Gail Blake is an exceptional athlete and leader whose contributions to Carleton began in 1967 and continue today. From 1967 to 1970, Gail played on the Carleton women’s intercollegiate volleyball team. During this time, Gail acted as Team Captain for two years (1968/70) and led her team to the Ontario-Quebec Women’s Conference of Intercollegiate Athletics championship in 1970. They competed in the first ever Canadian Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics Union national volleyball tournament finishing sixth in the country. She also received numerous individual awards including the OQWCIA Most Valuable Player (1970 ), two-time winner of the Ruth Coe Memorial Award (1969/70 ), the Alumni Award for volleyball (1970), and Carleton’s three-bar plaque. After graduation, Gail joined the athletics staff at Carleton where she pursued her involvement with volleyball serving as the women’s coach from 1970 until 1977. Gail’s leadership role at Carleton expanded to the provincial (Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Association ) and national (CIAU ) level. She was President of the OWIAA (1979 and 1990/92), from whom she received an Honour Award for administrative service to the league. Gail continues to participate on and chair numerous committees for Carleton and CIAU.
