Here We Go Again: Nomination Day June 30th Ushers in a New Induction Cycle

Message from the Chair

BY TOM MAYENKNECHT

For the BC Sports Hall of Fame family, our Induction Week events are the highlight of a year-round commitment to honouring the past and inspiring the future. We try to do our part each and every day – through initiatives such as On This Day in BC Sport History, This Week in BC Sport History and, of course, the day-to-day operations of our BC Sports Hall and Museum at BC Place in downtown Vancouver.

When we closed out the Class of 2023 Induction cycle this past month – with the Honoured Members Reception presented by the BC Sports Hall of Fame Foundation on Wednesday, May 31st and the Induction Gala Thursday, June 1st, at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver – we were not only completing one year of nomination, selection, announcement and induction, we were beginning anew with another.

Simply put, the end of one cycle is the beginning of another. To that end, Nomination Day for the Class of 2024 is June 30th, 2023. That is the deadline for new nominations to the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

It is the first in the series of steps and timelines that will usher in the next class of inductees. Selection Day will be scheduled for some time early this fall, followed by Announcement Day later in the autumn but certainly before the end of this calendar year. It is worth noting that our new Chief Executive Officer Michelle Kitchen is beginning her tenure as part of the BC Sports Hall of Fame family at the very intersection point between the Induction Week for the Class of 2023 and Nomination Day for the Class of 2024, beginning and ending in June one year apart. There’s a point to be made there about how we build our entire year-long campaign and the day-to-day operations of the BC Sports Hall of Fame around that Induction cycle. (Congrats Michelle and thanks in advance for what you’ll do to elevate our process and everything we do going forward.)

As we’ve written before in this corner at this time of year, there are many people who help make this annual cycle of nomination, selection, announcement and induction happen. The saying “it takes a village…” certainly applies here. In fact, as we’ve often said, it takes a “province” of contributors to ensure that each step of the process is handled and delivered with the utmost of professionalism and integrity. Quoting the late Freddie Mercury: We thank you all.

Yet there is an important group of British Columbians that deserves special mention. That is those of you who serve as nominators, submitting the official nomination papers for the people and teams you believe are “Hall of Fame” worthy. Without our nominators, we have no inductees – it is that simple.

To that end, we wanted to take out the time to thank and appreciate all those of you who have served as nominators, because without you, we would not be able to bring worthy nominees forward to our selection committee and, in turn, select worthy candidates for induction and, ultimately, induct, honour and celebrate them as full-fledged members of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

I’ve said it before: What is truly gratifying is the wide range of nominators who typically step forward and step up with new nominations. In some cases, you fall into the category of family and friends. You have seen first-hand the impact that “Hall of Famers” have on the next generation of British Columbians and Canadians and you’re unabashedly proud of those who you’ve nominated. Some of you are among the most knowledgeable sport historians we have in B.C. You have literally made a lifetime and — in some cases, a career — out of charting our sport history.

There are others among you who may not quite fit the label as “sport historians” or professional curators, but you have become that on a de facto basis by identifying the candidates you have over the years; simply on the strength of the passion you have for our province and our sport communities.

There are those of you who work for or volunteer for local clubs, regional districts, provincial associations, national federations and international confederations — you see making these nominations as an important thing to do for your sport and all sport and we both respect and appreciate you for that. And finally, there are civic and business leaders who are so moved by our best athletes, coaches, pioneers, teams and media that you take it on yourself – despite everything else that you have on your plate — to make sure all worthy candidates get the nominations they deserve.Whenever we pay tribute to new inductees and long-standing Honoured Members, we do so with a debt of gratitude to those of you who have served as nominators, either just once or multiple times over the course of the 57-year history of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

That’s what we felt at this year’s Honoured Members Reception and plaque-raising ceremony and at the Induction Gala itself just three weeks ago. The inspiration generated by our newest inductees was front and centre at both events, along with the appreciation that all of us at the BC Sports Hall of Fame have for those of you who share our belief in the power of sport and do your service as nominators. Each of you should take pride in the part that you’ve played to honour the past and inspire the future!
We need you and people like you again in the coming weeks as we count down to the June 30th deadline for the Class of 2024.

As we always ask of you at this time of year – each and every year — please give this some thought: Who is not already in the Hall or nominated who in your view belongs to be added to the 442 individuals and 67 teams that are honourees? We thank you in advance for what you do to bring forward more of the great stories in BC sport history, stories that are at the heart of what we do as the BC Sports Hall of Fame. And stories that wouldn’t be possible without you recognizing them and passing them along.

We thank you and we commit to you that we will take the same care and execute the same due diligence as we always do to select for induction the most worthy candidates from throughout the province and across all walks of sport.

Count down with us to Nomination Day June 30th, Selection Day this September/October, Announcement Day this October/November and, of course, Induction Week next spring; the spring of 2024 and the cradle of our Class of 2024. Thanks in advance for helping us make it a great one!

Tom Mayenknecht, Chair
BC Sports Hall of Fame

Tom Mayenknecht is the Chair of the BC Sports Hall of Fame. A principal at Emblematica Brand Builders in Vancouver and a nationally-recognized sport business commentator and host of The Sport Market on BNN Bloomberg Radio and TSN Radio, he is a strong advocate for the KidSport, Right To Play and other children’s charities. He is also a member of the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame as a builder.