About

The Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame is dedicated to preserving the history of sports in our community and permanently recognizing individuals and teams for their outstanding contributions to the development and advancement of sports. By establishing and maintaining a Hall of Fame in Stouffville, we honour those who have enriched our community’s athletic legacy.

• To recognize and honour the achievements of the individuals and teams who have attained prominence and distinction in any field of sports and those who have made a major contribution to the development and advancement of sports in Stouffville.
• To permanently record, publicly display, and preserve the history of sport in the community.
• To hold events to recognize and honour the inductees to the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame.
• To raise funds to support the activities of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame.

The Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame was officially created in 2024, when seven like-minded people came together with a shared vision: to create a virtual hall of fame and an event that would honour the community’s rich sporting history and recognize those who have made meaningful contributions to the development and advancement of sport.

The foundation for this work began nearly 30 years earlier. Between 1995 and 1998, Mary Humphreys conducted extensive research at the Stouffville library, spending three summers reviewing microfiche archives and collecting stories that documented the town’s sporting past. This early effort was supported in part by a grant from then-Mayor Wayne Emmerson’s golf tournament committee.

In the summer of 2024, the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame Management Committee was

formed. During this time, the groundwork was established, including the development of aconstitution and the initial framework for the organization. By October 2024, the Hall was formally founded and held its first official meeting. Shortly thereafter, the organization secured its domain and began building its identity. A student from Stouffville District Secondary School, William Poulter, designed the official logo. Throughout the winter months, the committee focused on research and planning, including the development of a physical space, the creation of a formal nomination and induction process, and the establishment of a virtual Hall of Fame. Work also began on securing founding sponsors and planning for a future inaugural induction ceremony.

In March 2025, the committee moved forward with website development. Through discussions with Ron Cassar, the group was introduced to Mohawk College’s School of Technology, Software Development program—an opportunity that proved to be an excellent fit. A project proposal was developed and submitted in September 2025. The project advanced through several stages, including participation in a Software Engineering Q&A Night in January 2026. On January 28, 2026, the Hall of Fame was selected by a student development team. Beginning in February 2026, the committee partnered with Mohawk College students Hope Hemingway, Matthieu Laroche, Oceanna Hartog, and Simon Nemes, who contributed to the development of the Hall’s website as part of their capstone project. These combined efforts reflect the dedication, vision, and community spirit behind the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame—an initiative built to preserve the past and celebrate future generations.

Management Committee

Name

The name shall be “The Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame.”

Location

The Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame shall be located in an appropriate location as determined by the Board of Directors of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame.

Mission

The Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame is dedicated to preserving the history of  sports in our community and permanently recognizing individuals and teams for their outstanding contributions to the development and advancement of sports. By establishing and maintaining a Hall of Fame in Stouffville, we honour those who have enriched our community’s athletic legacy. 

Administration

1. All matters relating to the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame, including its operation and maintenance, shall be administered by the Board of Directors (the Executive). The Executive shall be the trustees of all records and possessions of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame. The Executive shall consist of 5-8 members.

2. The Executive shall at its first meeting of the year elect a President, Vice President, Secretary/ Treasurer.

3. In the case of vacancy in the office of Past President, then the Past President once removed shall be appointed to fill the vacancy. If such person is unwilling or unable to act, the position shall remain vacant.

4. The Executive shall hold at least four meetings in each calendar year. A majority of the members of the Executive shall constitute a quorum. Any member of the Executive missing three consecutive meetings shall no longer be a member of the Executive, unless reinstated after due consideration by the Executive.

5. In each year the Executive shall appoint a Nominating Committee which shall consist of the President, one member of the Executives. The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of not less than five (5) candidates for the Executive at the Annual General Meeting, one of whom shall be the Past President. Nominations may be made from the floor of the Annual General Meeting when moved and seconded by members in good standing.

The organization shall be governed by a Board of Directors and other Committees, as follows:

• President
• Vice president
• Past President
• Recording Secretary/ Treasurer
• Directors

PRESIDENT: Titular head of the Hall of Fame Committee; serves a three (3) year term. The President is chosen by members of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame Committee from within its ranks. Announcements of selectees to the “HALL” are made by the President.

