Beckie Scott

BECKIE SCOTT BIOGRAPHY

Three-time Olympian Beckie Scott retired in 2006, capping nearly two decades of competitive cross-country ski racing as Canada’s most successful cross-country skier and one of the world’s best all-around cross-country racers. Beckie Scott was born in Vegreville, Alberta, and grew up in Vermilion, Alberta. Her introduction to the world of skiing was through her parents who founded the Vermilion Nordic Ski Club. The family’s home bordered Vermilion Provincial Park, which meant they could ski out the back door, making it easy for young Beckie to begin cross-country skiing, also known as Nordic skiing, at the age of seven..

Beckie Scott was a trailblazer for Nordic sports in Canada from the moment Beckie Scott joined the country’s national program in 1994. Her 22 career starts at the FIS World Championships from 1994 to 2006, Scott’s top two results were just off the podium, finishing fourth in 2003 (1.5 km sprint) and 2005 (2×7.5km pursuit). She had a total of 15 career World Cup podiums, nine of which were in her final season and included four victories. She was the face of the woman’s Canadian Cross Country National Ski Team racing on the World Cup Circuit around the world which included World Championships every two years.

Beckie Scott also represented Canada at three Winter Olympic Games: Nagano in 1998, Salt Lake City in 2002, and Turin in 2006. By the time she retired in 2006, Beckie had re-written the Canadian record books and was one of the world’s best all-round cross-country ski racers. Beckie Scott re-wrote the Canadian record books, winning two Olympic medals – a gold medal in the five-kilometre pursuit race at the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games and a silver medal with teammate Sara Renner in the team sprint event at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

Always a believer in clean sport and fair play, Beckie became an ardent anti-doping advocate as the result of a race at the 2002 Olympics. Beckie finished third behind two Russian skiers who were subsequently disqualified for using banned performance-enhancing drugs. Almost two and a half years after the Olympics ended, her bronze medal was first upgraded to silver, then in 2004, became the first Canadian and first North American woman to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. Perhaps more importantly, Beckie has stood courageously and argued passionately on behalf of clean, drug-free athletic competition, and against those nations and their athletes who cheat. Her actions are hailed worldwide for being a consistent voice speaking out against doping in sport.

Scott’s pursuit of justice around her 2002 Olympic gold medal was a triumph for athletes’ rights and fair play. She is also a tireless advocate for drug-free sport, and is currently Canada’s representative on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s newly formed Athlete Committee. During the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, Scott’s peers elected her to the IOC Athletes’ Commission for an eight-year term. She also serves on the board of directors for the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and the Trans-Canada trail. Having recently completed an 8-year term with the International Olympic Committee, Beckie Scott remains a tireless advocate for ethical, drug-free sport.

When the perspective of clean athletes is sought on the issue, the world turns to Beckie as the acknowledged authority on ethical sports and anti-doping policies. Scott joined the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) athlete committee in 2005 and quickly became an influential lobbyist. In 2012, Beckie represented  Canada as a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Executive Board, and was appointed Chair of the World Anti-doping Agency’s Athlete Committee, though she resigned from the compliance and review committee in 2018 over the reinstatement of Russia’s anti-doping agency (RUSADA). She is a frequent presenter and speaker at national and global conferences and audiences on the issues and challenges around clean, fair sport with integrity.

Beckie is the founder of Spirit North, an organization working to improve the physical and mental wellness of Indigenous children and youth through the transformative power of sport and play. Now working across 6 provinces, and reaching over 6,000 Indigenous children and youth annually, Spirit North is recognized as one of Canada’s leading sport-for-social-development organizations. Beckie also dabbles in freelance writing and has contributed to the Globe and Mail, and CBC online. She can also be seen as a broadcast analyst for CBC and CTV Sports Winter Olympic Coverage and was recently awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Alberta.

Beckie Scott is a Member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, member of the Alberta Order of Excellence. She is a recipient of the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Award and She has been inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and in 2018 became an Officer of the Order of Canada, the third-highest level of the Order. The Canadian Association for Advancing Women in Sport named Beckie Scott as one of Canada’s most influential Women in Sport in 2012. A passionate volunteer, Scott donated her time to many charities including UNICEF and Right to Play. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Waterloo. Settling in Canmore, Alberta, Scott married American cross-country skier and three-time Olympian Justin Wadsworth (who became the head coach of the Canadian team) and had two children.