Nomination Guidelines

Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame Authority
Established in 1997 by Governor Benjamin Cayetano - Executive Order 97-03. On May 30, 2003, Governor Linda Lingle signed into law a bill passed by the State Legislature to confirm the permanency of the Hawai i Sports Hall of Fame as a self-sustaining non-profit organization and designated it the "state museum for sports history in the islands."

Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame Guidelines
The following is to be used to define a set of guidelines for the nomination, selection and induction process for the Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame. These are the characterizing marks, traits and/or standards on which a judgment or decision may be based. Also included for achieving a better understanding is a more explicit criteria to provide a systematic and objective way to rate each nominee.

Criteria
Automatic Qualification for nomination: Any of the following
  1. Olympic Medalist
  2. World Record Holder (sanctioned associations)
  3. Inductees in recognized International or National Halls of Fame.
  4. Professional athletes who have been voted to association all-pro teams or members of a world championship team.
  5. Residency: Must have a strong local connection.

Contingent Qualification
Significant participation in the development of an athletic program (i.e., Pioneers and Contributors). (This is not to dilute the quality of the primary honors. It merely provides an opportunity to honor the person who does not fit exactly into the automatic qualification categories.) Exceptions: Winners on the LPGA, PGA, Senior PGA, JPA; World Champions of Professional Windsurfing and Surfing, Sumo, any sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee or sanctioned by the HSHOF Commission.

Process: General Rules
  1. Person is eligible for nomination five years following active competition. If death of a nominee occurs before completion of the waiting period, it is automatically reduced to six months.
  2. Person's nomination must be accompanied by an official nomination form and include appropriate documentation to be considered by the Selection Committee. A resume and non-returnable photo also must accompany the nomination papers.
  3. The Commission shall reserve the right to conduct further research on nominees prior to consideration by the Selection Committee.
  4. A nominee must have competed at the World, International or National level for at least two seasons to be considered. If the nominee is a coach, he or she must have coached for at least five seasons and have been a coach on an Olympic or world team that earned a medal, or coached at least two world or Olympic medalists. Nominees who compete with distinction at the world, international or national level and do not earn a medal can be nominated on the basis of leadership (i.e., captain of a world or Olympic team).
  5. The nominee must have exhibited strong character and discipline in representing the State of Hawai'i throughout their careers to be considered. Conviction of any felony, crime of moral turpitude or official sanction by a governing body of the nominee's sport during participation will automatically nullify his or her nomination.
  6. Commissioners, Selectors and staff cannot be nominated to the Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame while in office. (Apply Rule #1)

Selection Process
The Selection Committee (selectors) are charged with the vital task of assuring that new inductees are the finest and most qualified representatives of Sports in Hawai'i. The Selection Committee consists of sports media representatives from the State of Hawai'i.

The Selectors are appointed by the Commission after agreeing to serve and can be terminated only by retirement or resignation as long as they attend regularly scheduled meetings. Once appointed, the Selection Committee will meet once annually, in the month of December to select new inductees.

Athletes are nominated in chronological order and/or by decade, so that the story of Hawai'i Sports Legends will have continuity and a greater impact on the Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame's primary audience - the youth of Hawai'i. The first class was inducted in 1998 and selected from among those who distinguished themselves from 1849 -1959, the historical benchmark prior to Statehood. Current rules do not set a number for any new class of inductees; however, the Commission's current guidelines allow the selection of between two and five new inductees each year.

Every nominee for induction must receive an 80 percent approval rating by the Selection Committee and unanimous approval by the Commission. Anyone may nominate a qualified person by submitting an Official Nomination Ballot and submitting it with information that will help to substantiate qualifying achievements. Each nomination will be researched to substantiate information submitted and a nomination folder will be established for each nominee and will be the on-going repository for required, elective and new information from the nominator or nominee. Only new and "non-selection" folders from previous years with new substantive information will be reviewed by the Selection Committee at its annual meeting. Selections, only, will be announced in the media after the annual Selection Committee meeting.

The major function of the Commission is to ensure the integrity of the entire process, coordinate the annual selection meeting in December and the Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet in the month of February every year.

Official Nomination Ballot
Qualified individuals may be nominated for induction into the Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame by the completion and submittal of a Nomination Ballot. A copy of this ballot is available through this website and can be printed on your local printer.

Instructions
1. Click on the link below marked Official Nomination Ballot.
2. This will display a PDF version of the ballot.
3. Use the PDF reader's print function to print the ballot on your printer.
4. Provide the requested information in the blanks on the ballot form.
5. Mail the completed ballot to:
HAWAI'I SPORTS HALL OF FAME
P.O. BOX 1518
HONOLULU, HAWAI'I 96806-1518

Official Nomination Ballot

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