Wikipedia:Notability (sports)

Notabilty guidelines on Athletes

Baseball

Baseball figures are considered notable if they:

• Have appeared in at least one game in any one of the following active major leagues: Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, Korea Baseball Organization, Chinese Professional Baseball League.
• Have appeared in at least one game in any of the following defunct leagues: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, American Association, Cuban League, Federal League, Japanese Baseball League, National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, Negro Major Leagues, Players League, Union Association.
• Have played AAA baseball, won a notable Minor League Baseball award, or participated in any minor league baseball All-star game.
• Have won a national award, or established a NCAA record while a member of a Division I college baseball team.
• Have represented their native country at a major international amateur baseball competition such as the Olympics, the Pan-American Games.
• Have served as a commissioner, president, general manager, owner, coach, or manager in one of the above-mentioned leagues.
• NOTE WELL: In addition to the above, baseball figures are only considered notable if they have been discussed in independent, non-trivial, reliable sources - not including sources that only include the stats of the players (like Baseball Reference). In short, they should be able to meet the requirements of WP:V.

American football/Canadian football

• National Football League players who had played in at least six regular season games, or started in one or more game, had made more than one tackle, running for more than a couple of yards, one completion, one reception, or any other meaningful stat. Replacement Players of the 1987 NFL Strike needs to have independent reliable coverage.
• Players drafted in the first four-five rounds of the NFL Draft are notable unless they didn't last pass training camp, players who were drafted in the later rounds that doesn't meet the criteria above aren't notable.
• Players who didn't survive pass training camp aren't notable unless they had some achivements in the college football level.
• Players who played at more than one season or started at least six games in the Canadian Football or Arena Football League, are notable. Remember those leagues mainly consist of the players who couldn't make an NFL Roster.
• Players of minor league or semi-proffesional football teams, like the Af2 aren't notable.

There are excepetions for players who meets the college football and those who meet the multiple, independent, reliable sources criteria.

College athletes

college football

• Current college football players are notable if are a key starter for a major position like quarterback or running back in a major Division-A school.
  • Current Backups aren't notable.
• Former College football players are notable if they were a major award winner, is in the College Football Hall of Fame, owns records for the NCAA or a major Division I school, or was a key contributer in a championship team. Starting QBs from the top Division-I schools are also considered as notable.

college baseball

• College baseball players are not notable unless they have won a national award, or if they own a NCAA record.

college basketball

• Current college basketball players are notable if they are current starters for a top NCAA team like Syracuse University.
• Backups and walk-ons aren't notable.

Ice hockey

Ice hockey players shall be considered notable if they fulfill one or more of the following and if they otherwise fulfill the requirements of WP:V and WP:RS:

• Played one or more games in the National Hockey League, the Elitserien, the SM-liiga, the Russian Super League or other such top national professional league.
• Played one or more games in a defunct league generally considered to have been a "major" professional league, such as the World Hockey Association, the National Hockey Association, the Czechoslovak Extraliga, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and suchlike.
• Played one or more games in an amateur league considered, through lack of a professional league, the highest level of competition extant, such as the 19th century Amateur Hockey Association or the Soviet League.
• Played five or more seasons, and at least 100 games, in a fully professional minor league such as the American Hockey League, the International Hockey League, the ECHL, the Mestis, the HockeyAllsvenskan or other such league.
• Achieved preeminent honors (all-time top ten career scorer, league or playoff MVP, first team all-star, All-American) in a lower minor league such as the Central Hockey League or the United Hockey League, in a major junior league such as the Ontario Hockey Association or the Western Hockey League or in a major collegiate hockey league.
• Played on a national Olympic team.
• Are Honoured Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Football (soccer)

See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Football/Notability

Cricket

Wikipedia:WikiProject Cricket participants have adopted the following guidelines for notability of a cricket person for an article in Wikipedia:

• has appeared in at least one Test, ODI, ICC Trophy match from 2005, or ICC Trophy final prior to 2005 as player, umpire, coach or administrator
• has appeared in at least one major (i.e., first-class or List A) match as a player

The term "first-class cricket" can be misleading since, officially, it did not begin until 1947 and should not be applied retrospectively according to the MCC definition. Whereas in practice the term is loosely applied to major matches since the 17th century, it is better to think of major cricket as an all-embracing term that includes ListA as well as first-class. Hence, a player who represented Kent in the county match in 1709 is equally notable with a player who represented Kent CCC in the Twenty20 Cup in 2007.

