When Barbara laced on her first pair of skates at the Port Arthur Figure Skating Club at the age of 10 it marked the beginning of what would amount to over 40 years of involvement in the sport as both an athlete and a builder.

From the very beginning this versatile athlete dominated skating at the local level starting with the 1947-48 Ladies Novice title. She went on to claim the Earl Beebe Trophy for Senior Ladies Free Skating a total of 5 times from 1951-55, the McLaughlin Cup for Women's School Figures from 1952-55 and was a three-time winner in Senior Pairs.

In 1951, at the age of 13, Barbara entered the Western Canada Figure Skating Championships in Saskatoon. Although never having had experience in a competition of such magnitude, Barbara beat out fourteen other skaters to claim the Novice Ladies crown. In 1954, Barbara and Marilee McNeill earned runner-up honours in the Senior Similar Pairs event at the Western Canada Championships. In 1955 she added the Northern Ontario and Quebec Senior Ladies Championship title to her list of accomplishments.

In 1956 not only did Barbara have the honour of competing in the Junior Canadian Figure Skating Championships, she also passed her CFSA Eighth Test to claim the coveted Gold Medal, emblematic of the highest level attained by a Canadian skater.

Serving as a Club Professional since the 1960s Barbara has passed along her talents to thousands of young skaters in Thunder Bay and throughout northwestern Ontario.

Inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, September 26th, 1992