dinks
PICKLEBALL HALL OF FAME 2020
NOMINATION & SELECTION PROCESS
The Pickleball Hall of Fame (PHOF) honors the greatest players and
influencers of the game. If you have a favorite player who meets
the minimum qualifications, nominate that player by filling out
an application at pickleballhalloffame.com. The deadline for new
inductee applications is June 15, 2020.
By Seymour Rifkind
This year marks
the fourth class of
inductees to the
Pickleball Hall of Fame
(PHOF), which was established in
July 2017. The PHOF committee’s
vision from the start was to have a
separate, nonprofit organization
made up of a diverse group of
players. We recognized that an
independent organization was
important because there are
dominating players and major
contributors from countries
around the world.
The PHOF has a small board with
room to add global representation,
which is important as it gives
the international community of
pickleball players representation
in the decision-making process. A
systematic and thorough selection
process was developed leading to
PHOF induction.
The Selection Process
The process toward induction
is transparent and rigorous, as it
should be. The pre-qualifications
for being considered a candidate in
the player or contributor category
is five years of dominating player
results, defined as being on the
award stand at our current three
major tournaments—Tournament
of Champions (TOC), US Open
and Margaritaville USA Pickleball
National Championships. In
the contributor category, the
individual should have been a
major contributor to the growth
of pickleball on a national or
international basis for a minimum
of five years.
Players can nominate a
candidate for the Pickleball Hall
of Fame and are responsible
for filling out an application
(www.pickleballhalloffame.com)
for their candidate. It is the
player’s responsibility to do
the research necessary so that
a thorough and complete
application is provided that
highlights a candidate’s major
accomplishments and why he
or she should be considered for
the PHOF.
Nominating Committee
The nominating committee is
made up of nine individuals who
serve a three-year term. They elect
a chairperson who is responsible
for collecting applications
that come through our website.
The chairperson distributes
all incoming applications
to the committee members
and organizes teleconferences
to review the merits of each
candidate.
After a series of teleconferences,
the voting process takes place
where each committee member
ranks each applicant by secret
ballot. Applicants are ranked
highest to lowest and their scores
are tabulated. The top 15 ranked
candidates become semi-finalists.
Additional teleconferences are
scheduled, with open discussions
on the merits of the 15 remaining
player candidates. Another secret
ballot is sent out and the top 10
ranked candidates in the player
category and top three players in
the contributor category are sent
to the selection committee.
Selection Committee
The selection committee is
made up of seven individuals,
each serving the same length of
time as the nominating committee
members. The applications of
all candidates provided to the
selection committee are sent to
the members for study. Several
teleconferences are scheduled to
discuss the merits of each of the
candidates.
Each selection committee
member rank orders the
candidates in both categories.
A secret ballot is sent to two
different committee members to
tabulate the results. The top three
ranked players in the contributor
category will be inducted as long
as they also receive a majority
vote. The top ranked player will
be inducted as long as he/she also
receives a majority vote. •
16 TO SUBSCRIBE, CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM