Honoured Members

Eligibility

To be eligible for election to the OSHOF, individuals must have distinguished themselves in their chosen sport(s), whether amateur or professional, in an individual competitive sport or as a member of a recognized team or teams in an officially sanctioned league. They must have either lived, been born in, competed in or enriched sport in Ontario.

To be considered for election, each candidate will be judged solely for their excellence of athletic prowess. However, off field contributions to society, or lack thereof, shall be taken into consideration.

Categories

There shall be two categories for election: Individual and Team Individuals: Athletes who have distinguished themselves at their sport(s) or as a member of a team (animals ie. horses are to be included as individuals) OR Builders who have contributed to sport as game officials, executives, administrators, members of the media or others deemed worthy of consideration by the selection committee. Team must have distinguished themselves in an officially sanctioned league or tournament.

Qualifications

Athletes must be retired as an active participant from their chosen sport(s) for a minimum of five years to be eligible for election. Builders must have been active in an officially sanctioned sport(s) for a minimum of twenty years and may be active or inactive when elected. (Extenuating circumstances may cause the selection committee to waive the foregoing qualifications.) A team shall have achieved an extraordinary level of accomplishment either in a single season or tournament; or if over a number of seasons or tournaments, maintain a minimum of 80 per cent of the original roster.

Selection Committee

The selection committee shall comprise of the Board of Directors, the Advisory Board, Honoured Members of the Hall, chosen members of the media who have a minimum of ten years sports experience and others equally qualified in sport knowledge and history.

Nominations

Members of the Selection Committee, as well as the general public may submit names of individuals and/or teams to the Board of Directors for consideration for inclusion on the ‘nomination list’. The nomination list for individuals shall maintain a maximum of fifty names and the nomination list for teams shall maintain a maximum of ten  names.

Those on the nomination list may remain on the list for a maximum of ten years and must be elected in that time frame or their names will be removed from the list. When removed, their names may be resubmitted following a three year wait period and will remain on the list for a further five years. Failure to be elected during this time will eliminate their names forever. (Subject to a special review by the Board of Directors.)

Voting Procedure

The nomination lists will be circulated to the screening committee (Board of Directors) with appropriate back up material. A final list of twenty five  individuals and three teams shall appear on the final ballot to be sent to the selection committee for voting purposes.

Elections will be by secret ballot, either at a pre-arranged Selection Committee meeting called by the Chairman, in accordance with the bylaws and constitution, or by mail, fax or e-mail, whichever is deemed appropriate annually by the Board of Directors.

The five individuals having the most “Yes” votes will be selected for induction.

A maximum of five individuals (unless there are ties) and one  team will be elected in any given year. The Board of Directors, acting as the Veteran’s Committee may elect one individual per year until further notice.

Conclusion

It is not mandatory that there be individuals or teams elected to the Hall of Fame on a yearly basis. The Hall of Fame must maintain the dignity and prestige by which it was originally conceived. Those that are chosen must be proud to be associated with, and be a ‘champion’ to, all that have gone before, as honoured members of The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.