VICE PRESIDENT: Will act on behalf of President if he/she is unable to fulfil his/her duties or when unavailable to attend meetings

PAST PRESIDENT: Shall have the right to attend all Executive Committee meetings where he/she shall act in the advisory with full voting privileges.

SECRETARY: In charge of correspondence; meeting minutes etc.

TREASURER: Shall keep the books and financial records of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame. 

DIRECTORS: There shall be a maximum of 6 Directors.

Membership

To be a voting member of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame one must:

1. Be a resident of the town of Whitchurch Stouffville, or have been inducted into the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame, or been a past member on the committee, and

2. Have attained the age of 18 years on or before the date of the Annual General Meeting, and

3. Be present at the Annual General Meeting.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting shall take place at the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame first meeting of the calendar year.

Term of Office

The term of office of the Executive shall be for one calendar year.

Finances

1. The Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization and shall be carried on without profit or gain for its members and any profits or other accretions to the organization shall be used solely in furthering and promoting the aims and objectives of the society.

2. The fiscal year for the society shall be the calendar year January 1 to December 31 of any year.

Selection and Induction

I. SELECTION COMMITTEE

1. The Executive shall appoint a Selection Committee consisting of 7 members, including 3 members of the Executive Committee and 4 at-large members appointed by the Executive.
2. The term of office shall be one year. 

 CLASSIFICATION OF INDUCTEES

There shall be two classes of inductees in the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame – Individuals and Teams.

II. ELIGIBILITY FOR ELECTION

1. Must have been a resident of the town of Stouffville  for a minimum of 5 years or contributed to sport in Stouffville for 5 years. 

2. Nominees who by outstanding achievement have attained prominence in any field of sport, or who have made a major contribution to the development and advancement of sport, or who have brought honour to Whitchurch Stouffville are eligible for election to the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame.

3. Nominees must have concluded their careers as active athletes for a minimum of 5 years before their nominations may be considered. An athlete who has reached his or her 50th birthday will be eligible for nomination and consideration by the Selection Committee without any waiting period whether or not he or she is still active as a competitor.

4. Individuals included in a Team Induction shall not be eligible for personal induction until a period of one (1) year has elapsed.

5. Members of the Executive and of the Selection Committee are not eligible for induction while serving on either body.

Categories

a) Athletes – Open Category

Athletes to be considered for admission to the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame must have been outstanding in their athletic field of endeavour, or must have achieved better than average proficiency in their sport, even if not reaching the absolute top level in any one, in competition against peer athletes. This involves those competing on a strictly local level and those going on to district, provincial, national and international events, as well as those who enter professional sports.

Any athlete nominated to the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame must have been retired from active participation in the sport(s) for which he/she is nominated for a period of not less than five years (dating from the end of the season of the sports(s) for which he/she has been nominated). An active athlete may be eligible for nomination if she/he has reached the age of fifty years. In the case of automatic nominees, these restrictions do not apply, as determined by the constitution.

Definition of Stouffville Athlete

For purpose of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame, a Stouffville athlete shall be:

a. Anyone who is not born here but who has been in Stouffville and proves his/her worth in an athletic sense. Said athlete may be considered even if he/she eventually moves away from the town;

b. Anyone who has professionally represented Stouffville

c. Anyone in (a) or (b) who, after a local amateur career, moves into professional sports

elsewhere and who is deemed worthy of inclusion;

d. Anyone in (a) or (b) who, after a local amateur career, moves into University sports

elsewhere and who is deemed worthy of inclusion;

e. Anyone in (a) or (b) who, after a local amateur career, moves into amateur sports

elsewhere and who is deemed worthy of inclusion

b) Teams

“Teams” shall be eligible for recognition and shall be judged on merit and residency by the 7 Selection/ Executive  Committee.  A “team” for Hall of Fame purposes is defined as “any group of two or more athletes engaged in the same sport who work together as a unit in that sport”. The team may be made up of members of the same sex or the sexes may be intermixed, providing the majority of the team were Stouffville residents and have reached the age of 14 years, at the time of their accomplishment. Any high school team must have won a minimum Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association (O.F.S.A.A.) championship to be considered and the accomplishment must be of significance for the school. Significance is defined as having extreme importance for the school. A figure skating pair, tennis doubles, curling team, cross country running team, etc. are defined as teams for our purposes. A boxer and his manager do not constitute a team.

