Induction Policy

HONOURED MEMBER INDUCTION POLICY

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Updated September 2022

HONOURED MEMBER INDUCTION POLICY

INDEX

  1. Selection Committee
  2. Definition of Sport
    1. Sport Canada definition
    2. Encyclopedia of World Sport definition
  3. Definition of Athlete
  4. Definition of Builder
  5. Criteria for Induction 
    1. Connection to Cobourg & District
    2. Teams
    3. Local Athletes & Builders
    4. Number of Inductees
    5. Athletes
    6. Reason for Nomination
    7. Documentary Evidence
    8. Eligibility
    9. Builders
    10. Eligibility
    11. Deceased Candidates
  6. Path to Election 
    1. Nominations
    2. Applications on File
    3. Fact Sheet
    4. Selection Committee receive nominations
    5. Selection Committee meetings
    6. Selection committee conflict guidelines
    7. Board approval of Selection Committee proposals
    8. Confidentiality
  7. Induction
  8. Awards

 

  1. SELECTION COMMITTEE
  2.  
    1. The Cobourg and District Sports Hall of Fame (CDSHF) will create a committee called the “Selection Committee” (SC). It will be responsible for receiving applications for nominations of candidates for induction to the CDSHF; for reviewing the worthiness of the applications and for selecting those candidates it wishes to recommend to the Board for induction.
  3.  
    1. The SC shall be made up of a minimum of seven and a maximum of nine community individuals who are knowledgeable of sports but not necessarily representative of a particular sport. A Director of the Board will also be a non-voting member and will serve as a liaison to the Board in order to ensure the expectation of the Board for a fair and open process. The liaison provides communication between the Committee and the Board but does not take any direction from the Board in terms of the selection of candidates
  4.  
    1. The names of the members of the SC are not made public in order to avoid undo pressure from individuals and groups
  5.  
    1. Appointments to the SC remain in effect at the pleasure of the Board or until the member requests to leave.
  6.  
    1. To encourage a renewal process and maintain a healthy experience level within the committee, a retention policy similar to that used by the CDSHF Board will be used. The effect shall be that one-third (1/3) of the members shall be appointed for a 3-year term, one-third of the members shall be appointed for a 2-year term and one-third of the members shall be appointed for a 1-year term. Thereafter, except where an appointment is made to fill the unexpired portion of a term, committee members whose term has expired may be re-appointed for a further three-year (3) term.

New committee members must serve a 1-year initiation prior to being appointed to a term.

The term of appointment commences each year on September 1.

Committee members should provide a willingness for a further appointment by March 31.

The CDSHF Board will strive to achieve gender equity among SC members.

 

  1. DEFINITION OF SPORT FOR CDSHF PURPOSES
  2.  
    1. The Sport Canada definition of sport defined by the four contexts identified in the Canadian Sport Policy (2012):
  3.  
    1.  
      1. Introduction to sport – Acquiring the fundamental skills, knowledge and attitudes to participate in organized and unorganized sport
      2. Recreational sport – Participating in sport for fun, health, social interaction and relaxation
      3. Competitive sport – The opportunity to systematically improve and measure performance against others in competition
      4. High performance sport – Participating at the highest levels of international competition
  4.  
    1. When collating all the world sports for the publication 'Encyclopedia of World Sport - from ancient times to the present' (Oxford University Press, 1999), the editors based their inclusion criteria on the following definition. An activity can be considered a sport if it involves ...
      1. competition between two or more individuals or teams
      2. rules of play that allow a winner to be determined
      3. a primary goal of victory
      4. victory determined by the relative physical ability of the competitors, although strategy and chance may also play a role.
  5.  
    1. In the event that the Selection Committee receives an Application for Induction in a sport that has not been accepted by the CDSHF and before any discussion regarding the candidate’s qualifications, the matter shall be referred to the Chair of the CDSHF who then must bring the matter to the Board to decide whether the sport is accepted. The matter may be referred to an Ad Hoc Committee for further study before bringing the matter to the Board. In either case acceptance of the sport would require two thirds (2/3) majority of Board members present, providing a quorum is in attendance

 

  1. DEFINITION OF ATHLETE FOR CDSHF PURPOSES
  2.  
    1. Anyone born in the Town of Cobourg and District (District is defined as the Townships of Hamilton, Alnwick/Haldimand and Cramahe and Alderville First Nation) who spends their formative years here and continues to reside therein.
  3.  
    1. Anyone not born here but who comes to Cobourg and District and resides over an extensive period of time and proves their worth in the athletic sense: said athlete may be considered even if they move away. 
  4.  
    1. Anyone in (a) or (b) who, after a local amateur career, moves into amateur, university or professional sports elsewhere and who is deemed worthy of inclusion.

 

  1. DEFINITION OF BUILDER FOR CDSHF PUPOSES
  2.  
    1. Anyone born in the Town of Cobourg and District (District is defined as the Townships of Hamilton, Alnwick Haldimand and Cramahe and Alderville First Nation) who spends their formative years here and continues to reside therein.
  3.  
    1. Anyone not born here but who comes to Cobourg and District and resides over an extensive period of time and proves their worth in the athletic sense: said builder may be considered even if they move away. 
  4.  
    1. Anyone in (a) or (b) who, after a local amateur career, moves into amateur, university or professional sports elsewhere and who is deemed worthy of inclusion.
  5.  
    1. Builder candidates need not be involved in an active on-the-field role.

