Joanne McDougall naturally got involved in skiing at an early age due to her parents’ ownership of Molony’s, a historical Melbourne retail business initially specialised in shoemaking and then expanded to cover ski and wintersports  with a second location in Falls Creek established in 1960. At the age of five Joanne was already competing in races at Falls Creek and later graduated to the Victorian Junior Championships.

Beside running the Molony’s business, Joanne’s family was deeply involved in winter sports. Her father Geoff Henke AO is a former National ice-hockey team member whose long career in sports administration was pivotal for the development of Australian winter sports. A six-time Chef de Mission of the Australian Winter Olympic delegation from 1976 to 1994 and a lifetime member of the International Ski Federation (FIS), Henke is also the inaugural chairman of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia. Joanne’s mother Gweneth is an Olympian figure skater and represented Australia at the 1952 Oslo Olympic Winter Games.

The coaching and training opportunities offered to Joanne as a young child were fundamental for her success, along with her parents’ support. Joanne was a member of the Australian Alpine Club and the Ski Club of Victoria, and was coached by Sigi Haberzettl, who also coached Malcolm Milne and is credited for developing her skiing. But Joanne was also a dedicated athlete who in her youth did not neglect physical training and regularly practised four to six hours on the snow. In the lead up to her Olympic debut Joanne has several trips overseas with the Australian team, training at Innsbruck and Val d’Isere with the French teams.

At the 1976 Innsbruck Olympic Winter Games she competed in the Downhill, Giant Slalom and Slalom events, scoring a 36th place in the Downhill as her best result. Besides becoming a Winter Olympian, Joanne stated that winning the Thredbo International Downhill was the favourite moment of her career.  

After retiring from ski racing, Joanne continued her involvement in the ski industry through the family business. Along with her husband Doug and her children Lucy and EJ, they still run Molony’s in South Yarra. Joanne is also a director of Snow Australia.