Joanne Hewson Rees

Born and raised in Montréal, Joanne Hewson Rees began skiing on Mount Royal before progressing to her favorite mountain, Mont Tremblant where in 1939, her father Joseph Seldon Hewson, built Tremblant’s first chairlift.

Between 1948 and 1951, Joanne became an outstanding Alpine racer while attending McGill University. In 1952, she was selected as one of four original women to represent Canada at the Olympics in Oslo, Norway. She made history by achieving the best results in downhill and slalom for a Canadian at that time. Teammates included Lucile Wheeler, Rhoda Wurtele and Rosemarie Schutz. Later that season, Joanne placed 3^rd in the Arlberg Kandahar downhill.

In 1953, Joanne joined the Mont Tremblant Ski School and embraced the opportunity to be coached by Ernie McCulloch and continue racing. She became one of the first two women to be certified by the Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance.

Joanne achieved notable success during her competitive career. In 1953, she won both the Canadian Open Downhill and the Quebec Kandahar. She was selected for the 1954 FIS World Championships in Are, Sweden, where she trained with Pepi Salvenmoser, who later became Canadian team coach. Unfortunately, while training in Kitzbuhel, an accident brought an end to her racing career.

Upon her retirement, Joanne focused her competitive experience towards coaching. She became the highly respected first coach of the McGill Women’s Ski Team. She helped develop several female athletes who became National Team members. She also co-founded the Ski Jays, a ski club that provided ski lessons for teenage girls without skiing parents.

In 1996, Joanne Hewson Rees was inducted into the Laurentian Ski Hall of Fame. She will forever be remembered as a trailblazer for women in skiing and for her fearless nature, fierce determination and unrelenting spirit. She was a remarkable woman well ahead of her time.