The Ultimate Hall of Fame Committee is comprised of the Vetting Subcommittee and Inaugural, Player, and Contributor members of the Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame inductees will retain the right to vote in the selection process for fifteen (15) years after induction.
The Vetting Subcommittee is comprised of the UPA Alumni Director (as Chair), three at-large Hall of Fame Committee members, and one member of the UPA Board of Directors.
There are no geographic restrictions. However, it is expected for a variety of reasons that most inductees (especially in the earlier years) will have the bulk of their career in North America.
a. Player Category Eligibility Criteria
• Former players with a distinguished record of competitive achievement at the highest national and/or international levels, with additional consideration given to integrity, sportsmanship and character. • To be eligible, players must be the minimum age based on the age limit for the UPA Masters Division. In order to ensure that players from the early years of Ultimate get fair consideration, the age limit will begin at Masters age plus 15 years in 2005 (48 years old for males by December 31, 2005, and 45 for females) and decrease by one year each year (47 in 2006, 46 in 2005, etc.) until it reaches Masters age plus 10 years, presumably in 2010, assuming no changes in Masters age. Deceased candidates are eligible in the year that they would have reached the eligibility age.
b. Contributor Category Eligibility Criteria
• Individuals who have made exceptional contributions that have furthered the growth, reputation and character of the sport, in categories such as development, administration, media, and coaching.
• Contributor candidates do not need to be retired from their activities related to the sport or meet a minimum age criterion.
c. Special Mention Category Eligibility Criteria
• Special Mention category will accommodate all other potential candidates not included in the first two categories, whether teams, equipment, groups, individuals, or whatever, that defined the nature of the sport or its competitive spirit, or contributed to make Ultimate special, in the context of their day.
• Because of the nature of the category, no more than one special mention inductee would be permitted each year, with no requirement for a special mention inductee in every year.
Selection Process
Selection is a multi-phase process, consisting of candidate procurement, peer review, selection of finalists, and final voting. At each stage of the process, interested parties will be given a set of guidelines useful in establishing whether a candidate is worthy of the Hall of Fame. • Candidate procurement. The primary method to produce the initial list of candidates is an iterative peer review process. Nominations and applications are also to be solicited from the general UPA membership and alumni population, specifically through an announcement in the winter edition of the UPA magazine. The Vetting Subcommittee may also add names. Finally, candidates carried over from previous elections are to be added to the list. The candidates themselves or sponsors for the candidates are to produce the application (i.e., resume in the form provided) and supporting reference letters. Nominations are due by March 25, and completed applications are due by April 10 of each year (note that all deadlines will be pushed back in 2005).
• Peer review. The slate of candidates will be peer-reviewed. The process is described in more detail in Appendix A. This will be completed by June 1. • Selection of finalists. By July 15, the Ultimate Hall of Fame Vetting Subcommittee is responsible for reducing the slate of candidates to eight (8), covering both Players and Contributors. For each of these candidates, the Vetting Subcommittee (with input as needed from others) will produce a biography to be considered during the final voting.
• Final voting. Each member of the Hall of Fame Committee (Vetting Subcommittee plus voting Inaugural, Player, and Contributor members of the Hall) may cast votes for up to five (5) candidates. A ballot may be returned with zero votes. The top five vote-getters receiving support on at least 60% of the received ballots are to be inducted. In the event that more than five candidates receive at least 60%, those tied for the last spot(s) will participate in a runoff vote. Voting is to take place August 1-14. Vote totals will not be announced. The number of proposed candidates and number to be elected may be changed as deemed appropriate. • Candidate retention. A nomination is valid for five years, after which a new nomination is required. An application is also valid for five years, but it may be refreshed each year.
After the selection of the new class of inductees each year, the Committee will prepare a write-up for each inductee which will be announced on the fourth Monday in August, added to the UPA web site and published in the UPA magazine. A plaque will be made up and sent to each inductee, and they will thereafter be a part of the Committee going forward.
Every five years, a formal induction ceremony with a dinner and program will be held for the five years of inductees during the weekend and in the vicinity of the UPA Club National Championship. The next induction ceremony will be held in 2008 (in only four years) in order to synch the induction ceremony schedule with Ultimate’s 50th anniversary in 2018.
Selection Criteria The goal of any Hall of Fame is to ensure that the criteria for membership are stringent enough so that only those truly deserving are elected. However, the consideration of candidates is also a very subjective decision, as the qualities that make a candidate “special” must be seen in the context of their day.
