Ultimate Hall of Fame Class of 2014 Announced
Posted: December 30, 2014 01:15 PM
Boulder, Colo. (Dec. 30, 2014) – The Ultimate Hall of Fame welcomed three new members today as USA Ultimate, the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States, announced the Class of 2014.
The Class of 2014 includes women’s division inductee Liz Marino (Malibu, Calif.), open division inductee Jim Parinella (Sudbury, Mass.) and special merit inductees the Johnny Appleseeds. This year’s inductees have made major contributions to the sport of ultimate as both athletes and ambassadors.
"We’re proud to announce the three newest inductees into the Ultimate Hall of Fame," said Dr. Tom Crawford, USA Ultimate Chief Executive Officer. "Collectively, their contributions to the sport of Ultimate and incredible accomplishments make us proud and honored to recognize them and welcome them into the Hall of Fame."
The 2014 inductees were selected by the current USA Ultimate Hall of Fame voting members from a final Slate of Eight short list of candidates announced in mid-November. The Slate of Eight was chosen from among an accomplished pool of athletes and contributors by the USA Ultimate Hall of Fame Vetting Committee 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 the Slate of Eight. The Slate of Eight is announced to the community with a request for comment. The final stage involves a vote for up to five inductees by the full voting committee, comprised of the Vetting Subcommittee and the player and contributor members of the Ultimate Hall of Fame. An inductee must receive an affirmative vote of at least 60 percent of the voters to be selected.
The Class of 2014 is the 11th 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 Ultimate Hall of Fame currently exists as a virtual hall, with a long-term goal to establish a permanent site by 2018 – the 50th anniversary of the sport’s founding. Inductees are currently recognized with a plaque at USA Ultimate's national headquarters in Colorado.
Class of 2014
| Liz Marino (Malibu, Calif.) |
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Liz started her competitive ultimate career with ZULU at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in the early '80's and continued to thrive in Santa Barbara with the Condors where she played on teams that won multiple National ('84, '85, '86, '87, '89, & '91) and World ('86, '88, '89, & '90) titles. Thereafter, Liz competed with the New York Area team and completed her illustrious career on Boston's Lady Godiva.
Liz is a gifted athlete who competed in her youth as a gymnast. In ultimate competition, multiple highlight reels demonstrated her athletic prowess and ability to outrun her opponents with ease; a true joy to watch. She was a defensive threat, willing to fully extend her body to block key strategic passes made by her opponents. And many of those plays resulted in "stuff and score" goals. Above and beyond her stellar playing ability, Liz was a team player who demonstrated sportsmanship that made her an asset on every team in which she participated.
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| Jim Parinella (Sudbury, Mass.) |
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Jim’s long and storied ultimate career has been the definition of excellence, leadership, longevity and innovation. After learning the game in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Jim first came into the spotlight while leading different contending Boston teams in the late '80s and early '90s, but when he helped form and lead Death or Glory in 1994, he changed the fortune of his teammates and the game of ultimate forever. A gifted athlete who simply could not be covered, Jim was also a strategic mastermind who was an integral force behind the invention of cutting-edge hybrid zones and elegant offensive formations that frustrated and conquered the best teams in the world. As an understated captain who led by doing, Jim delivered results with DoG: six straight National Championships from 1994 – 1999 and three world titles between 1996 and 2000. Arguably Jim's most impressive statistic is an individual one; he has played in a national championship (open, masters, grandmasters) every year since 1992 and is still going!
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| Special Merit: "Johnny Appleseeds" |
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While the sport of ultimate was developed at Columbia High School in 1968 and spread by 1970 to a couple neighboring high schools, it likely would have disappeared were it not for the efforts of a cadre of evangelistic early players to spread the game beyond central New Jersey high schools. We honor this critical core of individuals who were responsible for ultimate’s germination, ensuring that it took off in those critical years up through 1974, later dubbed the "Johnny Appleseeds" by Joel Silver. While there were many players who played a role in getting Ultimate established, this group deserves special recognition for their highly impactful role in ensuring ultimate’s self-sustaining growth and penetration, taking it beyond the Maplewood parking lot.
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