Patricia (Pat) Ramage C.M.

Patricia (Pat) Ramage dedicated her life selflessly to the support of amateur sport—alpine and nordic skiing in particular—and to the revitalization of biathlon in Canada. Her work as a volunteer builder helped create the strong foundation needed to support and nurture both present and future athletes.

In 1989, she was awarded the Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest honour. Pat devoted her time to an extraordinary range of roles, all focused on advancing the sport of skiing. She served as an administrator, technical advisor, team manager and major event organizer at both national and international levels.

In 1961, she became the first Canadian appointed to a FIS committee. Three years later, she broke another barrier as the first Canadian named to a jury at the Olympic Winter Games, in Innsbruck in 1964. In recognition of her efforts, the Canadian Ski Association named her its first honourary life member in 1976.

In December 1977, Pat was approached by the Canadian council member for the Union of Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon—then the sport’s international governing body—to organize and coordinate a world championship biathlon team for Canada. In just six years, and through countless volunteer hours, she almost single-handedly built a viable national organization that would become known as Biathlon Canada.

Pat also served as chair of Biathlon Canada, held various roles with the Canadian Olympic Association from 1953 to 1976, and contributed to the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, the Sports Federation of Canada, Canadian Modern Pentathlon, and for many years, the Canadian Ski Association.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• 1954 – Manager, Canada’s ski teams, World Ski Championships, Are and Falun, Sweden

• 1956 – Manager, Canada’s ski teams, Olympic Winter Games, Cortina, Italy

• 1958 – Manager, Canadian alpine team, World Ski Championships, Bad Gastein, Austria

• 1961 – Canadian representative, World Ski Congress, Madrid, Spain

• 1963 – Canadian representative, World Ski Congress, Athens, Greece

• 1965 – Manager, Canadian women’s alpine team, Bad Gastein, Austria; Canadian representative, World Ski Congress, Mamaia, Romania

• 1966 – Manager, Canadian women’s alpine team, St-Gervais, France; FIS jury member, World Ski Championships, Portillo, Chile; FIS jury member, World Cup races, Heavenly Valley, California, United States

• 1967 – Manager, Canadian women’s alpine team in Europe; Canadian representative, World Ski Congress, Beirut, Lebanon; FIS technical delegate, World Cup races, Maribor, Yugoslavia

• 1968 – Manager, Canadian women’s alpine team in Europe; Manager, all Canadian Olympic teams, Grenoble, France; FIS jury member, Olympic Winter Games, Grenoble, France; FIS technical delegate, World Cup races, Bad Gastein, Austria, and Oslo, Norway; FIS jury member, World Cup races, Heavenly Valley, California, United States

• 1969 – FIS technical delegate, World Cup races, Schruns, Austria; Canadian representative, World Ski Congress, Barcelona, Spain

• 1970 – FIS jury member, World Ski Championships, Val Gardena, Italy

• 1971 – FIS technical delegate, World Cup races, Pra-Loup and St-Gervais, France, and Mürren, Switzerland; FIS jury member, World Cup races, Waterville, New Hampshire, United States; Canadian representative, World Ski Congress, Opatija, Yugoslavia

• 1972 – FIS jury member, World Cup races, Maine, United States

• 1973 – FIS technical delegate, U.S. national championships; Canadian representative, World Ski Congress, Cyprus

AWARDS

• 1965 – Canadian Ski Association Merit Award

• 1967 – Centennial Medal

• 1968 – Province of Ontario Athletic Merit Award

• 1970 – Finalist, Air Canada Sport Executive Award

• 1978 – Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal

• 1984 – Inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (Builders’ Category)

Note: The information gathered in this biography was compiled from a number of sources; it may not be inclusive of all accomplishments. Copyright © Canadian Ski Hall of Fame & Museum. For personal and/or educational use only. All rights reserved.