Play in all divisions will be considered, with more weight given to those divisions that represented the highest level of competition at the time. Play in other divisions will factor in, but a higher level of dominance relative to the other players in the division is necessary in order to be considered "playing at a Hall of Fame level. Performance and team achievement in major championships are especially important in evaluating a player. No specific selection criteria (or guidelines) have yet been established for Contributors. Modifications of the Selection Process Changes to the process can be initiated by either a majority vote of the Vetting Subcommittee (which would then require approval by the UPA board) or by the UPA board itself. Communication to the UPA Membership and Public
On an annual basis the Committee will post the list of all potential candidates who meet the eligibility criteria for whom a formal proposal has been submitted
Appendix A: A Template for Peer Review
a) Peer review input is an essential part of the evaluation work of the Vetting Subcommittee, in identifying potential candidates and understanding their impact on the sport from the perspective of their contemporaries, in order to make the best-informed selection decisions. The Vetting Subcommittee will coordinate the establishment of peer groups and a mechanism to gather input on potential candidates and the rational for their inclusion in the context of their day.
b) A number of peer groups will be established as needed (based on play period-e.g. 1970s, `80s, `90s, gender, players vs. contributors) by the Vetting Subcommittee.
c) Each peer group, chosen by the Vetting Subcommittee, will be asked to develop a list of potential candidates and, for any given Ultimate Hall of Fame induction class, be asked to rank order the candidates. Such list will be given strong consideration by the Vetting Subcommittee in developing the final candidates to be voted upon by the voting members of the full Ultimate Hall of Fame Committee. However, such list shall NOT be binding on the Vetting Subcommittee in their determination of the final candidates for consideration in a given year. d) Outside of the formal peer review process, there will continue to be a general solicitation of the UPA membership for other candidates.
e) The Vetting Subcommittee and other voting members of the full Ultimate Hall of Fame Committee shall draw upon the peer review input, written applications, reference letters, personal discussions, and any other means at their disposal in making decisions with respect to potential inductees. f) The final candidates considered for induction in a given year shall be selected by the full Ultimate Hall of Fame Committee, comprised of the Vetting Subcommittee plus all recent (those chosen within the past 15 years) inductees.
Appendix B: What Makes a Hall of Famer? Guidelines for the Peer Review Process and for the Voters [Note: this is just a draft and will be further refined by the Vetting Subcommittee]
Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, longevity, integrity, sportsmanship (SOTG), character, reputation, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played. Here are some questions (with no “right” answers) to ponder in helping to place this player (please note that for simplicity, the masculine pronoun is used): • Was he ever regarded as the best player in ultimate?
• Was he the best player on his team? • Was he the best player at his position?
• Was he the best at a particular skill (e.g., skying, popping, hucking)?
• Did he have an impact on a number of Nationals? • Was he a good enough player that he could continue to play regularly after passing his prime?
• Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics or popular perception? • If this person were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could make/win Nationals?
• What players of his era and of the current era are most comparable? How is this player better or worse than those comps? Are those comps in the Hall (or worthy of being in the Hall)? • Was this player a team leader or strategist whose teams seemed to outperform their abilities?
• Was this player held in high regard by teammates and opponents alike? • Can the history of ultimate be written without including this player?
Typical characteristics of an “inner-circle” Hall of Famer: • Can start on O at any position or on D against any opponent for any team
• Is among the best in the game in several specific skills (throwing deep, handling in the zone, skying) • Is good at just about every specific skill
• Causes other teams to adapt their styles because of him • Can stand out on a windy day, in a swillfest, on a fast day
• Will still be a stud if one aspect of his game is taken away
Typical characteristics of a borderline Hall of Famer: • Can start on O at his position or on D against a certain type of offensive player
• Is among the best in the game at at least one specific skill, and pretty damn good at some more • Is good at most skills, and no worse than average Regionals player on others
• Makes other teams take notice of him • Thrives in almost all conditions
• Might have an occasional bad game
Submitted on April 27, 2005 by the Ultimate Hall of Fame Vetting Subcommittee: Steve Mooney, Andy Borinstein, Steve Courlang, Jim Parinella, Eric Zaslow Special thanks go to Suzanne Fields, Nob Rauch, Dan Roddick, Larry Schindel, Joe Seidler, Sholom (Eric) Simon, Kevin Walsh, and Finlay Waugh for their assistance in refining this proposal.
