AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction News
The American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation has put forth some changes to the American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame that are meant to expand the Hall of Fame’s inclusiveness. Here is the fun part: we’re actually being told what those changes are which are listed below, in these changes are entirely from the AMA:
- A Highly Qualified Candidate category that will empower the independent Hall of Fame Selection Committees to nominate candidates whose accomplishments have taken place outside the public eye but have played a significant role in motorcycling.
- Starting with the Hall of Fame Class of 2016, all AMA Life Members with at least 25 consecutive years of membership will be invited to vote for Hall of Fame inductees. This includes all AMA Charter Life Members and paid AMA Life Members who have at least 25 consecutive years of membership.
- In addition, in recognition of the past and ongoing financial support that the AMA and its members contribute to the AMHF, all current AMA members who show their valid AMA card will receive free entry into the Hall of Fame museum.
“Over the past few years, we have implemented changes to improve the management of the museum and bring transparency to the selection process, and now we are proud to do even more to expand the inclusiveness of motorcycling’s Hall of Fame — for nominees and for voters,” says AMA Board Chair Maggie McNally-Bradshaw.
The new Highly Qualified Candidate category is interesting, to say the least. Racers, as hard as they work to claim victories didn’t get there alone – there is a laundry list of helping hands standing behind each and every title holder. Putting the spotlight on those individuals is going to allow the Hall of Fame Selection Committees to give some notoriety to those who often work behind-the-scenes, unknown completely to the public eye.
“We’re also excited to share the Hall of Fame voting responsibility with all of our 25-plus-year AMA Life Members,” McNally-Bradshaw says. “This is a huge step in involving our members in what is their Hall of Fame and museum, and will further expose our nominees to all riders, not just race fans.”
In recent years, the AMA has been making great strides when it comes to member involvement. With their massive amount of bike giveaways, being an AMA member certainly pays off. Now, all members who have been part of the AMA for 25+ years will be able to participate in the voting process.
Hall of Fame voting will be done independently through a voting firm called VoteNet. In order to throw your hat in the ring for the Class of 2016 vote, AMA Life Members with at least 25 consecutive years of membership must have a valid email address on file with the AMA. In May, all Life Members who do have a valid email on file will be contacted.
Chances are, if you’re reading this release and you’re an AMA Life Member, you keep up with your online happenings. But a few of you might not or perhaps you just didn’t update your email. The AMA will be confirming all of the AMA Life Member email addresses that they have on file in the coming months, however, if you believe that something may be in error, feel free to email your AMA number, name, postal address and phone number to lifemembers@ama-cycle.org, just to be sure.
This is big news from the AMA and just another symbol of their commitment to bringing transparency to the name itself. Prior to this, Hall of Fame voting was limited to living Hall of Famers, the boards of the AMA and AMHF, as well as the independent Hall of Fame Selection Committee but now, they’ve opened things up an even larger population of voters which means we’ll be seeing more diversity in rider selection. For additional information, visit AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.