Colorado Springs, Colo. (Nov. 5, 2019) – The Ultimate Hall of Fame and USA Ultimate, the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States, are excited to welcome five new Hall of Famers in the Class of 2019.
The 2019 Class includes women’s division inductees Allison Boyd, Deb (Cussen) Scheibe and Lori Parham Ewald. These new inductees are joined by the open division’s Walter VanderSchraaf and Contributor Brian Dobyns.
“We are very excited to welcome the 2019 members to the Ultimate Hall of Fame,” said Dr. Tom Crawford, USA Ultimate Chief Executive Officer. “The commendable accomplishments and collective contributions – both on and off the field – of the inductees are truly inspirational, and we are proud to recognize these five new members of the Hall of Fame. We look forward to honoring them at the next Hall of Fame Induction ceremony to take place during the 2023 National Championships.”
The 2019 inductees were selected by the current USA Ultimate Hall of Fame voting members from a final slate of 14 player candidates announced in September, with the additional consideration of one contributor candidate. The candidates included in the Call to the Community were chosen by the Hall of Fame Vetting Subcommittee from an accomplished pool of athletes and contributors through a review of peer voting results and written applications solicited by the committee.
To be inducted into the Ultimate Hall of Fame, potential candidates must complete three steps. The first stage involves “peer voting,” where potential candidates are reviewed and ranked by a group of players or contributors from their own playing era. The second stage involves winnowing the field down to a slate of up to 14 player candidates through a review of the peer voting results and written applications solicited by the six-person Vetting Subcommittee. The slate of 15 was announced in the Call to the Community, which requested input from the ultimate community at-large. The final stage involves two rounds of voting for the player candidates, and this year one contributor candidate, by the full voting committee, comprised of the Vetting Subcommittee and the player and contributor members of the Ultimate Hall of Fame. Since 2018, voting has been segmented by division for player candidates, with women Hall of Fame members voting on women player candidates and open members voting on open player candidates. All Hall of Fame members cast votes for the contributor candidates. Inductees in all categories must receive an affirmative vote by at least two-thirds of the voters to be selected.
“I continue to be proud of the efforts of the ultimate community and Hall of Fame members as we strive to improve the selection process. We had an excellent class of nominees this year, all worthy of consideration,” said Hall of Fame Committee Chair Suzanne Fields. “We are so pleased to welcome these five new members into the Ultimate Hall of Fame.”
The Class of 2019 is the 16th class inducted into the Ultimate Hall of Fame, which was established in 2004 to honor the men and women whose accomplishments as athletes and contributors merit acknowledgement by their peers. The 2019 Class will be officially inducted into the Ultimate Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the 2023 National Championships where we will honor the 2019 through 2023 inductees.
Class of 2019
The Vetting Sub-Committee included:
- Suzanne Fields (Chair, Hall of Fame Committee) – Hall of Fame Inaugural Class of 2004
- Keay Nakae (Open Peer Co-Chair) – Hall of Fame Class of ‘12
- Steve Dugan (Open Peer Co-Chair – Hall of Fame Class of ‘17
- Pam Kraus (Women’s Peer Chair) – Hall of Fame Class of ‘17
- Robert “Nob” Rauch (Contributor Peer Chair) – Hall of Fame Class of ‘06
- Steve Mooney (USA Ultimate Board Liaison) – Hall of Fame Class of ‘06