A UBC coach, teacher and supporter of athletics, May was an advocate and force in UBC sports with women's field hockey and synchronized swimming areas that most felt her influence. In the later decades, through her career as a politician, she found time to serve Athletics in an advisory capacity. Among her honours include the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada.
May Brown's contributions to our community have been so diverse and extensive that one would consider her as having several careers in one. She taught and coached at UBC, co-founded and directed a boy's camp, raised a family, served as a commissioner and chairman of the Vancouver Park Board, gained a reputation as a naturalist, advocated and taught physical fitness and served the City of Vancouver as a councillor.
Educated in British Columbia, May went to Montreal where, in 1947, she received her B.Sc. degree in Physical Education at McGill. Later in '47 she returned to Vancouver to become a faculty member at UBC's newly formed School of Physical Education and Recreation (now Kinesiology) where she taught until 1955.
During these eight years on campus she also served a head coach of the UBC women's Varsity field hockey team. Although her primary responsibility was to teach, she was very successful as a coach. One of her former players stated, "We all responded to her – you can't say enough about her." Her teams were perennial winners of the U.S. Pacific Northwest tournament and twice won the prestigious City League title. It can be said she was the one who began UBC's field hockey dynasty, so successfully continued in later years by 'Bim' Schrodt, Gail Wilson and Hash Kanjee.
More than the victories, it was May's influence on her players that highlighted her eight years as coach. One such player, 'Bim' Schrodt, was encouraged by Brown to stay with the game of field hockey, and it would be Schrodt who would later succeed her mentor as coach of the UBC team and ultimately become a Hall of Famer as a Builder.
Field hockey standout Charlotte Warren was also a protégé of May Brown. She felt her coach instilled the qualities of sportsmanship and participation into her players. "I would play for her anywhere, anytime" states Charlotte. "Her great strength was her ability to encourage the students to help themselves." Brown was able to have her players believe they could "reach for the stars" yet realize they had to do the necessary work in order for their goal to be achieved.
May Brown herself felt her strength as a coach was "... building a great team spirit and loyalty to the group." She was also a role model for her young students and players. "She was just a great lady" says former player Barb Harris. "We wanted to win for May... if she'd suggested we try something, we would try like mad. She earned our respect. I can't think of a better word to describe May than 'fair!' If you travelled with the team, you got to play."
May left UBC in 1955 just prior to the birth of her second child. She returned however in 1961 to complete her work on her Masters degree in Physical Education. At this time, she and her husband Lorne Brown were interested in, and involved with, education and the outdoors and in 1961 founded Camp Deka boy's camp in B.C.'s interior, a camp they directed for the next fifteen years.
During these and subsequent years, May's expertise and experience created opportunities for her to be involved in several prestigious administrative positions. These included the Board of Directors of the Y.W.C.A., President of the Canadian Camping Association, Member of the National Advisory Council of Fitness and Amateur Sport, Board of Directors of Sport B.C. and the Board of Directors of the Vancouver Community Arts Council.
In addition, she was a pioneer in the promotion and organization of synchronized swimming in B.C., influencing and coaching some of UBC's young swimmers during the 1950s and '60s including future UBC Hall of Famer, Maureen Bray Hibberson.
In the 1970s, May's career took a slightly different direction. From 1973 to 1976 she was an elected park commissioner on the Vancouver Park Board, serving as the Board's chair in 1975 and '76. In 1977 and for the next ten years Brown was an elected councillor with the City of Vancouver.
The spectrum of May Brown's contribution to the community, starting with her days at UBC, has been acknowledged and honored by many, including the UBC Alumni Association, the Canadian Association of Physical Education and Recreation, Canadian Camping Association, B.C. Recreation Society, the B.C. Federation of Naturalists and the BC Sports Hall of Fame. She has also been the recipient of Sport B.C.'s Daryl Thompson Award, the Order of British Columbia, the 1986 Y.W.C.A. Woman of Distinction Award and the Order of Canada.
In 1999, the Park Board announced that a park at the south end of Vancouver's Hornby Street would be named Lorne and May Brown Park.
May maintained her ties with UBC athletics as for several years up until 1990 she served as a member of the UBC Athletic Council and more recently served as a member of the UBC Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee all the while a supporter of the UBC Big Block Club and UBC women's field hockey.
As UBC Associate Professor emeritus Dr. 'Bim' Schrodt said when asked about her former UBC teacher and coach, "May Brown was wonderful! The sun rose and set on her."
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
