Nancy Catherine Greene Raine (born May 11, 1943) is a former Canadian Senator for

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, ...

and an Olympian alpine skier voted as Canada's Female Athlete of the 20th Century. She was born in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Greene Raine won the giant slalom in Grenoble, France, in the 1968 Winter Olympics. After being appointed to the Senate in 2009, Greene Raine retired on May 11, 2018, when she reached the mandatory retirement age of 75. She is the mother of retired alpine skier

Willy Raine Willy Raine (born 5 January 1970 in Whistler, British Columbia) is a retired Canadian alpine skier who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics. He is a retired technical ski coach for Alpine Canada. he currently coaches vernon ski club and owns sundi ...

Biography

Greene was born on May 11, 1943, in

. She moved with her family to Rossland,

, before she was three years of age. Rossland is a mountainous area and the site of the first ski competition ever held in Canada in 1897. Greene began schussing at a young age and while in high school she competed in the Canadian Junior Championships. She would go on to win 14 World Cup victories by 1968.

Career

Nicknamed "Tiger" because of her "go for it" attitude and her aggressive style of skiing, she won the Canadian ski championship nine times and the United States championship three times. In 1967, Greene broke the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an domination of the sport, winning the inaugural World Cup. That year she won seven of 16 events, taking the over-all title with four

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

victories plus two in

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

and one in

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

. Her accomplishment earned her Canadian "Athlete of the Year" honours. In 1968 she won the World Cup title again plus, at that year's Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France, she captured a gold medal in the giant slalom, by one of the largest margins in Olympic history, and a silver medal in the slalom. For the second time, she was named Canada's "Athlete of the Year". Following her retirement from competition, she made a major contribution to Canadian sport by accepting an appointment to the federal government's "Task Force on Sport For Canadians". During this period Greene also did promotional work for various companies including Rossignol, Pontiac, and Mars Inc. In a 1970s television commercial for the latter product, she was seen to discard the wrapper onto a ski slope in the course of consuming the product. This minor act, coming at a time of nascent environmental sentiment, appears to have entered the public memory as references to it have dogged her over the years. Married with twin boys, Greene and her husband Al Raine were instrumental in the early development of the

Whistler-Blackcomb Resort Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America and has the greatest uphill lift capacity. It features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between ...

in Whistler, British Columbia, and then later in the development and promotion of skiing at Sun Peaks Resort, just north of

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

. The expansion of the resort was not without controversy as some Native groups opposed the move, and protesters occupying the new site were removed by arrest under a provincial injunction. Greene is the director of skiing at

Sun Peaks Resort Sun Peaks Resort is an alpine ski resort located in Sun Peaks, British Columbia, Canada, northeast of Kamloops. The summit of the ski area is at an elevation of , with an vertical rise from the base of the peak. The resort has of skiable te ...

and skis almost every day. She and her husband built Nancy Greene's Cahilty Lodge, where they make their home. Dedicated to the promotion of her sport for more than 30 years, the Nancy Greene Ski League has been an important entry-level race program for young children. Over the years, Greene has been the recipient of numerous awards including her country's highest civilian honour, the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. She has been honoured with the naming of "Nancy Greene Provincial Park" and "Nancy Greene Lake" in the

Monashee Mountains The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The highes ...

of British Columbia's Kootenay region. A stretch of Capilano Road in North Vancouver was renamed Nancy Greene Way. In 1999, her name was engraved in Canada's Walk of Fame and she was voted Canada's female athlete of the century in a survey of newspaper editors and broadcasters conducted by The Canadian Press and Broadcast News. In 1990, Greene and husband Al Raine were encouraged by the BC provincial government to pursue the development of a new ski resort in the Melvin Creek Valley, between Mount Currie and Lillooet, both predominantly Native communities. Perhaps coincidentally, the rough road accessing the area was paved and upgraded at this time by the government as an extension to highway 99, the main road from Vancouver to Pemberton. Despite opposition from Native groups, backcountry recreationists, biologists, and environmental organizations, the project received approval from BC's Environmental Assessment Office in 2000, but has been stalled in a series of protests and blockades since. In 1993, Greene announced her support for the right-wing Reform Party of Canada. In April 2005, Greene was named chancellor of Thompson Rivers University. In 2006, Greene-Raine contributed a small part of one of her Olympic competition skis to the

Six String Nation Six String Nation is public art and history project conceived by Jowi Taylor and centred around a steel-string acoustic guitar built from a variety of artifacts collected by Taylor representing diverse cultures, communities, characters and eve ...

project. Part of that material now serves as the second reinforcing strip on the interior of '' Voyageur'', the guitar at the heart of the project. On January 2, 2009, Greene took her seat as a Conservative member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

. After her 75th birthday, Greene retired as a senator. She was named Olympic Ambassador for the 2010 Vancouver games. On February 12, 2010, Greene lit the Vancouver Olympic cauldron along with fellow Canadian sports icons

Steve Nash Stephen John Nash (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, ...

Rick Hansen Richard Marvin Hansen (born August 26, 1957) is a Canadian track and field athlete (Paralympic Games), activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. Following a pickup truck crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord ...

, Catriona Le May Doan, and

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

Major awards

* National ski team member, 1959 to 1968 * Six-time

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

champion * Three-time

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

champion * World championship team member, 1962, 1966 * World Cup women's champion 1967, 1968 *

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

team member, 1960, 1964, 1968 *

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

gold medal (Giant slalom) and silver medal (slalom) * Coach of the Canadian National Ski Team, 1968 to 1973 * Officer of the Order of Canada (Canada’s highest civilian honour) *

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

(British Columbia's highest citizen award) * Order of the Dogwood (British Columbia's highest civilian award) *

Lou Marsh Trophy The Northern Star Award, formerly known as the Lou Marsh Trophy, the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, wit ...

as Canada's Outstanding Athlete of the Year, 1967, 1968 *

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...

woman of 1968 *

British Columbia 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 ...

* Canadian Sports Hall of Fame *

United States National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a t ...

* Canada's Walk of Fame * Canada's Female Athlete of the 20th Century * Olympic torch relay 2010, Kamloops BC * Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Olympic results

World championship results

From

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

through

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).
Normally held in February, the championships were in August in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

References

External links

* * *
Ski Queen Nancy Greene
at CBC Digital Archives

at the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene Raine, Nancy 1943 births Living people Canadian female alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1964 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1968 Winter Olympics Lou Marsh Trophy winners Members of the Order of British Columbia Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Ottawa Canadian university and college chancellors Sportspeople from British Columbia People from Rossland, British Columbia Skiers from Ottawa Canadian senators from British Columbia Conservative Party of Canada senators Women members of the Senate of Canada Women in British Columbia politics FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Canadian women academics Women academic administrators Olympic cauldron lighters Olympic silver medalists for Canada 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Canadian academic administrators