Trophies

[grantwomack]

Who here likes trophies? Who likes taking them home and proudly displaying them for a year, only to pay to get them engraved, give them a quick polish in the car on the way to the tournament the following year and try to win them back again, so you can repeat the process?
Who would rather win prizes? Or cash? Or services?

Some ideas for things to win at tournaments rather than trophies:
A voucher for one month free at a major gym.
£100
A bottle of nice champagne.
A voucher for a pair of shoes (eg. Clarks).
Green/white clothing in your size.
A set of ACE's.
Free membership to the hosting club for a year.
Free use of an archery range (eg. Merlin, Chiltern, Border).
Beer tankard/crystal wine decanter.

Other suggestions welcome.
Why is this not done more often? Surely sponsorship can be arranged...?

[Little Miss Purple]

As a newbie to archery, the silverware is a novelty and fab to win (if and when!), although I am mindful of those of you who collect medals like milk bottle tops!

As for giving a prize - they are only as attractive as an individual likes. I have a bottle of champagne in my kitchen so I wouldn't be bothered about that....etc

Free membership to a club would be cool if it was your own!

Money is always good but it's an extra expenditure that clubs dont / wont want.

Good question though

[Radar_UK]

I agree with LMP on this - as a newbie I can't wait to win some medal or trophy !

Maybe for the people who win them regularly there could be an option to have a trophy or maybe cash or some other prize ?

[Shirt]

I think trophies are there more for a record of who has won than to actually celebrate the fact that you've won it.

I have the handful that I've got (some of which are pretty historic) in a box in the wardrobe. Personally I look at them more as a liability than something to be proud of, because if it got nicked I'd feel very silly and also feel obliged to replace it. And I don't want to do that! Personally, I'd prefer it if the organiser took the trophy back from me after prizegiving along with a fiver or so and got it engraved for me. It also solves the whole messy problem of what to do if I can't go next year... q.v a couple of Scottish trophies that I have.

[currie1014]

Originally Posted by grantwomack

Who here likes trophies? Who likes taking them home and proudly displaying them for a year, only to pay to get them engraved, give them a quick polish in the car on the way to the tournament the following year and try to win them back again, so you can repeat the process?
Who would rather win prizes? Or cash? Or services?

Some ideas for things to win at tournaments rather than trophies:
A voucher for one month free at a major gym.
£100
A bottle of nice champagne.
A voucher for a pair of shoes (eg. Clarks).
Green/white clothing in your size.
A set of ACE's.
Free membership to the hosting club for a year.
Free use of an archery range (eg. Merlin, Chiltern, Border).
Beer tankard/crystal wine decanter.

Other suggestions welcome.
Why is this not done more often? Surely sponsorship can be arranged...?

yeah that sounds better than a dusty trophy for 12 months

[wingate_52]

Winning 1 outdoor trophy was great, winning six in my first season was really embarrasing/exciting. My wife wont have them on display. Financial compensation or archery/book tokens/vouchers would be great, but it is not a professional sport. take satisfaction in what you achieve.

[Furface]

Firstly, I feel really cross about those who get blase about trophies ("Sorry, i forgot to return it, cos its in my cupboard somewhere"). Yes, some of them are mighty naff, but they are the symbol of your winning and the continuation of the club hosting the shoot (and, yes, trophies are an invaluable historical record). If you don't want a trophy, don't enter.
Second, as one who has won only one open target trophy (Best 3rd class score - and regained it three years later) I loved having it on display. If I felt things were getting bad, the sight of it perked me up.
But the real answer is economics. A large tournament could have up to 27 categories being competed for, not including teams. A five pound token each(Hoorah, let's paint the town red and get half a decent paperback) could cost £135, which rather eats away at our profit (average about £50). Sponsorship? Perhaps, but only for a few high profile events.

[Rik]

Don't forget that a lot of trophies are donated by people (sometimes with more money than sense) who want to leave something semi-permanent to the sport...

I can't see cash prizes of any kind, be them objects or services, catching on. Who would fund it? I like the trophy thing. If people can't be bothered with them, why not accept it at the prize giving and then give it back at the end of the day?

For me the real prize is the score I get at the end of the day, and how I can use it to achieve my personal goals, be it a Fita Star, York Rose, etc, and classification stuff like Bowman, Master bowman etc. If I ever do win a trophy, it will be on display for all my family to see, if they like it or not

What do other self funding sports do?

[Max]

Taken as an example of a local Sailing Club I used to be a member of (membership fees not unlike an Archery club), they had a few silver trophies, mostly historical , but all prizes were awarded as engraved glassware - a tankard, brandy glass, or wine flute - nothing too expensive and with the club pennant & date sandblasted on. Just something small but attractive to put in the glass cupboard (acceptable to the wife) and keep. Bulk discounts and having the same information on each saved a lot of cost.

Most long standing clubs eventually lose a fair proportion of the silverware (sad but true).

I can see both sides of this from a club perspective. Silverware costs the club nothing, except for the start up costs (which are often nil, since many are donated as gifte from retiring members). If you do have to buy a load from scratch it is probably more cost effective to go the glassware route. It does place more work on the club committee though. I do prefer a glass to keep.