 

  1. CRITERIA FOR INDUCTION
  2.  
    1. Athletes and Builders of sport must have a direct connection to the Town of Cobourg and District and its sports organizations;
  3.  
    1. The CDSHF does not elect Teams to the Hall. It does have other means to recognize the accomplishments of successful Teams.
  4.  
    1. The CDSHF recognizes the contribution of grass roots Athletes and Builders. Those Athletes and Builders who have excelled and reached the highest levels may be recognized but may not be selected first over a candidate from the grassroot level. There will be an attempt to provide balance. As a community Hall of Fame the CDSHF must reflect the contributions of local Athletes and Builders.
  5.  
    1. The number of inductees to be elected annually shall be determined each year by the Board of Directors. The number of inductees recommended to the Selection Committee is six. That total will include no more than three builders, no more than three deceased and may include one veteran of seventy-five years or older. The Selection Committee may recommend only one builder and no deceased persons or may request an additional deceased person if deemed important in any given year. The CDSHF does recommend more weight to the selection of athletes versus builders. In so doing they direct the Selection Committee to be strategic in the selection of candidates in order to ensure fair distribution across all sports, genders and eras.
  6.  
    1. ATHLETES to be considered for admission to the CDSHF must have been outstanding in their athletic field of endeavour or have achieved better than average proficiency in a number of sports, even if not reaching the absolute top level in any one. The label “outstanding” must be applicable over an extended period of time (5 years), in competition against peer athletes.
  7.  
    1. Competition involves competing at local levels and going on to district, provincial and national events, as well as those who enter professional sports. Distinction should be made in the nomination papers as to the reason for the nomination. An athlete who is prominent locally over a period of time (5 years) should not necessarily be downgraded if they have limited success on a higher level or in the professional ranks. Conversely, an athlete who has limited success locally, etc., should not be downgraded if they achieve top proficiency in a wider area, whether this be amateur or professional. 
  8.  
    1. The criteria must necessarily be broad however, documentary evidence should be available, plus views of their contemporaries wherever possible.
  9.  
    1. Any Athletes nominated for induction, must be over the age of thirty-five (35) and must have been retired from activities on the field of sport(s) for which they are nominated, for a period of not less than three (3) years, dating from the end of the season of the sport(s) concerned. An athlete may be nominated with respect to the above if they have reached the age of fifty (50) years.
  10.  
    1. BUILDERS, include officials, referees, umpires, sponsors, executives, journalists, trainers, coaches, promotors and administrators. This would include those whose work for sport over an extended period of time has been outstanding, whether it be in organization of leagues and facilities; achieving a higher degree of success in coaching teams and/or individuals; keeping a league or team active; providing services of a consistently high level. However, just because someone has worked many years for sport as a builder under these guidelines does not necessarily provide automatic entry in to the CDSHF. Work over a sustained period of time must have been of a consistently high level with respect to services provided or results achieved.
  11.  
    1. Builder nominees shall be eligible at any time. There shall be no waiting period in this category although the nominee may still be active in the role(s) for which they are being nominated.
  12.  
    1. Nomination of deceased candidates will be valued on an individual basis by the Selection Committee with respect to application or not of the three (3) year waiting period and according to the same guidelines as above.

 

  1. PATH TO ELECTION
  2.  
    1. Nominations – made by the general public are sent to the Secretary, along with supporting documentation. Upon receipt of a nomination application, the date of receipt is recorded by the Secretary.  A letter of receipt is sent to the nominator. The application is reviewed by the Secretary to determine if there is sufficient information to forward onto the Selection Committee. If there is insufficient information, a letter is sent to the nominator requesting more information to support the application.
  3.  
    1. A file is created for the applicant and is placed with all of the other nomination applications. Once a nomination application has been placed on file, there is no need to resubmit a new application. Updates can be submitted at any time as the CDSHF keeps all of the applications indefinitely.
  4.  
    1. The Secretary then creates a bio/resume fact sheet for all nomination applications on file. The files are retained within the Hall of Fame Office, but the Selection Committee can request more information at any time or request to see the entire file.
  5.  
    1. Selection Committee -The Secretary will turn over all documentation to the Selection Committee. For purposes of nomination, any member of the Board may make nominations, but these will be handled in the same manner as those made by the public. No nominee shall be rejected out of hand by the Selection Committee. Nominations shall be accepted and acknowledged by letter. The letter will be acknowledgement only and shall be non-committal in form.
  6.  
    1. The Selection Committee start their meetings about ten months in advance of the induction ceremony. They review all of the applications on file in order to consider every applicant and to review new information received. Agenda and updated information is provided before each meeting and minutes are kept. The Committee meets four or more times in order to arrive at inductee recommendations to the CDSHF Board by the end of Month four.
  7.  
    1. If any member of the Selection Committee or their immediate family is nominated for induction to the CDSHF they shall a) declare a conflict of interest b) withdraw from any discussion on the nominee and withdraw from the room and c) waive their rights to vote on the proposed nominee
  8.  
    1. Approval - Candidates recommended by the Selection Committee shall be considered individually by the Board before the end of Month five. Those receiving a majority of the votes of the Directors present and voting, shall be considered elected to Honoured Membership in the CDSHF. New inductees are then informed by the Chair of the Board of Directors that subject to a new favourable police check at the Board’s expense the Board will commence the processes related to the Induction Media Conference and then the Induction Dinner in month ten.
  9.  
    1. Confidentiality – All information and discussion shall be confidential.  Releasing the names of those elected shall be at a time and place determined by the Board.

 

  1. INDUCTION
  2.  
    1. Inductions shall be at an annual dinner, or at such other suitable occasions as may be decided by the Board. 

 

  1. AWARDS

Each living inductee and family and each deceased inductee, shall receive an acknowledgement to be determined, with the inductee’s name inscribed thereon. Commemoration by the CDSHF may be in the form of a plaque o

 

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