The Madison Area USBC Hall of Fame Legislation recently received an extensive makeover.
A total of eight proposals were presented:
- PROP 1. REMOVE THE POINT SYSTEM
- PROP 2. REQUIRE TWO TITLES
- PROP 3. REQUIRE HOF COMMITTEE CHAIR TO SCHEDULE MEETING
- PROP 4. REMOVE REQUIREMENT TO WITHHOLD NAMES
- PROP 5. DEFINE AND INCORPORATE VOTING BODIES
- PROP 6. CREATE SECOND ROUND OF VOTING
- PROP 7. ADJUST DEADLINES
- PROP 8. REVISE ARTICLE 3
PROP 1 is related to Article 1 of the Hall of Fame Legislation, which states
… outstanding bowlers and dedicated servants of the Madison area who through their competitive skills, high personal standards and dedicated principles …
PROP 1 sought to remove Article 9 Automatic Point System. Formerly, a bowler could bypass the voting system by accumulating a number of points outlined in Article 9. This was viewed as contrary to key elements of the Hall of Fame Objective in Article 1, the so-called “character” clause.
Significant debate and decided opinions on the merit of “character” have taken place in meetings and in the field. It is both strongly supported and strongly opposed. As it stands, the Hall of Fame voters will determine the barometer of character with their votes.
PROP 2 requires Distinguished Performance nominees to have two scratch titles (formerly one) from events listed in Article 5 of the Legislation.
PROPS 3 and 8 were comparatively insignificant. PROP 3 made the Hall of Fame Committee chair responsible for scheduling the annual meeting (formerly the duty of the Association President). PROP 8 was primarily a format change that did not affect the language of the article.
Article 7 required that no names be present on the nominees biographical sketches. PROP 4 changes this. There is impossibility of true anonymity in the local Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame nominees are typically well known, and it is not difficult to know, or at least discern, which profile belongs to which nominee by at least one committee member. If one nominee is known to one committee member, all nominees should be known to all.
PROP 7 shifted any Hall of Fame associated deadlines earlier in the year. It is intended to help the Hall of Fame voting process have a better chance of being completed before end of the bowling season so announcements can be made prior to the summer. The new deadline for nominations (for consideration in the current year) is January 1 (from March 1). Nominees are required to submit paperwork by February 1 (from April 1). The Hall of Fame committee must meet no later than March 1. This timeline should allow for ballots to be mailed mid-March at the latest.
PROP 5 is a big change to the Hall of Fame voting process. This proposition redefines the active voting bodies for each category – Distinguished Performance and Meritorious Service. Prior to the change, balloted Distinguished Performance candidates were voted on by all living members of the Hall of Fame. Meritorious Service candidates were voted on by the Madison Area USBC Board of Directors.
PROP 5 defines separate voting bodies for Distinguished Performance and Meritorious Service. Once the Hall of Fame committee concludes who will be on each annual ballot, they will be forwarded to the voting bodies. Each member of either voting body must be an active USBC member OR nominated specifically by the Hall of Fame committee, subject to Madison Area USBC Board approval.
The Distinguished Performance voting body will be comprised of Hall of Fame members elected in the Distinguished / Superior Performance category or the (former) Veterans category of the current or previous Madison Halls of Fame. Three Madison Area USBC board members will be included in this voting body.
The Meritorious Service voting body will be comprised of Hall of Fame members elected in the Meritorious Service category of the current or former Madison Halls of Fame. Three Madison Area USBC board members will be included in this voting body.
PROP 6 creates a second round of voting, when needed. A candidate must receive 70% of the vote for induction. In the event that no candidate, on a ballot with three or more candidates, receives 70% of the vote – a second round of voting may be conducted provided at least one candidate received at least 60% of the vote. Any candidate(s) under the 60% threshold is dropped from consideration. All candidates with 60% or more from the first ballot are sent out on a second ballot. It remains true that any candidate on this second ballot must receive 70% of the vote for induction.