This study attempted to discover and describe the cultural knowledge and understandings that Margaret (Bell) Gibson derived from her performance as a highly successful athlete in Canadian women's sport during the 1920s - 1930s. A case study approach was used that employed qualitative research strategies. This approach was considered appropriate as prominent issues in women's lives are subtle and context-bound. A series of five informal interviews was conducted with Bell, using an ethnographic approach developed by Spradley (1979). Each interview was recorded and transcribed into text. The text was then validated by Bell, prior to analysis by the researcher. An inductive-reflexive analysis of the text was employed, as much of the information emerged as Bell recalled her experiences in sport. This involved the use of an evolving methodology, which identified classifications of knowledge and structures of thought as they were revealed. Bell's narrative was contextually-grounded in a review of Canadian history from 1920 to 1938, as this seemed to connect Bell's experience as a sportswoman to the broader socio-historical milieu. Findings were substantiated through a process of triangulated inquiry wherein verification was sought from newspaper clippings, official records, and historical documents. The analysis of Bell's narrative revealed a complex system of knowledge based on categories of information related to the structure of sport, social network, jumping, cultural activities, concepts of space and timing, and role definition. Documentation of the major sporting events Bell experienced, as an athlete, was also recorded. Implications for future research were discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

This thesis considers the perceived athleticism of synchronized swimming by looking at the implications of representations of Esther Williams and "pretty swimming" in popular culture, the allocation of space for women's sport in a local public swimming pool, and an inaugural championship event. Focusing on the first British Columbia (BC) synchronized swimming championships, which were held on February 5, 1949 at Crystal Pool in Vancouver, it shows that images of synchronized swimming as "entertainment" facilitated the development of a new arena of competition for BC women, but that this was accompanied, in effect, by a trivialization of the accomplishments of organizers and athletes. Chapter One examines the construction of a "global" mermaid by analysing Esther Williams' first film, Bathing Beauty (1944), as a typical example of the Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer (MGM) aquamusical, a genre that produced images of synchronized swimming as frivolous entertainment. Chapter Two considers how these sorts of images affected the allocation of physical space at Crystal Pool, Vancouver's only indoor public swimming pool at the time, for women's sport. Chapter Three introduces two women who were involved in the 1949 BC synchronized swimming championships: May Brown, who at the time was a University of British Columbia (UBC) Physical Education instructor and synchronized swimming judge, and Maureen Bray (Hibberson), a UBC student who won the individual championship event. Their recollections provide an important corrective to the "pretty swimming" stereotype by demonstrating that these women used the cultural and physical space allotted to them to create a new sport for local women. The final chapter also includes episodes from my personal experiences as a synchronized swimmer in BC during the 1980s to underscore the complicated and conflicted heritage for synchronized swimmers in BC represented by the legacy of the 1949 championships and the MGM aquamusical.

This thesis considers the perceived athleticism of synchronized swimming by looking at the implications of representations of Esther Williams and "pretty swimming" in popular culture, the allocation of space for women's sport in a local public swimming pool, and an inaugural championship event. Focusing on the first British Columbia (BC) synchronized swimming championships, which were held on February 5, 1949 at Crystal Pool in Vancouver, it shows that images of synchronized swimming as "entertainment" facilitated the development of a new arena of competition for BC women, but that this was accompanied, in effect, by a trivialization of the accomplishments of organizers and athletes. Chapter One examines the construction of a "global" mermaid by analysing Esther Williams' first film, Bathing Beauty (1944), as a typical example of the Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer (MGM) aquamusical, a genre that produced images of synchronized swimming as frivolous entertainment. Chapter Two considers how these sorts of images affected the allocation of physical space at Crystal Pool, Vancouver's only indoor public swimming pool at the time, for women's sport. Chapter Three introduces two women who were involved in the 1949 BC synchronized swimming championships: May Brown, who at the time was a University of British Columbia (UBC) Physical Education instructor and synchronized swimming judge, and Maureen Bray (Hibberson), a UBC student who won the individual championship event. Their recollections provide an important corrective to the "pretty swimming" stereotype by demonstrating that these women used the cultural and physical space allotted to them to create a new sport for local women. The final chapter also includes episodes from my personal experiences as a synchronized swimmer in BC during the 1980s to underscore the complicated and conflicted heritage for synchronized swimmers in BC represented by the legacy of the 1949 championships and the MGM aquamusical. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate