ISHOF Honoree Criteria

The following are the guidelines to be followed when reviewing a nominee’s biographical information: 

  1. Generally, athletes shall not be chosen unless retired from international competition at least four years , or at least one Olympic quadrennial.  “Athletes” refers to swimmers, open water swimmers (FINA), divers, water polo players and artistic (synchronized) swimmers.Masters and Marathon swimmers (Non-FINA)may be nominated into ISHOF without retirement. 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.
  2. Note that male and female candidates are grouped together, alphabetically. Male and female candidates should be voted upon as one combined group per category.
  3. coachmust have a significant international record and have been coaching at least 25 years.
  4. contributormust have been in aquatics at least 20 years and have had a significant international 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.
  5. The Pioneer categorywas 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.
  6. All Nominees must exemplify the highest athletic moral and ethical standards. Any past or currentviolations 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.
  7. 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.)
  8. 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.

 

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.