Francis Maie deWitt
Maie Shines in Swimming, Tennis
Maie deWitt participated in sport at a time when women typically received little recognition for such skills. At Wolfville High School she played basketball and began playing tennis competitively. At Acadia, she was on the varsity tennis team for 4 years and received her “A” in tennis. She was a member of the Tumbler’s Club, played basketball in intermural competition and was on the swimming team. During a 1929 meet at Acadia she won the 20 yard back stroke and placed in a number of other events.
It was tennis, however, where she had the longest participation and the greatest success. She actively participated in provincial tennis tournaments in the second half of the 1920s and early 1930s. In 1929, she lost in the final round of women’s singles. In the summer of 1931, the Wolfville Lawn Tennis Club hosted and participated in a number of tournaments, Maie deWitt won a number of singles matches for the club. After graduation in 1931, she became a dietician and teacher, and, after several years working in Nova Scotia, moved to Quebec.