Please note that the failure to meet these criteria does not mean an article must be deleted; conversely, the meeting of any of these criteria does not mean that an article must be kept. These are merely rules of thumb which some editors choose to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to keep an article that is on articles for deletion and relavent guidelines such as WP:V and WP:RS.

In addition, non-players who have made a notable contribution to cricket should have pages. These include benefactors, administrators, umpires, coaches, writers, broadcasters, historians and so on. With these, it is important to ensure that the article's content outlines the person's notability in terms of his or her contribution to the sport. There is bound to be a more subjective view of such contributions whereas an appearance in a first-class match enables a purely objective view to be taken. Note especially that the person must have earned notability in their own right; they are not notable if they are a member of a club.

Please keep in mind that the article in question must actually document that the criterion is true. It is not enough to make vague claims in the article or rant about person's importance on a talk page or AFD page -- the article itself must document notability.

Rugby league

A player of rugby league would be deemed notable to have their own article on Wikipedia if they:

1. Have played first grade rugby league (depending on country).
2. Have played more than 10 first grade games OR
3. Have played in a first grade team consitently.
4. Have had a good rugby league career in second grade (depending on country).
5. Have played in more than one year of rugby league.

Other personalities surrounding the game are notable if they:

1. Are a consitent first grade rugby league commentator.
2. A referee that has refereed at least 100 games.
3. A notable newspaper/other media journalist.

Figure skating

This is modified from Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Figure Skating#Notability for figure skaters.

Notability for competitive figure skaters, in descending order of notability:

1. Competed at the Olympic Games
2. Competed at an ISU Championship: World Figure Skating Championships, World Junior Figure Skating Championships, European Figure Skating Championships, Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
3. Medalled on the senior level at the skater's national championships.
4. Competed at a Grand Prix of Figure Skating event (Skate America, Skate Canada International, Trophee Eric Bompard, Cup of China, Cup of Russia, NHK Trophy, Bofrost Cup on Ice)
5. Medalled at a senior level "B" competition. (ex: Nebelhorn Trophy, Karl Schäfer Memorial, Ondrej Nepela Memorial)
6. Medalled on the ISU Junior Grand Prix
7. Competed internationally on the junior or senior levels.

Skaters who are not inherantly notable, but may be notable for other reasons (this simply cannot be the only claim of notability):

1. Competed at an in-country competition (there's a better word, but it's not coming to mind) that is not that country's national championships (for example, national qualifying competitions such as Eastern Sectionals in the United States).
2. Skaters who compete at a level lower than Junior (ex: Novice, pre-Novice, Juvenile).

Notability for people assosciated with skating who were not notable as eligible skaters:

1. A coach who has coached notable skaters, but were not themselves notable as skaters. (ex: Pam Gregory)
2. A choreographer who has worked with many notable skaters, but were not themselves notable as skaters. (ex: David Wilson)
3. Judges who have been involved in judging scandals.
4. Professional skaters who have competed professionally, or have made appearances on televised skating shows.
5. Heads of national and international federations.
6. Individuals recognized for their contributions to skating by membership in the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, or a national figure skating hall of fame, such as the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
7. Other individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of figure skating as sport or entertainment, other than as competitors, whose accomplishments are verifiable by multiple reliable sources. (ex: Tom Collins, founder of Champions on Ice)

Olympians

All Olympic athletes are notable assuming that they have appeared in competition and meet requirements for reliable, third party sources.