HIGH ACHIEVERS: Nepean Sports Wall of Fame wants club members to be ‘custodians of the wall’

By Martin Cleary

If you’re a Nepean sports organization, a Nepean athlete on an Ottawa team or an individual athlete who calls Nepean home, the Nepean Sports Wall of Fame wants you.

The modernized suburban wall of honour, which turns 40 years old in 2025, has launched a membership drive to get to know its community so the community can nominate future waves of inductees.

More than 100 Nepean sports clubs have been identified and letters have been sent out asking them to join the wall of fame and become a vital part of the selection process for athletes, coaches, builders, officials, teams and media entering the wall.

“The idea is for the community to own the wall, the governance and nominate from their community as opposed to (having directors of the wall) randomly identify (candidates),” said Andrew Foti, the chair of the Nepean Sports Wall of Fame, in a phone interview this week.

Nepean sports groups or individuals can become wall of fame members by visiting the Sports Wall’s website.

This is another important step in the revitalization of the Nepean Sports Wall of Fame, which previously presented itself in the foyer of the Nepean Sportsplex building with plaques attached to the wall.

The wall of fame now has a bright, new location in the Nepean Sportsplex foyer and presents the 76 individual athletes, coaches, builders, officials and media and four teams on a wall as well as on a continuous loop video with four screens and a kiosk.

The Sportsplex attracts about 500,000 visitors a year and it’s likely many have seen or visited the wall of fame venue.

There are eight members of the wall’s volunteer board of directors, but they don’t claim to know all the sports stars and teams in Nepean. That’s why they want to work in conjunction with the clubs, teams and individuals to continue to select quality inductees in the future.

“The wall had run out of space. It was mostly plaques and had an old-school presentation,” Foti added. “We wanted to make it more appealing, more relevant and into the future.”

The next step also is part of the plan to upgrade the hall by making it a member-based model.

“By becoming members of the wall, we know they know who the superstars are to recognize. We want a broad base of clubs, who are effectively the custodians of the wall through their nominations,” Foti continued.

“That’s the vision and the challenge. We don’t know all the deserving nominees to be considered for the wall.”

The 2025 Nepean Sports Wall of Fame induction ceremony will be staged Oct. 23 in the salons of the Nepean Sportsplex.

The cost of the ceremony will be covered by support from the wall of fame’s 10 sponsors. Mattamy Homes was the title sponsor of the 2023 induction ceremony. Interested sponsors also learn more via the link on the Sports Wall’s homepage.

OTTAWA SPORT HALL OF FAME STUDYING OPTIONS FOR NEW HOME

The Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame, which was previously located on the floor below the mayor’s office at Ottawa City Hall, remains without a home.

The hall, which opened in 1968 and has had several locations across the city during its 56 years, officially closed its doors Nov. 30, 2023. But there are several possibilities for a new site.

“We do have a couple of options we’re exploring, including going more virtual,” Dave Best, chair of the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame, wrote in an email interview. “I’d rather these options not be public at this stage.”

The process of emptying the hall of its inductee plaques and other memorabilia started October, 2023. The items are being held by a commercial storage company.

The board of directors have decided on the Class of 2025 and will announce its next group of inductees in the new year. The 2025 induction ceremony will be May 28 in the Horticultural Building at Lansdowne Park.