, she was named to the

in 1975 and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1977.

Death

Lovett died on 26 November 2005 in Vancouver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovett, Claire 1910 births 2005 deaths Canadian female badminton players Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan Date of birth missing