Nominate

Athletes: To be considered for admission to the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame must have been outstanding in their athletic field of endeavour, or must have achieved better than average proficiency in their sport, even if not reaching the absolute top level in any one, in competition against peer athletes. This involves those competing on a strictly local level and those going on to district, provincial, national and international events, as well as those who enter professional sports. Any athlete nominated to the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame must have been retired from active participation in the sport(s) for which he/she is nominated for a period of not less than five years (dating from the end of the season of the sports(s) for which he/she has been nominated). An active athlete may be eligible for nomination if she/he has reached the age of fifty years. Anyone who is not born here but who has been in Stouffville and proves his/her worth in an athletic sense. Said athlete may be considered even if he/she eventually moves away from the town. Anyone who has professionally represented Stouffville.

Teams: A “team” for Hall of Fame purposes is defined as “any group of two or more athletes engaged in the same sport who work together as a unit in that sport”. The team may be made up of members of the same sex or the sexes may be intermixed, providing the majority of the team were Stouffville residents and have reached the age of 14 years, at the time of their accomplishment. Any high school team must have won a minimum Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association (O.F.S.A.A.) championship to be considered and the accomplishment must be of significance for the school. Significance is defined as having extreme importance for the school. A figure skating pair, tennis doubles, curling team, cross country running team, etc. are defined as teams for our purposes. A boxer and his manager do not constitute a team.

Builders: Builders are defined as officials (referees, umpires), individual sponsors, executive members, trainers, coaches, broadcasters, etc., whose work for sport over an extended period of time has been outstanding, whether it be in the organization of leagues and facilities, achieving a high degree of success in coaching teams and/or individuals, keeping a league or team active, providing services at a consistently high level over an extended period of time, etc. However, just because an individual has worked many years for a sport as a builder does not necessarily mean eligibility for the Sports Hall of Fame. His/her work over that period of time, or over most of it, must have been of a consistently high level with regard to services provided or results achieved.

Anyone who is willing to invest the time and has knowledge of an athlete/ builder that fits the description above, as well at the SPHoF Selection Committee.

• Character letter(s) supporting the nomination. The letters could be submitted by teammates, fellow competitors, coaches, managers and or fans who watched the athlete or team compete or have knowledge of the builder’s contributions.
• Supporting materials that document the factual information in the Character letter
• Photographs: Individual head and shoulder photos and or action shots if possible for athletes and builders and Team photos for team nominations
• Potential sources of additional information about the nominee: websites, YouTube or other video links…

Everything should be submitted digitally along with the nomination form.

The Character Letter should include detailed information about the person’s contributions to sports in Stouffville and their achievements. Include awards won, medals received, records achieved, highest level achieved and honours won, etc. The Character Letter can be presented in narrative form for general descriptive information or in bulleted form for factual information about athletic achievements, records, awards, etc. Personal information about the individual is valuable in presenting a balanced view and should be included, but the selection decision is first and foremost a decision about athletic accomplishment who have brought distinction to sport in Stouffville, and those who have made a major contribution to the development and advancement to sport in Stouffville. 

The supporting documents should coincide with the information included in the character letter. Such as copies of newspaper articles, clippings, citations and or certificates that describe the nominees sporting achievements, records, awards and contributions. As well as any statistical data which outlines the nominee’s or team’s achievements which could include:  records set, highest levels of competition – district, provincial, national, international and championships won. The idea is to be completely accurate with information rather than presenting someone’s opinion that might be based on faulty memory.  Do not include items of value or materials that cannot easily be copied.  Additionally, several photos of the athlete/ builder throughout their development is a must. Photos should be sports-related and sent as a digital copy as originals will not be returned

Some possible sources:

• Factual information and photos available from family members of the individual; 
• Team records from teams on which the individual played, or records of accomplishment in non-team sports
• News clippings
• Information and records from professional organizations, often associated with a particular sport or league
• Information gathered from searching the world wide web
• High school athletic records
• University athletic participation information. Often a sports information officer at a university can be of great assistance
• Contact individuals who you know are in a position to know information, and also ask them for the names of others. You will create a network of people who know the individual and can provide leads to other valuable information. Don’t hesitate on a search like this to contact someone more than once.
• You may want to review some of the write-ups on the Hall of Fame website of those who have been inducted to gain historical information and perspective about hall members. It might be particularly good to do this for the sport of the person you are going to nominate.

The Hall of Fame honours those who have brought distinction to sport in Stoufville, and those who have made a major contribution to the development and advancement to sport in Stouffville, so the primary focus is to present information pertaining to achievements. However, a person with strong athletic achievements and is a person of quality, honesty, integrity, and compassion may be looked upon with greater interest than one with greater achievement and dubious personal background. Focus on accomplishments and outstanding contributions to the development and advancement of sports in Stoufville and beyond, but don’t avoid some additional information about the person.

All nominations shall be submitted to the Selection Committee and all eligible nominations submitted shall be considered in the year submitted and the four succeeding years. Nominees not elected to the Hall after being considered for five consecutive years, may be re-nominated.

All the active nominations are referred to the Selection Committee that meets annually. The recommendations of the Selection Committee must be approved by the SPHoF Board of Directors. Final decisions are announced following the Board’s approval. The goal is to induct up to fifteen (15) people each year, but this may vary depending on the number and quality of the nominations.

If selected, the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame will notify both the person selected and the person making the nomination. If not selected, only the person making the nomination will be notified.

Advising the person is your choice. You can make that decision yourself. In some cases, it may be wise not to tell them and in other instances, it may be advantageous to tell them, e.g. the individual might have information that could be helpful in preparing the nomination and you could miss that information. You make the call.

The induction ceremony will be held every year in the spring.

If you need more information or clarification please forward your questions to: info@wsshof.com