Joan Russell Price

Athlete, Coach, Administrator, and Volunteer, Joan Russell Price has made an impact on the local sports community in many ways.  Above all, helping to establish equal opportunities for women to compete in sports has become a life-long passion for the trailblazing Russell Price.

Price originally came to Santa Barbara as a UCSB student and volleyball player in 1973.  The two-sport NCAA athlete didn’t get the chance to compete and track and field until her junior year when a women’s team was created.  She then scored the first points even for UCSB at Nationals with a fifth-place finish in the pentathlon.  In 1977, Russell Price was named the Athletic Round Table Athlete of the Year in both Women’s Volleyball and Women’s Track and Field.

Learning to excel in the heptathlon, track and field took Price all the way to the Olympic Trials in 1980 and 1984.  At the trials in 1984, Price placed fifth in heptathlon behind winner Jackie Joyner and was .01 seconds off setting an American record in the 800 of a heptathlon.

Price’s leadership in the local sports community is arguably more impressive than her athletic ability.  Price raised a life-saving $5 million for Elings Park as Executive Director and was instrumental in creating the annual Women in Sports Luncheon at Earl Warren Showgrounds.  Price was the first woman president in Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table history and has served as the Recreation Manager for the City of Santa Barbara and Executive Director of the Montecito YMCA.

Her volunteer work includes service to the Athletic Round Table, Semana Nautica, and the Rotary Club.