The International Swimming Hall of Fame Board of Directors voted to expand its honorees to include Paralympic athletes effective with the class of 2022 and have redefined the eligibility requirements for all athletes.
At its March 9th, 2021 monthly meeting, the board agreed to expand its current eight aquatic categories to nine. The nine nomination categories are: swimming, open water swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming, Paralympics for all aquatic sports, coach, contributor, and pioneer. (Masters and Marathon have a separate process but are still eligible in above categories after they get inducted in their own Hall of Fames.)
The board also redefined the eligibility requirements to take into consideration that some athletes may have completed their Olympic careers but have not officially retired due to professional leagues and circuits.
Athletes shall not be eligible for induction unless they have officially been retired for at least four years, or at least one Olympic quadrennial from their primary field of international competition.
Note: Athletes who have reached the age of 30 and have elected to not officially retire due to participation in professional leagues or international circuits may be considered for induction if they otherwise meet the eligibility requirements. – ISHOF BOD
The Executive Nomination Committee, with the help of ISHOF Staff and the Executive Nomination Committee Chairman, will oversee the nomination process for the class of 2022.
Nominations for the class of 2022 may be submitted at any time by going to: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbWjNJq9cc0r3Jj5RePDhMmc8ToA1HX9fyjqFnNupU2FIAjQ/viewform
General Voting Ballot Process:
The Executive Nomination Committee will be asked to vote on all 9 categories to limit the class to those perceived to be most eligible for induction. That final slate of nominees will then be placed on the Final General Voting Ballot.
ISHOF staff, with the help of the Executive Nomination Committee, will identify experts who will be selected to vote on the Final General Voting Ballot in areas of their expertise:
- 10 Artistic Swimming experts to vote only on Artistic Swimming
- 10 Diving experts to vote only on Diving
- 10 Water Polo experts to vote only on Water Polo
- 20 Swimming/Open Water experts to vote only on Swimming & Open Water
- 5 Paralympic experts to vote only on Paralympics
The following are the guidelines to be followed when reviewing a nominee’s biographical information to determine the athlete’s level for induction:
Each person on the ballot has met the following minimum criteria:
Athletes shall not be eligible for induction unless they have officially been retired for at least four years, or at least one Olympic quadrennial from their primary field of international competition. Note: Athletes who have reached the age of 30 and have elected to not officially retire due to participation in professional leagues or international circuits may be considered for induction if they otherwise meet the eligibility requirements.
“Athletes” refers to swimmers, open water swimmers (FINA), divers, water polo players and artistic (synchronized) swimmers and Paralympic athletes for all aquatic sports.
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- Note that male and female candidates are grouped together, alphabetically. Male and female candidates should be voted upon as one combined group per category.
- A coach must have a significant international record and have been coaching at least 25 yrs.
- A contributor must have been in aquatics at least 20 years and have had a significant international impact. Athletic achievement should NOT be considered, contributions are to the overall improvement or development of “international” sport through leadership, journalism, invention or other area of great, outstanding impact.
- The Pioneer category was created to honor great achievements or advancements in aquatics that have been overlooked. These include special circumstances, such as interruptions caused by war or politics, barrier-breaking moments, societal changing events, etc.
- All Nominees must exemplify the highest athletic moral and ethical standards. Any past or current violations of the spirit and principles of Olympism, such as doping, DUI’s, domestic violence, drug abuse, accusations of sexual offense etc. have to be disclosed at the time of nomination. If and when ISHOF is presented with substantial or compelling evidence, a criminal charge, conviction or admission of guilt, the ISHOF board of Directors will consider all options within our means and resources that will enable us to ensure the integrity of our Hall of Fame.
- Remember the key word – “international”. Emphasis should be placed on the international impact made by the nominee, not just within his or her own country. Voting for athletes should be based on the items in the following order of importance: • Olympic gold medals • World Records • Number of Olympic medals won, Olympic Games attended & Olympic finals achieved. • World Championship gold medals, Numbers of total World Championship medals won • World Cup, Grand Prix gold medals • Regional Championships won (European Championships, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games, Asian Games, Pan Pacific, South American Games, etc.)
- Consideration should be given to athletes failing to participate in Olympics because of non-Olympic years due to war (1916, 1940, 1944), boycotts (1980, 1984) injury, career interruptions and non-Olympic events such as the individual medley (I.M.) prior to 1964, etc.
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All things being equal, please consider the age of the individual and who may have come first in terms of performance or service. We want to honor individuals still alive, so older nominees should be favored over younger and still active individuals. Deceased persons should only be considered, if there is a compelling reason that will ensure significant representation at the ceremony.
NOTE: Masters and Marathon swimmers (Non-FINA) may be nominated into ISHOF without retirement after being inducted in their respective Hall of Fame (Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame – MISHOF or International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame – IMSHOF). These nominees must meet the same criteria as what is listed under the ISHOF category in which they qualify. In other words, a Master Swimmer must meet the same criteria as all swimmers being nominated and not just Master Swimmers. Same with Marathon Swimmers who must meet the same criteria as all Open Water Swimmers to be inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame. There are no subcategories between Olympic athletes or coaches and Master or Marathon athletes or coaches when it comes to being inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
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Voting should be based on the items in the following order of importance:
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- Olympic Gold Medals
- World Records
- Number of Olympic medals won, Olympic Games attended & Olympic finals achieved
- World Championship gold medals
- Numbers of World Championship medals won
- Regional Championships won (European Championships, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games, Asian Games, Pan Pacific, South American Games, )
- Significant regional records
- National championship titles
- Consideration should be given to swimmers failing to make an Olympic team because of non-Olympic years due to war (1916, 1940, 1944), injury, career interruptions, non- Olympic events such as the individual medley (I.M.) prior to 1964, and being barred from competition for political reasons,
- All things being equal, the age of the individual and who may have come first in terms of performance or service must be considered. We want to honor individuals still alive, so older nominees should be favored over younger and still active individuals. Deceased persons should only be considered, if there is a compelling reason that will ensure significant representation at the ceremony.
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