By Lawrence Powell
Spectator
NovaNewsNow.com
With a century or so of sports heroes under its belt, Bridgetown and area won’t have much trouble finding inductees for its new sports hall of fame, a new institution in the town most say is long overdue.
The Bridgetown Area Sports Hall of Fame was formed earlier this year, chaired by Bronson Rafuse, with a committee made up of Dick Campbell, Art Marshall, Steve Walker, Steve Clayton, Krista Lynn Caldwell, Margie Chipman, Dave Gouchie, Charles Scarrow, and Elaine MacDonald.
Now the group is looking for nomination of potential inductees, and that’s where the public comes in. The committee is looking for nominations in four categories: athlete, team, builder, and coach/volunteer. But time is short with the nomination deadline set for September 1.
“We need to get the word out to the community so they know what’s going on,” said Rafuse during an information session held August 11 at the End of the Line Pub.
Website Live
Andy Kerr told those gathered that the hall of fame website has been built and was live as of last Wednesday. Although comprised of only several pages, he said the site was created to be expandable and searchable.
Those interested in making nominations can go to www.bridgetownsportshalloffame.org where they can download nomination forms. Nominations must be submitted in a sealed envelope addressed to:
Bridgetown Sports Hall Of Fame
C/O The Town of Bridgetown,
P.O. Box 609,
Bridgetown, Nova Scotia,
B0S 1C0
Nomination forms are also available at town hall.
The committee is also looking for monetary donations to help put the fledgling organization on solid financial footing.
Selection Criteria
Athlete and team candidates will be chosen based on extraordinary distinction in one or more sports. Builder, coach and volunteer candidates shall be chosen based on a major contribution to the development or advancement of one or more sports.
The individuals or teams nominated can be active, retired or deceased.
“We will consider athletes or teams that had a significant tie to Bridgetown, as a resident within our Bridgetown school catchment area, as someone who trained here while competing, or someone who was an integral part of a Bridgetown team,” the group said on its website.
There is no limit on the number of nominations an individual can make, said Marshall. But the hall of fame committee itself can only make one nomination per category.
This year the hall of fame will make 12 inductions, and possibly 12 in 2011, Marshall said, referring to the inaugural events as catch-up years. In subsequent years, eight inductions will be made.
Rafuse said that each year a male and female athlete of the year will also be considered, and names will be added to an ongoing honour role.
Selection, Dinner
A selection committee will go into lockdown mode on September 12 and selection committee members will vote by secret ballot. A nomination with 100 per cent votes will automatically be inducted. However, 60 per cent of votes is necessary for induction and a runoff ballot will be used to make final choices.
MacDonald said the gala induction dinner will be held at the Legion on November 20. Tickets for that event will go on sale November 1.
Rafuse said the dinner is the big event and besides the inductions will feature a sports figure guest speaker. A souvenir program will also be printed featuring all of the inductees.
Hall formation
Campbell said the Bridgetown area has an outstanding sports history and it was time something was done to honour that heritage. He said Al Pappard, who started Middleton’s Sports Wall of Fame almost 15 years ago, had been encouraging Bridgetown to do the same.
Campbell and Marshall met with Peppard earlier this year and visited the Macdonald Museum where the Middleton Sports Wall of Fame is housed. The Bridgetown committee later used the information gleaned from Peppard as a basis for the Bridgetown Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Walker said it is not known at this point where the sports hall of fame will be permanently housed. He said temporarily it could be a display in local businesses or at the library. He said the committee is looking for a permanent home with room for expansion.
Marshall said that home would have to be accessible to all, with regular hours, and not cost the organization money. He agreed that for the first year or two the sports hall of fame could be mobile.