c) Builders

Builders are defined as officials (referees, umpires), individual sponsors, executive members, trainers, coaches, broadcasters, etc., whose work for sport over an extended period of time has been outstanding, whether it be in the organization of leagues and facilities, achieving a high degree of success in coaching teams and/or individuals, keeping a league or team active, providing services at a consistently high level over an extended period of time, etc. However, just because an individual has worked many years for a sport as a builder does not necessarily mean eligibility for the Sports Hall of Fame. His/her work over that period of time, or over most of it, must have been of a consistently high level with regard to services provided or results achieved.

d) Sponsors

The Sponsor Award is presented to a business, corporation or group in recognition of a minimum of five years significant contribution to sports in Stouffville. Nominees are judged on merit by the selection committee with no automatic induction.

SPECIAL MERIT: Where an individual or Team or Community Group falls outside of the existing criteria for Hall of Fame consideration. The Committee may at its discretion, honour that party with induction under the Special Merit award

DECEASED CANDIDATES: Each case to be decided, on the merits of the person involved by the Executive Committee.

OFFICIAL CREST: The Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame official crest shall be used on letterheads, scrolls, and any mementoes presented to nominees to the Hall

AWARDS: Each living Inductee to the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame, and the family of each deceased Inductee to the Hall, shall receive a certificate with the Inductee’s name inscribed thereon and/ or  a keeper plaque. Each inductee will be recognized of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame website and the possibility commemoration in the form of a picture, plaque or honour roll and a condensed biography of individuals and teams in a dedicated are for a future hall of fame. Each team named to the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame shall be recognized in an appropriate manner (eg. Framed and inscribed team photograph).

Number of Inductees Elected, Up to;

To be determined by the Executive Committee each year in the categories of:

• Athletes 
• Builders 
• Teams

III. PROCEDURE FOR NOMINATION

1. Nominations shall be submitted to the Selection Committee.

2. All eligible nominations submitted shall be considered in the year submitted and the four succeeding years. Nominees not elected to the Hall after being considered for five consecutive years, may be re-nominated.

3. After the Committee has reviewed each nominee application, a meeting will be held to select the Nominees to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Each nominee being voted on must receive two-thirds (2/3) of the votes of the Committee Members present and voting, to be eligible to be inducted into the “HALL”. All information and discussion shall be confidential. Releasing the names of those elected shall be at a time after the nominees elected have been informed of their induction to the “HALL”. A designate, will inform each inductee. When the inductees have been informed, the designate will then inform the Media of the Inductees and the categories which they have been elected.

INDUCTION: Inductions shall be held at an Inductee Ceremony on a date selected by the Stouffville Sport Hall of Fame Committee.

IV. METHOD OF ELECTION

1. The Selection Committee shall, in each year, review the eligible nominations from which they may select inductees. The Selection Committee process shall be concluded at least 90 days prior to the Induction Ceremony.

2. The number of inductees in each year shall be determined by the Executive Committee. The decision of the selection is final.

3. The public announcement of the decision of the Selection Committee shall be the responsibility of the delegate of the Selection Committee.

4. The method of voting for candidates shall be decided by the Selection Committee, subject to the approval of the Executive.

V. PROCEDURE FOR ENROLLMENT

1. It shall be a condition precedent for official enrolment that each newly elected Inductee of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame, shall be formally inducted at an official ceremony.

2. The time and place for such a ceremony shall be determined by the Executive.

Amendments

The Constitution of the Stouffville Sports Hall of Fame may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors. An amendment shall be forwarded to the Board Members sixty days prior to the meeting at which it is to be presented.

As of April 2, 2026