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Hall of Fame Selection Process
Ultimate Hall of Fame Home l Inductees l Selection Process l Peer Review
What Makes an Ultimate Hall of Famer? l Press Releases l Application Forms

Ultimate Hall of Fame Selection Process


1.  Overview:  The inductees are selected by the Ultimate Hall of Fame Committee, which is appointed by the UPA Board.  Selection involves a three stage process.  The first stage involves “peer voting,” where potential candidates are reviewed and ranked by a group of players or contributors from their own playing era.  The second stage involves winnowing the field down to eight candidates through a review of the peer voting results and of written applications solicited by a five person Vetting Subcommittee.  The final stage involves a vote for up to five inductees by the full voting committee, comprised of the Vetting Subcommittee and the Player and Contributor members of the Ultimate Hall of Fame.  An inductee must receive an affirmative vote of at least 60% of the voters to be selected. 

2.  Composition of Selection Committee:  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.
  • The Alumni Director is to be selected by the Board for a five-year term ending with the Induction Ceremony/Alumni Reunion (next slated for 2008).
  • The at-large Ultimate Hall of Fame Committee members are to be selected by the Board for a three-year term, with one position expiring each year.  There must be at least one male and one female among the three at-large Hall of Fame Committee members.
  • The UPA Board member should be appointed annually by the Board as part of the normal committee assignment process.  
For 2006, the members of the Vetting Subcommittee are Suzanne Fields(expiration 2008) as chair, Andy Borinstein (2006), Jim Parinella (2007), Tiina Booth (2008), and board designee Henry Thorne. 


3.  Eligibility Criteria:  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 (47/44 in 2006, 46/43 in 2007, 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 Merit Category Eligibility Criteria

  • Special Merit 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 Merit inductee would be permitted each year, with no requirement for a Special Merit inductee in every year.

4.  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 (see below) 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..
  • Peer review.  The slate of candidates will be peer-reviewed.  The process is described in more detail in the page on Peer Review.  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.  A press release will be published 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 order to synch the induction ceremony schedule with Ultimate’s 50th anniversary in 2018.


5.  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.  For candidates in the player category, 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.

Additional information may be found in the “What Makes an Ultimate Hall of Famer” section.

6.  Previous Members of the Vetting Subcommittee

Year      Chair                          At-Large Members                                           Board Designate
2005    Steve Mooney          Tiina Booth, Andy Borinstein, Jim Parinella            Eric Zazlow
2004    Steve Mooney          Robert “Nob” Rauch, Cindy Fisher

Prepared and revised by Robert “Nob” Rauch, January 9, 2006
Last updated 11/14/2006 - 16:04