Ontario Basketball (OBA) Hall of Fame Committee
1. Purpose
- To recognize, honour and pay tribute to individuals and teams from Ontario who have attained extraordinary achievement, given distinguished service and/or made major contributions to basketball domestically or internationally.
- To establish and maintain an official archive for basketball in Ontario.
- To oversee the operation of the OBA Hall of Fame.
2. Objectives
- To review all Hall of Fame processes and procedures to ensure they are consistent with the goals and objectives of Ontario Basketball.
- To recommend to the Board of Directors individuals who should be considered for selection to the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame.
- To review and confirm biannually a Selection Committee for the OBA Hall of Fame.
- To develop and implement an effective and efficient nomination process for OBA Hall of Fame candidates.
- To recommend a ballot of candidates for consideration and induction into the OBA Hall of Fame.
- To plan the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
3. Representation
- Shall include a representative from the OBA Board of Directors and two members of the OBA staff.
- Does not have voting privileges for OBA Hall of Fame.
OBA Hall of Fame Selection Committee
1. Purpose
- To select biannually the inductees into the OBA Hall of Fame.
2. Composition
- Members in good standing with Ontario Basketball and the Ontario amateur basketball community.
- Confirmed by the OBA Hall of Fame Committee and will serve for one year.
- Shall not exceed three terms.
3. Representation
The selection committee shall include 16 individuals in the following sectors:
- Representatives of affiliated clubs of Ontario Basketball (4)
- A representative of Naismith Hall of Fame (1)
- A representative of the Ontario Association of Basketball Officials (1)
- Representatives of the Media, ensuring regional representation (3)
- Previous Hall of Fame inductees (3)
- Members-at-Large, in good standing with Ontario Basketball (4)
4. Key Attributes
The Selection Committee members should:
- Have an understanding of the OBA Hall of Fame and its policies and procedures.
- Have an understanding of the mission of Ontario Basketball and its published rules, policies and practices.
- Have historic and current knowledge of amateur basketball in Ontario, Canada and internationally.
Operations of Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame
The Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 1999 with the induction of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of the game of basketball. Nominees are honoured biannually at the OBA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
1. Eligibility
Any person (or team) who has achieved an outstanding standard of excellence in the following categories – Athletes, Coaches, Builders, Teams and Officials – is eligible for the OBA Hall of Fame.
Nominees must be residents of Ontario, have been born in Ontario or made their distinguished contribution to the game of basketball in Ontario. The five categories of membership in the OBA Hall of Fame are defined as follows:
Athletes
Athletes are competitors who, while Canadian citizens living in Ontario, have participated at an elite level and have achieved outstanding and extraordinary success as a competitor in the sport of basketball. Athletes must be retired from active duty at their highest level for five years before they may be nominated (ex. provincial team, national team, etc.). Voting for athletes must be based on their record, playing ability, integrity, character, sporting conduct and contributions to the teams on which they played and contributions to the game of basketball in general.
Coaches
Coaches are individuals whose efforts and expertise in the development and training of basketball athletes have made an outstanding and extraordinary contribution to the sport of basketball in Ontario, resulting in the promotion and development of the game of basketball in Ontario, nationally, or internationally. Coaches must be retired from active duty for two years, or 60 years of age or older, or have 25 years of coaching experience in order to be eligible for entry.
Builders
Builders are individuals who have made outstanding and extraordinary contributions towards the promotion, development and advancement of basketball in Ontario, and without restricting the generality of the foregoing, they may include administrators, officials, trainers, managers, coaches, therapists, etc. Builders are exempt from specific timelines with respect to entry.
Officials
Officials are individuals whose efforts and expertise in the development and training of basketball officials or in the performance of their duties as officials have exhibited outstanding and extraordinary skill, expertise and commitment resulting in the promotion and development of the game of basketball in Ontario, nationally, or internationally. Officials
must be retired from active duty for two years, or one year if 65 years of age or older, in order to be eligible for entry.
Teams
Teams are restricted to teams made up of Canadian athletes living in Ontario who represented an Ontario or a Canadian organization or corporation that may have accomplished outstanding or extraordinary results that has brought prominence to the sport of basketball in Ontario and Canada. Teams must be five years removed from their milestone in order to be eligible for entry.
2. Process for Nomination
- By authorization of the Board of Directors of Ontario Basketball, on or about March 1 every year, submissions are requested for nomination into the OBA Hall of Fame.
- Deadline for closing of nominations (including supporting documents) will be communicated in a Call for Nominations.
- As approved by the Board of Directors, all Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame members from Ontario shall be placed on the ballot of the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame, subject to their standing in Ontario Basketball.
- At the conclusion of the nomination period, the OBA Hall of Fame Committee shall verify the nomination against the published criteria.
- The OBA Hall of Fame reserves the right to exclude from consideration any nominee for unceremonious or criminal acts detrimental to the ideals and objectives of the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame, Ontario Basketball, or any of its member or affiliate organizations and the sport of basketball.
- Once verified, the complete list of nominees and support documents will be circulated to the members of the Selection Committee with a Hall of Fame ballot.
- Ballots must be signed or they will be deemed invalid.
- The OBA Hall of Fame Committee will tabulate the ballots and the results will be presented to the Board of Directors of Ontario Basketball for approval.
- Successful candidates will be notified by the OBA Hall of Fame Committee before a public announcement is made.
- Selected candidates will be honoured at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony hosted by Ontario Basketball.
3. Rules for Selection
Each member of the Selection Committee shall receive a Hall of Fame ballot comprised of those candidates, nominated to the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame, by the various constituents of Ontario Basketball, who have been approved by the OBA Hall of Fame Committee.
General Nominee
- A minimum of 60% of the votes cast by the Selection Committee is required to earn entry into the OBA Hall of Fame.
- Members of the Selection Committee may vote for a maximum of five nominees on her or his ballot.
- More than five votes shall invalidate the ballot in question.
- There is a maximum of two inductees per category (Athletes, Coaches, Builders, Teams and Officials) and a maximum of five inductees annually.
- Any inductee elected to the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame shall be recommended to the OBA Hall of Fame Committee for inclusion on the ballot for consideration by the Selection Committee for the next induction class.
- Selection by vote of the OBA Board of Directors for outstanding and meritorious distinction may occur in extreme cases (ex: illness or death) only.
Pioneer Category
- A pioneer is a nominee whose accomplishments have been attained approximately 25 years ago.
- Any nominee for any category of membership in the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame can be considered under the pioneer category.
- OBA Hall of Fame nominees who do not receive more than one or two votes for five (consecutive) years are referred to the pioneer category and the pioneer committee.
- Selection to the pioneer category will be determined by the OBA Board of Directors.
Approved May 16, 2018 by Ontario Basketball Board of Directors